An anonymous tipster sent us over some information about the new Mariano's Fresh Market that is coming to South Clark street (between 16th and 17th street):
Here are some preliminary drawings showing the proposed design/layout for the Mariano’s looking to go on the corner of 17th & Clark (drawings attached, page 6 shows the best building design shots). They are stating a 6/1/12 construction start date, but unfortunately there are still in the conceptual/prelim pricing stage.
They make it sound like the June 1st start date isn't possible. We will see.
Looks good to us and looks like it would be a good addition to the relatively desolate strip of South Clark.
(Hat tip: Anon!)
Awesome... just when I moved out from around the corner!!!
ReplyDeletewell i think this would pretty much lock up the much needed traffic light at 16th and Clark!
ReplyDeleteThis is great news!
ReplyDeletemuch needed traffic light at 16th and clark? Why do you want to turn clark into state street? I'll never understand why people want stop lights at every corner in the city
ReplyDeleteLooks great - too bad that south loop self storage is still standing (looks like an Area51 hangar in the pictures!)
ReplyDeleteWould love to see this better address the street. Clark St. sucks right now for pedestrians, and the long-term addition of a giant surface parking lot fronting Clark won't help much.
ReplyDeleteI know that this area is pretty desolate right now, but if the Sloop is going to continue growing, this area needs to be an attractive part of the neighborhood. Think about the parts of the city that are great - they're all walkable. We need the Sloop to continue growing this way.
because there are alot of suburban born rejects in the south loop that demand cul de sacs and stop lights at every turn
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome news. An anchor like this will be great to have right there, I've got to imagine they can break ground in this timetable, general contractor bids had to be in by the end of January. Once this is built, maybe the next thing to go can be that dilapidated self storage warehouse right next to it. And no new traffic lights please! Clark is one of the few streets that moves fast.
ReplyDeleteFantasic news for the Sloop
ReplyDeleteyes, and lots of suburban born rejects that insist on driving EVERYWHERE.
ReplyDeletei wish we could lump all of the nimby suburban born rejects and all the bike riding Obama hipsters that contribute nothing to society and transplant them into bucktown where they belong.
ReplyDeleteWithout suburban born "rejects", the sloop would be filled with people throwing turds at each other.
ReplyDeleteGreat..Jewel, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Dominick's and now Mariano's...We cant get much of anything else, but we wont go hungry
ReplyDeleteAs Clark W said right now Clark Street is not much, but also just to the West is the biggest land yet to be developed in Chicago - the future Riverside District. Once that piece of land is opened up this area will be flooding to the Mariano's as well. They need to build something on that recycling spot (18th/Clark) and the warehouse on 16th needs to go.
ReplyDeleteany word about those lots on Wabash between 13-14th? Hopefully they get rezoned, last thing we need is more highrise condos.
ReplyDeleteYes, when/if Riverside gets developed, this store will be huge. I'm sure that is a gamble they are willing to take with this location. If the central area plan from 2009 is to be viewed as remotely realistic, the city has/had a lot of plans to develop this area. time will tell, maybe Roundy's has some inside info.
ReplyDeleteI hope this will rekindle talks on developing an indoor skate park in the municipal building across the street. Plus people living in Chinatown and Pilsen will be all over this store. I hope that the traffic can be managed well on Clark and 18th streets.
ReplyDeleteThe dominick's on canal is OK, the Jewel on roosevelt is horrible, trader joe's is nice, but a long walk from this area, same with whole foods.
ReplyDeleteThis will be a great addition to the clark st area and I will support it.
These suburban-style strip centers need to put the ugly, asphalt parking lots behind the stores and not out in front where they look so ugly with all of those cars and asphalt. The lots should be landscaped really well to offset the terrible environmental impacts these lots have. Great to have the Mariano's though. A great addition and we need to continue building and creating more economic development.
ReplyDelete100 - you are 100% correct. The landscaping along Clark should be required to be extra nice to block the parking lot. Also, can someone please invest and develop the South/East Corner of 18th/Wabash AND 18th/State! I believe Goodyear is building a new facility at 18th/State, but there is a nice strip of land along 18th that they do not own and has good potential. Also, MORE IMPORTANTLY: 18th/State where Universal Plumbing is needs to get developed, but the BILLBOARD NEEDS TO BE REMOVED ASAP.
ReplyDeletethat "ugly asphalt lot" would be one of the nicer lots on that stretch of clark....at least it would be paved unlike accross the street or south of it. Let focus on the store, the jobs and the convienience. Leave dumb comments like ugly parking lots to arm chair architects that frequent this blog...
ReplyDelete@Brendan
ReplyDeleteThat's the kind of attitude that leads to stunted development. Take a look at the successful neighborhoods on the North Side and tell me how many surface parking lots they have.
Hell, think about why people live in the city in the first place. It's for dense, walkable neighborhoods. If they want to drive to a mega grocery store, they can live in Naperville.
