As we know, more and more housing options seem to spring up daily in the Sloop. Competition is fierce and the peeps at AMLI added a interesting (and smart) amenity to their properties (via Chicago Tribune):
A Chicago real estate developer paid the city $56,000 to install a Divvy bicycle-sharing station outside two of its apartment buildings in the South Loop, officials are expected to announce Friday.
The agreement with AMLI Residential marks the first private purchase of a Divvy station since the bike-sharing program was launched in mid-2013, officials said. City officials called the deal a "private donation."
AMLI covered the cost of installing the 15-dock station at Clark and Ninth streets and provided 10 bikes, according to the Chicago Department of Transportation.
The station, which is already open, is part of the 476-station Divvy system and is operated for public use like all other stations, officials said. The only difference is that the station will have an AMLI logo added soon, officials said.
In honor of our Mayor's admiration of Printer's Row architecture, we felt it would be fitting to highlight an open house this week that is the epitome of this sentiment. That is the historic Donohue Annex building at 727 S. Dearborn:
The specific unit that's having an open house this Sunday (8/30) from 1-3pm is #911 and it's got plenty of character to cause us to be intrigued. Whether it's built-in shelves, raised floors or a general spacious layout, this unit looks lovely:
Even more interesting to us is that this unit has a huge private terrace with Northern facing views, something we rarely see in some of these old conversion buildings.
The unit seems reasonable priced at $550K, but that doesn't include parking (another $40K) and assessments are on the high side ($1,174). However, it is a unique unit so head on over and check it out.
Just wanted to tip you guys off that there's a commercial filming at Burnham Station (Clark and 15th). See the attached images for reference and more details.
If professional filming is of interest to you, head on over. It's usually an interesting process.
We've gotten a fair amount of emails on the topic and given our love for the hood figured we would weigh in (take if for what it's worth). Since this question has been asked to us before, we even have a page on our website dedicated to clarifying this topic - something we call the Sloopin map.
Just in case anyone wonders what constitutes sloopin, here is a general map of what we consider the "sloopin" area:
It mainly focuses on the blue area (South Loop and Printer's Row) but for good measure we also consider the red area (Near South Side) and green area (?) part of sloopin.
With these parameters set, we essentially try to keep readers up to date on anything that's going on in the area.
Occasionally we'll have posts on things outside of our jurisdiction, but in some way all postings should have some relation to the sloopin areas.
So in case you can't tell by the map we define "the South Loop" as Congress on the north, Michigan/Lake Shore on the east, 18th on south and the river on the west.
But let's be honest, none of this really matter. It's fun to debate, but at the end of the day neighborhoods are typically defined/created thanks to real estate marketing and businesses trying to associate with neighborhoods that will help their bottom line.
On a subsection of developer Crescent Heights' website (page is now not available), an image has appeared on a page labeled Michigan & Roosevelt, promoting an upcoming development for what is currently a vacant lot. Although the rendering, which only shows the lower floors of a new tower, could just merely be a placeholder design for the purposes of the webpage, the image could also very well be a sneak peek of the proposal said to be designed by well known architect Rafael Vinoly. If the rumors turn out to be true, this would be the first major high-rise project for Vinoly's firm to be located in Chicago.
The post also gives some intriguing details:
Crescent Heights currently lists the proposed tower as 1255 South Indiana Avenue, and is rumored to rise 70 floors. According to the high-rise watchers on the SkyscraperPage forums, the tower could rise up to 835 feet to the top of the parapet and 862 feet to the top of a decorative roof structure. If the building does indeed climb to that final height figure, it would be the tallest all-residential building in Chicago, provided nothing more than simple ground floor retail space is also included in the building.
The Crescent Heights webpage also lists 30,000 square feet of retail and 1,900 units, although it would be highly unlikely for these figures to be for only one tower. A second building is expected to be constructed at the southeast corner of Michigan and Roosevelt and as such, the figures could be inclusive of both towers as well as any nearby land holdings which could be considered as part of a phased project.
Two violent robberies in the South Loop in the last week have prompted police to issue a community alert.
The robberies were reported about 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 21 in the 0-100 block of West Harrison and about 9 p.m. on Aug. 22 in the 900 block of South Michigan, police said.
