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.
.jpg)
