New High-Rises Everywhere in the Sloop!

Yesterday it was Hotel Essex, today the Tribune looks at three other high-rises dotting the South Loop skyline.  Two of them (Nema and Paragon) are almost done.  Another one (1000M) hasn't broken ground yet, but would be a striking addition if it does.  You can read the write-ups of each high-rise at the following link.

Instead of posting about the buildings, we're zeroing in on the preamble about how great the Sloop is:

Three new gleaming residential towers in the South Loop are changing the city’s skyline and offering potential residents a few more options.

Tommy Choi, president of the Chicago Association of Realtors, said the South Loop’s recent building boom is thanks to its convenient location and relative affordability compared with some of the city’s newly trendy neighborhoods. Proximity to transportation thoroughfares, Grant and Millennium parks, and cultural activities all make for an environment appealing to buyers, renters and developers.

“Here’s the great thing about South Loop — it’s always been an iconic neighborhood,” Choi said. “The North Side of Michigan Avenue gets deemed the Magnificent Mile because of all the high-end retail that’s there, but when you look south of Randolph, I think it’s more the Cultural Mile — you’re close to theaters, parks, museums, and you have all the world-class restaurants, retail and shopping that the city has to offer.”

Choi remembers the South Loop having some growing pains after the housing market crash and Chicago’s lost bid for the 2016 Olympics, but now he sees a spike in demand. He said the South Loop took advantage of “spillage” from the West Loop when people started getting priced out of what he calls one of, if not the most popular, markets in the city.