In both cases, two males walked up to people on the sidewalk and punched or knocked them to the ground, police said. As the victim was on the ground, suspects either continued to kick them, or one suspect held them down while the other went through their pockets.
In one case, the suspects stole a victim’s computer equipment.
The suspects were described as black males, between 5-foot-9 and each weighing between 160 and 200 pounds, police said.
Anyone with information on the robberies is asked to call Area Central detectives at (312) 747-8384.
While the piece was good and pretty informative, one sub-story stuck out. When asked what his favorite architecture in the city was, Rahm listed some buildings in the Loop, but also added this note about our neighborhood (via Chicago Tribune):
Printing House District, or Printers' Row, by many Chicago architects. Built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and revitalized starting in the late 1970s, this high-rise district south of the Loop was once a center for the printing trades. It's now home to stylish loft apartments, hotels and shops. "I love how they've been integrated, revised, rethought," the mayor said of the buildings. "It's just redefined that whole area."
Nice plug Rahm - nice plug! We tend to agree with this view...
We received a couple emails about an application for a liquor license at 1329 S. Michigan.
One reader writes:
Received this in the mail. The address is where the Succezz, the shoe store is.
How does this make any sense? A shoe store that needs a "massage with liquor" license?
Yes, this is the address for Succezz the shoe store, but maybe this is for a new business on the second floor? Judging by the applicant name in the image above, it seems like a generic business INC.
Could South Michigan be getting another spa type of business? We've heard of spa concepts that included alcohol. That would make more sense than Succezz.
Anyway, anyone have any scoop or insight into this liquor license?
Bears season is just around the corner, so we figured we would direct your attention to an open house that will allow you to open up your window and hear the roar of the crowd cheering for a Bears touchdown (or maybe a groan from an opponent scoring which seems more likely the year).
If this view looks enticing, head on over this Sunday (8/23) from 1-3pm to 1515 S. Pairie Ave #508 to check out a 2 bed/2 bath listed at $360K. The unit looks nice and well kept but nothing super unordinary. Judging by the picture below and at the listing the unit appears to have some nice built-in cabinets and whatnot:
If you're going to be driving this weekend (and some other upcoming weekend) get ready for some major traffic inconveniences (via Chicago Tribune):
A major phase of the Byrne Interchange overhaul begins Wednesday night with the closing of a ramp between the Kennedy Expressway and Congress Parkway. And then it will get only worse.
Over the next two weekends, Congress will be completely closed under the Old Post Office, and traffic on the Kennedy and Dan Ryan expressways will be reduced to one lane as crews install large steel beams for a flyover ramp from the inbound Dan Ryan to the outbound Eisenhower.
During a weekend at the end of September and another in the middle of October, traffic on the inbound Kennedy and both directions on the Eisenhower will be down to one lane.
It's most likely going to be ugly out there, so be prepared or make alternative routes. The Tribune has some good maps for all the different closings, but we will just post the one for this weekend and the next:
WEEKENDS OF AUG. 21-23 AND AUG. 28-30
I-290 (Eisenhower): Eastbound (10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday), westbound (5 a.m. Saturday to 5 a.m. Monday).
I-90/94 (Ryan and Kennedy): Both directions will be reduced to one lane overnight (8 p.m. Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday). The southeast ramp will also be closed for the weekend.
The Lollapalooza hangover is slowly fading away (yes it's been 3 weeks), but one nuisance that remains is the annual Grant Park repairs stemming from the festivals footprint (via Chicagoist).
While this year wasn't the worst, it still means that:
Promoter C3 Presents is footing the $236,223 cleanup bill to repair Grant Park following the three-day music fest, Chicago Park District officials have announced.
Cleanup is currently underway and could last through the third week of September, according to the park district, with some areas of the park roped off to visitors. Park cleanup costs are usually fairly steep at the end of Chicago's biggest music fests, especially in years when rainfall muddies the park grounds. This year's repair costs are lower for Lollapalooza than last year's $266,000 in repairs, possibly because there was less rain this year while the fest was underway—though the park was briefly evacuated due to storm warnings.
While we're not going to attempt to come to a definitive decision on whether or not this festival is good or bad for the city, we will say that this year we noticed how much prep and repair is necessary for this event.
