CBS2: Auditorium Theatre Eager to Host 2015 NFL Draft

If you read Sloopin or just are up-to-speed on Chicago news, you probably know that the 2015 NFL draft is moving from New York to Chicago.  You probably also know that the Auditorium Theater at Congress and Wabash is the lucky venue that will play host.  CBS2 has a quick piece (click for video)

Bold and Unique Lucas Museum Renderings Unveiled

Renderings of new Lucas Museum (via Gizmodo)

When word came out that George Lucas chose Chicago and Museum Campus to house his new museum we figured it would be something unique and interesting.  What was unveiled last night were both of those, but also will probably spark even more extreme adjectives.

Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin sums it up nicely:

If you expected filmmaker George Lucas to give Chicago a low-slung museum that would slip quietly into the fiercely contested ground of the city's lakefront, I have news for you: You expected wrong.  

A conceptual plan for the proposed Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, revealed Monday, sketches a far more ambitious vision from the "Star Wars" creator: A curvaceous, nearly windowless mountain of a building, topped by a glassy observation deck that would resemble a flying saucer.

Not surprisingly the big reveal has caused quite a stir across the interwebs.  While Kamin seems relatively neutral at this stage, the website Gizmodo paints a more positive view on the concept while Greg Hinz of Crain's hates it.  There will most likely be a lot of additional opinions flying around about the mountain with a flying saucer at the top (pun intended).

In my view, the structure makes a bold statement and again could continue to push Chicago into the forefront of progressive architecture.  On the other hand, the ginormous structure seems amazingly obstructive and uninviting (if we can draw a conclusion from a couple of pictures).

Depending on your view of the project in general, these renderings probably give you more fuel to vehemently defend your position.  Opponents will pan the renderings as providing another "mountain" between Chicago and its precious lakefront.  Supporters will applaud the new "art-chitecture" that is being privately funded and improving the lakefront.

There are some thing we like.  It incorporates a lot of public space and sweeping views of the city.  It also references an amphitheater which seems promising.  What these write-ups don't go into depth about is the landscaping and pedestrian bridge that is supposed to link this new area with Northerly Island.  Hope that is not going away.

Anyway, should be interesting how this plays out.

What do you think?  Is this new design a winner or a loser?

View of Museum looking Southwest (via Gizmodo)

Closeup of entrance (via Gizmodo)

Oh and let the jokes begin (note that these aren't very good...but we tried):

Soldier Field Aliens Finally Convince Fans to Join Them in Chicago

Kids in Chicago Rejoice as Billionaire George Lucas Creates Amazing Sledding Hill 

Skateboarders Salivate at Opportunity to Drop in to Lucas' New Skate Park on the Lake

(Hat tip:  MP!)

Mago Grill & Cantina Signs Go Up at Roosevelt Collection

It appears that another restaurant has signed a lease at Roosevelt Collection as signs for Mago Grill & Cantina are now up in one of the vacant retail spaces near the ICON movie theater.

Other two, yet to open restaurants that have been announced for Roosevelt Collection are Chop and Mirai Sushi.  All three restaurants will be positioned on the north side of the complex near the movie theater.

Last we heard Chop was shooting to open in October.  Being that it's November, seems like that date has passed.  So we will wait and see what happens with all three restaurants in regard to timing.

We've never eaten at MAGO, but it appears to be a suburban mexican chain with decent reviews on the interwebs (see Yelp 3.5 stars).  Has anyone been?

Here's a couple pics from what appears to be their South Barrington location (via Yelp):

Shots Around the Sloop: #LastMileBeer 2014

Remember when we posted about the #LastMileBeer at the 2013 Chicago Marathon?  Well here is a follow-up from the 2014 event:

#budweiser #thisbudsforyou #chicagomarathon #boachicagomarathon #lastmilebeer #beer #southloop #chicago #sloop @budweiser @instarunners

A photo posted by Cyrus Dowlatshahi (@cdowlatshahi) on Oct 10, 2014 at 8:39am PDT

(Hat tip: CD!)

Did You Earn a Hat-tip? Get Your Sloopin "Hat Tip" T-Shirt!

Here at Sloopin our amazing readers and contributors make this site what it is today!  Without you and your tips, we would be pretty lame.  While we may never be able to fully repay you, we do what we can by recognizing all of you with a gracious "Hat Tip" and ability to receive a t-shirt for your kindness.