I get that a surface parking lot might be the only economically feasible option here, but it should at least be oriented to improve the experience of pedestrians. If you want this neighborhood to continue growing, you need to build it in a way that appeals to people.
Beef Wellington
ReplyDeleteWhat specific neighborhoods on the northside? You mean the neighborhoods that were developed a century ago? yes those are very walk friendly.
The south loop is different, the infrastructure is different. You cant just snap your fingers and make that desolate stretch of Clark a walk friendly area.....I dont even think there are sidewalks installed on parts of that stretch!!!!! So to further expell my point....yes the stretch of Clark between 15th place and 18th street ( but arguably all the way to cermak) is a crumbling uneven mess on both sides.
The new paved ( and I would assume landscaped as well ) lot would be the least bit of Clarks problems as far as appearance goes.... Im no city planner but I believe that people live in the city for a VARITY of reasons, not just what youdescribe as a "walkable neighborhood". People work in the city for proximity to schools, offices, or just about eny employer considering Chicago is a major metropolitian city (probably alot of jobs around there ya know).
Also, i would like you to logically expand on the idea of Marianos "stunting the growth" of that stretch of Clark
Great news. I'm all for walkability, but as others have said, that doesn't mean it's workable in every situation. I could see this stretch of Clark becoming like (a hopefully nicer) Elston on the north side with Home Depot, Target, etc. Big box stores.
ReplyDeleteMariano's is a great store. I often go to the one near Millennium park.
Mariano's surface parking lot is killing the polar bears and makes the sloop less like Lincoln Park. THE HUMANITY!!!
ReplyDeleteWill everybody shut up about the parking lot if they sponsored a weekly s'mores event. You hippies can hug trees and read your bad poetry. Go save some whales and welcome this new place in.
ReplyDeleteMore importantly I hope they are not bullied to hire "neighborhood" residents to work there. I prefer to only hear about the cashiers baby daddy drama at jewel.
@Brendan
ReplyDeleteNo need to get all argumentative. All I'm saying is that long-term, you should want this area to be walkable. You CAN do that while allowing a surface parking lot (as I said above, I'm ok with that here, and I definitely agree it's an improvement over what's there now).
My point is that we should try ensure this areas becomes hospitable to pedestrians. And I'm not saying this for environmental reasons or aesthetic reasons - it's economics. The areas of this city that are the most attractive for people to live in are those that are easy to walk around (take a look at home values, if you need confirmation). New neighborhoods can do this too - see the West Loop.
I'm kind of shocked that anybody would disagree with this. Also, the idea that any area would aspire to be Elston is pretty pathetic...
Just read the Chicago Journal about the Mariano's story. It seems to me that the way new-South-Loop alderman Dowell plays is that she takes South Loop development hostage for the sake of opening up new stores deep in her south side ward first. She doesn't realize that reasons why stores don't open in that area are because of thefts and belligerent loiterers.
ReplyDeleteI'm all in favor of anything that adds to the demise of the jewel on Roosevelt. It shocks (and disgusts) me that people are will to spend money on food that comes out of that craphole.
ReplyDeleteMost of the parking is going to be on the roof of this structure. I think it will mesh very well with the area. Have you seen the parking lot of the police station? So this area is already one big lot. I live a couple of blocks from this location... I can't wait.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a very large store could it be their flagship?
good ol' beef wellington! Changin up his story now that someone challenged him on it
ReplyDeleteSouth loop hippies need jobs man, this is getting serious.
wow there are just way too many renters on this blog. We really need to debate walkable vs. car friendly areas?? Anyone who has a dime of ownership in the Sloop should be strongly for a more pedestrian friendly area. If you dont agree i suggest going back to school and taking a class in real estate econ. Thx
ReplyDeleteA sustainable development of the building and the site isn't an option... it's a requirement. This is 2012... ALL projects are built with sustainability in mind.
ReplyDeleteBeing a real architect (not an armchair), it would be senseless to develop this facility without attempting a LEED certification.
If LEED certification is not an initial goal of the project, then the red flags should begin to fly before any shovels hit the ground.
If you were a real architect you would know that LEED certification is BS.
ReplyDeleteWith all the tree huggers, anti car people, unions, NIMBY's it's amazing anything gets built or that any business would want to open up shop in this city.
ReplyDeleteCars are necessary in this city. GET OVER IT! Just because you may not own a car, don't tell me how to live my life. Maybe a little education in a marketable trade with a higher income you might be able to afford a car. Cars improve your quality of life, giving you more freedom.
If you want to walk or ride your bike or ride on the nasty dirty CTA fine…shut your hole! Obey the traffic laws.. I'm sick or you rude bike riders!
Welcome to the South Loop Mariano's! I can't wait to drive my BIG SUV and park in your lot and fill it up.
You go South Loop. The South Loop is the best. Unlike the constant whining from the west loop and all their height and design limits. You can't build this you can't build that. That's too tall wha wha wha. The west loop sucks!
ReplyDeleteis this still moving forward?
ReplyDelete