The festival is just three days (which is fine in our eyes), but the weekend we were walking around and realized that pretty much the entire park from Washington to Roosevelt was inaccessible (minus a little path for tourists to still get to Buckingham Fountain). While that was annoying we didn't think much about it. However, the weekend after Lolla we walked by Hutchinson Field and it was roped off for repairs. Moral of the story is that the actual Lollapalooza festival is 3 days, but their occupancy is much longer.
On the flip side, it appears that more and more businesses and organizations are reaping the benefits of this massive event and all the attention it gets. The most prominent example we saw this year was the #DellLounge which apparently took over the Spertus museum at 610 S. Michigan for the weekend. While we didn't attend, the whole building was lit up over the weekend with prominent branding on the glass exterior:
While we have no way of knowing how much Dell paid for this, it couldn't have been cheap.
So like every year, there are pros and cons to this festival being in our back yard. Everyone will have different feelings, but at this stage this festival isn't going anywhere (contract signed until 2021).
We still haven't been to Spoke & Bird (1801 S. Indiana), however we had high hopes. If this most recent review from the Chicagoist is any indication, we need to head on down...like tomorrow:
Let's start with beverages. Like its predecessor Cafe Society, Spoke and Bird was originally more of a cafe that catered to the lunch crowd and closed early. However, when it added beers on tap from Illinois microbreweries like Pig Mind in Rockford, Penrose in Geneva and Metropolitan in Chicago, it expanded its hours of operation so that guests can enjoy them on the charming, tree-covered beer garden until 8 p.m. every day.
Breakfast and lunch are still the biggest draws at Spoke and Bird, with tempting options like a pecorino and Swiss omelette, stacks of pancakes with whiskey butter and maple bourbon syrup or Three Sisters rolled oats with apple cider and grapefruit. I went for dinner and had one of the best salads I've ever had: a kale and roasted vegetable medley with pecorino cheese, granola and a honey citronette dressing. As a rule, I never eat salads as meals, but this was a game changer. When I go back I'll take them up on the option to add a fried egg to the top. I also heard some good things about the Lambeque sandwich, which consists of cured and smoked lamb and a Lexington style vinegar and pepper sauce on Texas toast.
However, it was a little surprising that just this month, two Columbia College-affiliated student housing properties have been bought and sold to investors. First, Crain's reported that the student apartment tower at 777 South State is being purchased for $85 million. Five days later, Crain's reveals that the Dwight Lofts facility, only a few blocks away, is being purchased for $105 million. The two purchases don't seem to be related, although both properties are privately owned but come with multi-year contracts for Columbia to lease all-or-most of the units. Crain's describes both as safe investments due to the contractual lock-in with Columbia, but it's not hard to wonder if there could be something bigger going on.
Regardless of the residential market, it seems like student housing has remained pretty constant in the Sloop. We're fans of the students. We know some aren't.
Anyone have thoughts on student housing. Good or bad?
If you're like most urbanites, you appreciate high-rises. There is something captivating and beautiful about a huge building and all the thought that goes into it.
And if you're like most, penthouse living is the epitome of the high-rise living dream. If you agree with this sentiment, then we have the perfect open house for you today (8/15) from noon to 2pm at 1529 S. State:
This 2 bed/2 bath penthouse unit is on the 23rd floor and has some sick features. First off, how would you like a 500 ft terrace off your living room with amazing unobstructed views of our city's amazing skyline?
Or maybe some rooms with 16' ceilings and crazy windows:
This unit can be yours for just under $500K (parking is an additional $30K).
Only drawback we see is that the monthly assessments are $1,025 - but that let's be honest - you're ballin in the penthouse so what's a couple thousands dollars.
To round out retail week, we post about Remax Synergy real estate coming to 1345 South Michigan:
It doesn't look like the buildout is underway, but guess it won't take super long (since it's not a restaurant etc). As a reminder, this space was Haus of Reign - a women's boutique - but that closed back December of 2010.
After four years in the South Loop at 1468 S. Michigan Ave., Urban Remix, the up-scale furniture consignment store will close at the end of August.