As a reminder, the new Sloopin "Hat Tip" t-shirts are here and for those of you who have recently submitted tips or published posts you're now officially eligible to get your t-shirt. If you see your initials below, please send an email to sloopin@gmail.com to let us know you're going to go to Well Future Pharmacy (1442 S. Michigan) to redeem your shirts:

• MD
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Thanks again for all the tips and keep them coming!

School of Art Institute Buys Large Lot at 609 S. State Street

The one remaining large vacant lot on south State street that's north of Roosevelt has a new owner, which points to some form of new building eventually (via Crains):

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's newest purchase isn't a masterpiece of the artistic canon, but something that's a bit more of a blank canvas.

SAIC, as the school is called, recently paid close to $24 million for a 56,000-square-foot parking lot at 609-673 S. State St., according to a person familiar with the deal. That's almost double the approximately $12.3 million its seller, a venture of Chicago real estate firm JRG Capital Partners LLC, paid for it two years ago, the person said.

SAIC plans a “new, purpose-built school building” on the site, it said in a statement posted to its website.

“The school has not yet identified when or precisely what it will build on the land, but in the short term, SAIC will benefit from the funds received while it remains a parking lot,” according to the statement, which did not specify the address of the acquisition.

As you may recall, at one point this lot was going to be a new YMCA headquarters but that was scrapped back in 2009.

The other currently vacant lot on this stretch (at 9th and State) appears to be moving forward with a plan to build a 30+ story a condo building.

Anyway, it doesn't sound like anything concrete is in the works for the School of Art Institute at this lot, but we will keep our ears open.

The Crains article also talks about how the South Loop has solidified itself as a key hub for students and schools:

The deal is yet another sign of how the South Loop has solidified itself as the key hub downtown for colleges and universities and the development projects that play off of them. 

A gaggle of schools, including Columbia College Chicago, Roosevelt University and others, operate classrooms and have students living in the area. 

More student- and college-fueled projects are on their way. Last week, Chicago developer CA Ventures LLC debuted a new student housing complex called Infinite Chicago at Jackson Boulevard and Wabash Avenue, a few blocks north of SAIC's new property. CA Ventures also is part of a group remaking the historic Old Colony building at Dearborn and Van Buren streets into student housing.  

Dennis McClendon, vice president of development and planning issues for South Loop Neighbors, a community rganization in the area, said it made sense for SAIC to buy the parking lot on State Street for a development. 

“There's no office market for that parcel. The residential market probably doesn't want to be right there, with a site backing up to the el,” he said, referring to the tracks on the east side of the parcel. “Institutional is kind of the perfect use for it, I think, from a real estate standpoint.”

Put It On Clothing Closing at 1319 S. Michigan

Judging by the sign in the window, it looks like Put It On Clothing is closing at 1319 S. Michigan.

It was a nice store, but never really seemed to be busy.

If you recall they opened in April of 2012.  Business Counter is up-to-date.

Could Soil Boring/Sampling at SE Corner of Roosevelt and Michigan Mean Something is Coming?

Rendering of New Building at SE Corner of Roosevelt and Michigan 

A reader writes:

I'm writing to report that soil boring/sampling is being conducted at the Michigan/Roosevelt lot owned by Crescent Heights today. Perhaps the speculation about this site is almost over.

Another reader sent a similar note:

Activity at SE Corner of Roosevelt and Michigan. Today there is a small crew with a mobile drill truck. They appear to be taking soil samples and measuring.

We caution everyone to not get too excited yet.  While this could mean a development is coming, it could also mean little.

For background, there has been a lot of speculation about this lot given it's high profile nature.  Back in 2013 some crazy renderings emerged at skyscrapperpage.com.  Nothing really came to be, but again those renderings surfaced with some additional ones back in June of 2014 - which made it seem more feasible.

We even heard a rumor that the British School of Chicago was eyeing the lot for another location (however that seemed unlikely).

If anyone has anything additional to share please let us know.

It seems like we continue to hear rumors and see "signs" but usually nothing comes to be.

(Hat tip:  BZ and AS!)

