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| Image from Chicago Journal |
In last weeks Chicago Journal, they had a post about a shiny glass building:
A developer planning a 39-story apartment tower in the South Loop at the intersection of 9th and State Streets presented its plans to a community group last week.
Golub & Company, owner of the site that’s now a parking lot abutting the CTA Green and Orange line tracks, showed off the tower at a meeting of South Loop Neighbors.
The building will have a four-story base that’ll stretch from 9th south to the existing Hilti parking garage. From the middle of that will spring the full 400-foot, 39-story tower.
While the building doesn't knock our socks off, we will label this as something is better than nothing. And by nothing we mean an eye sore of a parking lot. We would assume this means more retail space for South State street. Which we're always in favor of.
The article doesn't give an indication of when this could come to market, but we imagine it's still got some hurdles to jump over. Regardless, good to see investors continuing to show interest in the Sloop!
7 comments:
Throwing up tons of fancy new high-rises is nice, but that alone doesn't make a neighborhood. During the real estate bubble last decade, all those condos sprung up in the South Loop area as fast as daisies.
But now we're left with a South Loop that's got plenty of faux-loft apartments and condos, but feels like an abandoned wasteland.
The area didn't start feeling like it was coming back to life until we started getting more businesses. I think the Trader Joes has done more for the neighborhood than any condo. Now we're starting to get retail options and good restaurants, now it's starting to seem like the area is growing.
So, yes, a shiny glass building on State and 9th (which is currently an ugly parking lot) is a good thing, but the effect on the area will probably have more to do with the ground-level retail.
"We would assume this means more retail space for South State street. Which we're always in favor of." Are you joking? What about the multiple retail spaces inside of the State Place building on the next block, some of which have NEVER yet been occupied?
The only way that we are going to see additional vacant lots developed and/or vacant retail become populated is if we:
1. increase the population density of the neighborhood. (more people)
and/or
2. increase the per capita spending ability of residents. (richer people)
Either of these will increase aggregate demand and contribute to more development and increased property values.
you can have aethestic issues for the building, but since this development is decidedly in category 1 from above and potentially 2 as well, it will have a positive ripple effect in the rest of the neighborhood.
The retail will fill in eventually, especially if we add new residents (density) who don't just shuttle around in their cars everywhere. We need foot traffic.
Another dull boring design… TRY AGAIN!
Why can't we get something this tall and dense at Polk and Clark? The 2 - 11 story buildings planned there are a waste on such a prime parcel. But we all know that the developer, alderman and probably the mayor's office are all in it together focusing on short term construction jobs (who mostly live in the suburbs) and not for the long term sustainability of our neighborhood. I look forward to this project at 9th and State and the more family sized units (3 or more bedrooms) will really go a long way to a making a nice mix of people in the neighborhood.
A yes, the high rise crowd that fallically drools over 'high' rises. How is it that Lake View, Lincoln Park, at other areas achieve density with such lower buildings and zoning? Because the focus is on quality infill & development. The high rise = density is a canard.
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