According to their post, the consignment store lost their lease. While we don't exactly know why the lost their lease we would presume it's either because another tenant has expressed interest or because the owners are asking for increase rent (given that there appears to be more desire to open a business on this stretch of Michigan avenue).
Does anyone have additional background?
It does sound like Urban Remix isn't permanently closing. The owner is looking for warehouse space. Not sure if that's in the Sloop or elsewhere though.
"We're coming back to Chicago for the draft in 2016," Goodell said. "They've earned it. The success we had last year set a new bar for the draft, it set a new opportunity for fans to interact with the NFL. It had a tremendous impact on this community."
The league announced last month that the 2016 draft would be conducted April 28-30 but didn't name the location at that time.
Goodell said Chicago, which played host for the first time in more than 50 years, did an extraordinary job, but the league expects the city to promote the event's continued growth in 2016. That may include a larger footprint and similar accommodations by the city, which provided several venues this year at no cost.
The league also said the event will be up for competitive bidding beginning in 2017.
Some 200,000 visitors attended the free fan festival, which transformed Grant Park into "Draft Town" from April 30 to May 2. A study by the Sport Industry Research Center at Temple University released last month pegged direct economic impact to Chicago at nearly $44 million, including hotel revenue, dining, sales tax revenue and temporary jobs.
It looks like some of the long vacant space at 1455 S. Michigan Avenue is getting a new a tenant (and no it's not a salon/spa!):
But what is it - a zoomed in look:
If you still can't read, it says a "Reputable Provider - Daycare & Gifted Program 6 months to 5 years". We tried to call the number but no one picked up and it didn't go to voicemail (we thought we might get the name of the place).
Regardless, it does look like the developer of this property (on the east side of Wells) did get their permits recently (via Chicago Cityscape):
New 4 story residential building of type iii-b construction. ground floor commercial space with 42 residential units and 42 parking spaces at the ground floor. building is fully sprinkled. 837 s. wells st
While some might complain about losing a parking lot (most likely people who have cars and use this lot) it is probably a good development as it will bring additional density to a rapidly changing street in the Sloop.
We haven't seen renderings, but will keep our eyes open.
A promising article on a high-profile architect designing a tower for one of the most high-profile vacant pieces of land on South Michigan (via Crain's):
Chicago architect Helmut Jahn, whose local works include the United Airlines terminal at O'Hare and the Ogilvie Metra station downtown, could soon put his stamp on the South Loop.
Jahn is designing a tower for a site at 1000 S. Michigan Ave., according to people in the architecture community familiar with his plans. It's not clear what the building would be used for, but apartments or condominiums seem most likely given its location in the South Loop, a housing hotbed.
Jahn, whose design work dots the world landscape from Philadelphia, to Berlin, Munich and Bangkok, is known for sleek contemporary structures, such as the rounded tops of the State Street Village dorms at IIT and a vast umbrella-like canopy over a plaza in Berlin that is part of the Sony Center he designed.
We're a big fan of his work on the new Mansueto Library at University of Chicago (see picture above), but frankly there is a pretty large portfolio of projects that should provide some excitement.
A lot of questions remain, but if this happens it would be another big project that would help evolve what the South Loop's future will look like.
It seems like everywhere we look there is a new event coming to Sloop. Today - adult camping at Northerly Island (via Chicago Tribune):
Chicago's first adults-only camp-in is coming to Northerly Island this month. But if you're interested, it'll cost you.
The entrance fee is priced by tent, which is included. A two-person tent will cost $250, a four-person tent $500 and a six-person tent $750.
The tent does not include sleeping bags or pillows, but the fee covers a camp happy hour, a pig roast, a twilight hike, sunrise yoga and other activities, according to the Chicago Parks Foundation. The event's purpose is to connect adults to nature.
This seems like a strange concept to us and something that could be mistaken for a spinoff of the popular Bachelor/Bachelorette series on TV.
On October 24, 2015 the Chicago Cultural Mile Association plans to launch one of Chicago’s most exciting, new initiatives—The Halloween Gathering. This powerful event will gather Chicago’s vast and diverse creative communities for an all-day festival culminating with a magical nighttime parade. Drawing together world-renowned institutions including the Field Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Columbia College Chicago and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, as well as unique local organizations like Louder Than a Bomb, Silent Theatre Company, and guilds of artists in assorted fields, this dramatic display will activate Halloween as the “artist’s holiday” along one of the most prestigious cultural avenues in the world.
