Alderman Candidate Believes TIF Vote for The 78 Needs to Slow Down

Another day another piece on the 78.  This time some (warranted?) political posturing (via Chicago Tribune):

A candidate seeking to succeed Ald. Danny Solis in the City Council says Solis’ cooperation with federal investigators means the city should pump the brakes on a public subsidy to support a massive project south of the Loop that’s at the top of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s to-do list before he leaves office.

Alex Acevedo said the Community Development Commission shouldn’t vote this week to recommend a tax increment financing district worth up to $700 million for the project dubbed The 78 on a 62-acre former rail yard site on the Chicago River between the South Loop and Chinatown.

The land is in Solis’ 25th Ward, and Acevedo said anything Solis touched is tainted in light of reports he secretly recorded conversations with fellow Ald. Edward Burke after federal investigators confronted Solis with evidence of his own alleged misdeeds.

Related Midwest Unveils Tweaked Plans for New CTA Red Line Stop at 15th and Clark

In case you missed it last week, Alderman Dowell held another community meeting to hear how Related Midwest tweaked their plan for a new CTA stop in the South Loop (via Crains):

The developer aiming to turn 62 acres of vacant South Loop land into a sprawling mixed-use campus is closer to winning the support of one local alderman after relocating its plan for a CTA Red Line station that would serve its project.

After 3rd Ward Ald. Pat Dowell rejected Related Midwest's plan last month to put a station at the southeast corner of 15th and Clark streets, the developer presented a revised version last night that moves the station across the street, where it would become a crucial access point for a 13 million-square-foot megadevelopment Related has dubbed "the 78."

Under the tweaked plan, Related would build the station on the ground floor of a building it would develop at the southwest corner of Clark and 15th streets. The underground platform for the station would cut diagonally beneath Clark Street, running from the station house northeast to the southern edge of 15th Street, plans show.

After the meeting, Dowell stopped short of offering her full support for the new plan but commended Related Midwest for responding well to community feedback.

The plan still has a ways to go, but this was definitely a positive development for Related Midwest and this high-profile "78" project.

If you're really interested in listening to the community meeting you can head over to Hello South Loop as they streamed it in its entirety on Facebook Live.

#ShotsAroundTheSloop: Sue's New Digs

(Hat tip: JH!)

Pacific Garden Mission Opens its Doors During Polar Vortex

From CBS2:

As temperatures plunged to dangerous wind chills Tuesday night in Chicago, a man in a wheelchair pulled up to the doors of Pacific Garden Mission, a homeless shelter that was already filled well beyond capacity with people seeking comfort from the deadly elements of the night.

Although the shelter had surpassed its capacity more than trifold, the man was quickly welcomed inside. He spent the night Tuesday feeling warm and well-fed along with around 800 other homeless men, women and children who sought refuge at the shelter, which is the largest in the city.

Pacific Garden’s president, Philip Kwiatkowski, said the man had been trying to navigate the icy sidewalks in his wheelchair and somehow made his way to the shelter on his own.
“He showed up with nowhere to go and we took him in,” Kwiatowski said.

Usually Pacific Gardens houses people for up to 30 days while they ease them back into society with support finding a job and getting access to other resources needed to sustain independence.

But this week, those rules were tossed aside and anyone was welcomed inside–no questions asked.

Please note:

If you want to help Chicago’s homeless, Pacific Gardens needs coats, hats, gloves and mittens and is accepting donations. The shelter is located at 1458 S. Canal St.

A Look at Chicago Sports Most Memorable Weather Related Moments

(Extreme) weather is on the mind of everyone.  Rightfully so, it's freaking cold outside!

In honor of this event, the Chicago Tribune has a fun article looking at the most memorable weather-related sports events in Chicago history.  Many of them took place at Soldier Field and if you're lucky enough maybe you went to one.

We were at the Blackhawks vs. Penguins "stadium series" game in 2014.  We don't remember it being unbearable from a cold standpoint, but it was fun as it snowed pretty hard:

The wind off Lake Michigan swirled and so much snow fell it was hard to follow the game at times as the Blackhawks beat the Penguins at Soldier Field. And it was great.

"Probably the greatest setting you could want," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

"With how hard it was snowing it was like, ‘Wow, these are amazing conditions.’ I think everybody went back to when they were kids.”

Other events at Soldier Field include The Fog Bowl (Dec. 31, 1988) & The Haunting Halloween night (Oct. 31, 1994).

What is the number one weather related sports event?  The Cubs World Series rain delay - that was pretty epic

River City Gets a Controversial Paint Job

River City gets a paint job (via Curbed):

A month after closing a massive deal to deconvert River City’s 449 condos into rental apartments, a team of developers unveiled plans to renovate the iconic 1986 Bertrand Goldberg-designed structure with a new entrance, lobby, and communal spaces. Some preservationists, however, are not pleased with the changes.

A joint venture of the Wolcott Group, Marc Realty, and Ruttenberg Gordon Investments tapped Blue Star Properties to design the makeover, which includes new residential amenities such as a party room, coworking spaces, and an outdoor terrace with grilling stations, bocce ball, shuffleboard courts, and a dog run.