South Side Weekly: A Nice Overview of the Sloop's Past, Current and Future

18th Street Pedestrian Bridge (via South Side Weekly - Juliet Eldred)

A good read on the current state of the Sloop via South Side Weekly - although we're slightly biased since I was interviewed (South Side Weekly):

The scene is peaceful, bucolic—it’s hard to believe that it unfolds just blocks from the pulsing commercial center of Chicago. The South Loop, or “Sloop,” as it is commonly called, stretches from the Stevenson Expressway to Congress Parkway and from the lake to the Chicago River. The area has seen waves of affluence and decades of desolation, high culture and heavy crime over the last century. In the past two years, after suffering through the 2008 housing crash, a tight-knit community has begun to spread its roots in the Sloop, reflecting a desire among Chicagoans to live, once again, in a commercial center.

Elephant Room Celebrates 5 Years in the Sloop and Looks to Expand Via IndieGoGo Campaign

Elephant Room, which is a small art gallery at 704 S. Wabash, always seems to have some interesting stuff inside.

It's a nice unique business to have in the neighborhood and they're trying to expand:

Dear Friends, 

We are excited to announce our plans for growth and expansion over the next year, but we need your help to make it happen! We have been operating out of a small gallery storefront in the South Loop for the past 5 years and we are excited about our new opportunities to exhibit in other spaces with dear friends and colleagues. The idea that we can exhibit artists and network all over the city is very exciting and will allow us to continue our mission to bring under-represented artists into the forefront in a more exciting, unique and mobile fashion. 

We have partnered with Fractured Atlas in order to raise the funds necessary to reach these goals and those of our artists through our current IndieGoGo Campaign. Please take a moment to view our video and detailed information here. Check out the perks we're offering as well! 

Thank you for taking the time to check out the campaign and for your support over the last 5 years. Let's keep this going for 5 more! 

Sincerely,
Kimberly L. Atwood
co-owner/director of Elephant Room, Inc.

But don't worry...Kimberly confirmed the current space on South Wabash will continue to be the home base.

Yoga Six to Officially Open for Stretching at Roosevelt Collection Thursday, 10/30

Looks like Yoga Six is opening this week at Roosevelt Collection:

Wanted to let you know that Yoga six opens on October 27th for our soft opening and we are offering complimentary classes from Monday the 27th through Thursday October 30th!  

Our grand opening party is Thursday evening (30th) from 6:30-9:30pm.

This was announced back in April.

Business Counter is updated.

(Hat tip: JV!)

GSLA Hosts Event at Vice District Brewing to Discuss Museum Campus Transportation Study Task Force

If you're looking for something to do tonight, this would probably worth a good brew and a nice conversation on how to improve the Sloop:

What is "The Chicago Cultural Mile"?

Upon walking down Michigan Avenue recently just north of Roosevelt, we noticed a sign we haven't seen or just simply overlooked - it says "Welcome to the Chicago Cultural Mile".

While we've heard of this and even posted about the moniker once (back in February 2013), for some reason the signs surprised us.  Upon doing some digging on the interwebs we found the following from May 2014 (via NBCchicago):

A Chicago not-for-profit organization has transformed part of Michigan Avenue into what they’re calling the “Chicago Cultural Mile” to recognize cultural institutions and historic buildings along the stretch.  

The Cultural Mile starts at the Chicago River and extends south to Roosevelt Road and east to the Museum Campus. On a map, it appears to be an extension of Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile, which begins at Oak Street and ends at the river.  

Bronze signs announcing the boundaries of the Cultural Mile will be placed in medians on Michigan Avenue at Wacker Drive and Roosevelt Road this month. Owners of buildings along that stretch will also be provided with flags bearing the name “Chicago Cultural Mile” to hang from their buildings.

Seems like a nice idea to us and there surely is reason to tout all of the things on this stretch.  Frankly, all of the parks and museums along this stretch are some of the best things about Chicago.

It also seems to us that more and more interesting things are happening on Michigan Ave south of the River.  We give a ton of credit to Millennium Park and all of the tourists and people it has brought to this stretch.  Seems like the "Cultural Mile" is trending upwards.

There is even a website with background and news as well as the map above.

Anyway, it's nice to see the Sloop's stretch of Michigan Avenue get some much warranted love.

Shots Around the Sloop: SNF in the Sloop

(Hat tip: CD!)