The schedule is as follows:
2pm-6pm: Art and Halloween Festival The parks and institutions along the Chicago Cultural Mile will be alive with family-friendly activities including mask-making workshops, free performances, pop-up installations, interactive experiences and more! The festival will also host a children’s costume parade on The Ribbon in beautiful Maggie Daley Park.
6pm-8pm: Parade As dusk arrives, our creative communities will assemble for a powerful procession capturing their creative spirits. Imagine a parade filled with large spectacle, legions of lanterns, costumes, performances, music, dance, dramatic lighting, moving platforms and more! The parade, traveling north on Columbus from Balboa to Monroe, will be led by 13 of Chicago’s most influential creative leaders to be honored as “Creative Spirit Fellows.” Their dramatic entrance will set the tone for the spectacle to follow.
We love Halloween so this sounds interesting. However, it also sort of sounds like the Great Chicago Fire Fest which was on the river in 2014 and by most accounts was a big dud and that will be relocating to Northerly Island in 2015.
But we will give them the benefit of the doubt and hope they can pull it off. If they've already got all those iconic institutions participating it already seems like it has more momentum then the fire fest.
We received an email yesterday and found out two new things.
First off, it sounds like Bash on Wabash is on hiatus this year (via bashonwabash.org):
We are taking a break this summer to focus on promoting other South Loop events. We hope you will support us in celebrating “100 years of Willie Dixon” and other events to be announced!
While this event has had mixed reviews, it has been consistent. They have been going for 11 years - pretty impressive. As a reminder, the event was run by Greater South Loop Association.
It's historic. It's a Chicago and U.S. landmark. And now the Motor Row District on Chicago's near south side will be home to the inaugural (and very 21st century) "Motor Row Craft Beer & Wine Fest" on the Saturday and Sunday of this year's Labor Day weekend.
Built between 1905 and 1936 and featuring unique architecture that housed car showrooms and repair shops, the Motor Row District catered to Americans' then-newfound love of the automobile. The fabled district was comprised of several blocks of South Michigan, Indiana and Wabash Avenues just west of McCormick Place. Today it's a gentrifying neighborhood that's also home to at least three of Chicago's hottest new craft breweries.
At Motor Row Craft Beer & Wine Fest, in addition to its historic South Wabash location, visitors will be able to buy tasting passes to sample both microbrews and wines as well as purchase blended cocktails. In other words: there will be something for every taste! And, being a Chicago street fest, there will also be plenty of food, live music, arts & crafts and more.
Date: Saturday & Sunday, September 5-6 Time: 1pm to 10pm Daily
Location: On Wabash Ave between 16th and 18th Street, Chicago Beneficiary: Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance
As you can imagine, the event has a variety of local suppliers including two of our resident breweries, Motor Row Brewery and Baderbau Brewery. While the event doesn't really feel unique (say like Lit Fest), we can imagine that it will do well - after all drinking in the streets of Chicago seems to be a popular summer activity.
Have you heard many complaints about the Grant Park Skate Park? I'm a fan of the skate park concept (I even went to the Mountain Dew event there a few weeks ago.) But, in the last 12 hours, my mind has changed. A clearly underage kid rode into the park at around 7:30 last night with a case of PBR onboard. I thought that was pretty bold.
This morning, while walking our dogs at 4:30am (yes, I know that is crazy early), 6 kids set off fireworks in the skate park and then hightailed it out of there on their skateboards. Not cool. That had to wake up folks in the high-rises at Roosevelt and Michigan/Indiana. Anyhow...I was wondering if these are isolated incidents or if bad behavior in the skate park is becoming a problem.
Anyone have similar thoughts or observations? It seems like the skate park has been relatively well received, but stories like the two above seem unfortunate (and maybe even inevitable).
For those of you who may question Dearborn Park 1, we would urge you not to judge a book by its cover. Yes, the building was built in 1980 and might not have an abundance of sexy glass curves or balconies like many new buildings, but in terms of location and views the price point is pretty damn attractive.
It's also pretty spacious for a 2bed/1.1bath at 1,250 square feet:
.jpg)