We understand the sentiment of the preservationists, but also understand to make the building more modern and desirable from a commercial standpoint.

The post goes on to state that the new River City apartments are set to welcome its first residents in March.

As a reminder there was a ton of controversy related to River City being deconverted from condos to apartments.  That officially happened in 2018 and here we are in 2019 talking about the building finally being open for the new residents. 

#ShotsAroundTheSloop: Nowhere to Sit

Two Robberies Target Canada Goose Wearing Victims in Chinatown

It's cold. You're bundled up.  But beware because you could be a target (via Chicago Tribune):

It’s freezing in Chicago, and it’s open season on Canada Goose — not the water birds, the brand of super-warm coats that are ubiquitous on city streets in spite of their roughly $1,000 price tags.

Over the past two weeks, Chicago police have reported a spate of robberies in which people wearing the coats (and at least one wearing a fake) have been targeted and forced to give up their jackets.

Around 8:30 Wednesday night in the 2100 block of China Place, surveillance video captured a 54-year-old man being punched and robbed by two men who jumped from a white Mercedes sedan, showed a gun and forcibly took his Canada Goose coat and wallet. Twenty minutes later, men in a light-colored sedan accosted a 23-year-old man walking with a friend in the 200 block of West Cullerton Street, showed a gun and demanded his Canada Goose coat.

Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) Signs on Prestigious International University to Coalition

More news on DPI (via Crains):

The budding Discovery Partners Institute in the South Loop got an important push today as officials from its parent University of Illinois announced an "international partnership" with the famed Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a major research hub whose founders included Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud.

But though the alliance with a school noted for producing Nobel laureates will provide some glitz, officials still are vague on when they will produce the promised hundreds of millions and perhaps billions of dollars in private capital needed to match up to $500 million in available state capital.

While this is positive news, the article plainly states that they still needs private investment:

So far, the institute has lined up $300 million in "non-state" funding, Killeen said. Most of that is from universities and "not enough yet" from private companies interested in tapping the U of I’s research and development abilities, but, "We have a lot more coming." Killeen did not say when or how much.

The U of I chief did say that a formal written agreement with Related, which has agreed to donate property for DPI if U of I and partners build it, is "in a third draft" and likely to be competed "in month or so." Signing an agreement would be taken by some as a definite sign of progress.

Stay tuned...

Flo & Santos Delicious "Flying Pork Wings" Get Some Love from Bloomberg

Bloomberg talks about the "Pork Wing" trend and references one of our favorite dishes in the Sloop:

No, pigs don’t have wings, but that’s not stopping restaurants from selling them.

Although chicken wings have long been a game-day staple, non-wing wings are poised to become the surprise star at this year’s Super Bowl as chains like Pizza Hut and Hooters stock up on cheap protein. Boneless chicken wings -- generally made from breast meat -- have been gaining space on menus for years, and now pork wings are joining the ranks. Restaurants are finding that Americans are longing for convenient and non-traditional snacks, and wingless wings seem to fit the bill.

Pig Wings from Pioneer MeatsSource: Pioneer Meats Flo & Santos pub and eatery in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood can attest to their appeal. It’s had pork wings on the menu since opening eight years ago. Chefs toss the “flying pork wings” in buffalo, barbecue or teriyaki sauce, and five of them go for $14.

“They’re an easy sell. It’s something unique, something you can share,” General Manager Nicki Piersanti said. “Pork wings -- it’s funny -- pigs can’t fly.”

Mouth watering....

29-Story Highrise Proposed for 717 S. Clark Street

In case you missed it last week, looks like another big residential project is headed for the Printers Row neighborhood (via Curbed):

The redevelopment of the former Palmer Printing site in Chicago’s Printer’s Row neighborhood came into clearer focus this week at a public town hall meeting hosted by 4th Ward Alderman Sophia King. 

Monday night’s presentation revealed details as well as a single rendering of a 29-story residential tower developer CMK Companies plans for 717 S. Clark Street—a site currently occupied by a low-rise commercial building and adjacent parking lot. The glassy proposal from Chicago-based Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture calls for 349 dwelling units and 96 parking spaces.

CMK has made it's mark all over the Sloop and this specific building looks like most of their others.  Modern, glassy but nothing to stop you in your tracks. 

The one thing that caught our attention about the rendering above was the area on the south side of the building (right part of the picture).  It sort of looks like a multi-level retail strip.  Not sure if that's what it is, but that could be an interesting addition to the stretch.

This building is going in where the last printing shop in Pritners Row called home - Palmer Printing.  They announced last January that they were moving.  Unsurprisingly, the space was gobbled up for more residential.

MLK Everybody!

#ShotsAroundTheSloop: Snowed In

(Hat tip: SR!)

Elite Eye Car Moving into Former Poke Roll Space at 555 S. Dearborn

Looks like the former Poke Roll restaurant space is becoming

As a reminder Poke Roll closed up shop in the summer of 2018.

(Hat tip:  VC!)