City-dwellers love to rag on big box stores. They’re large and ugly and kind of dehumanizing. They require vast seas of surface parking. They sell the antithesis of the idealized urban shopping experience, in which a shopper on foot might hit multiple locally owned specialty shops for her hardware, her art supplies and her bubble bath.
What’s there to possibly like about the big-box alternative?
Well, here is one factor urban critics may not have considered: What if in-town big box stores encourage people to drive less? That is, after all, a major policy objective of smart growth. Plenty of people who don’t want a big box store in their midst still drive 20 miles to get to one. Why not cut out those unnecessary emissions? And if you could go to a Sam’s Club once a month instead of a Safeway every week, wouldn’t that get people out of their cars more, too?
“Everyone I've talked with is smitten by what they've seen of the building. The financial situation behind it? Not so much.Projections of continued enrollment growth were used to justify the debt load and escalating multimillion dollar annual payments. According to one of its own brochures, the university was projecting‘a 50 percent increase in the number of full-time equivalent students at the Chicago campus between 2007 and 2017.’
But that’s not how it's worked out so far. In 2008, the total number of students (part- and full-time, on both campuses) was 7,692,an all-time high. Then both enrollment and, to a lesser extent, credit hours took a dive. From 2008 to 2011, the total number of students fell 14 percent.”
With big apartment developments already under way in River North and Evanston, Amli Residential is working up plans for its third local one, a two-tower 398-unit project in the South Loop.
Amli CEO Greg Mutz confirms that the Chicago-based developer has signed a contract to buy the 3.5-acre site at the southwest corner of Clark and Polk streets, where it would build the project, just north of a 440-unit apartment building it owns.
“We really want to start this thing this year,” Mr. Mutz says. “We think the South Loop has a lot of upside.”
Chinatown is so close to the South Loop, it would be a shame if you didn't go and experience it every so often. While it can be slightly daunting to find the right dish or restaurant, we recently read a great post from Serious Eats Chicago giving some helpful advice:Four years ago, I didn't really understand the allure of Chinese food. Most of my experiences were with American-Chinese buffets, where items were mostly gloppy, sweet, and one dimensional. Then I took one bite of Tony's Three Chili Chicken at Lao Sze Chuan and haven't been the same since. Suddenly I realized that there was this whole world of Chinese food that I'd never known, and that it was my duty to learn more.It's a helpful read for the Chinatown novice and we're still drooling over the picture above.
Hi Sloopin,One my new years resolutions is to give back more, so I have been looking for some place to volunteer. I am not aware of many organizations that are active in the neighborhood and I'm hoping that you and your readers can help. As a working professional, I am looking for something that has evening or weekend volunteer hours. I tried looking at Chicago Cares but they didn't seem to have much in our neighborhood. I like the idea of working at children, immigrants or adult education, but really I'm open to anything. Are there any volunteer opportunities that I can try?
It's a common fact - city living usually means parking headaches. That seems to be true in the South Loop as we constantly hear horror stories and frustration. However, Alderman Fioretti seems to want to try to improve this usually painful topic according to the Chicago Gazette:There soon may be five residential parking zones for the South Loop based on an ordinance by 2nd Ward Alderman Robert Fioretti.
“This ordinance reflects the findings of a long-term analysis by the Chicago Department of Transportation,” said Fioretti. “Currently there are too many different parking zones in the South Loop,” he continued. “The current residential parking plan has created confusion and has been difficult to understand. In addition, the entire process is cumbersome, with many of the residents having to obtain letters from my office in order to purchase the parking permits.
Zone One: Congress Parkway (north boundary) to Roosevelt Road (south boundary) and the Chicago River (west boundary) to Lake Shore Drive (east boundary).
Zone Two: Roosevelt Road (north) to 18th Street (south) and from the Chicago River (west) to Michigan Avenue (east).
Zone Three: Roosevelt Road (north) to 18th Street (south) and Michigan Avenue (west) to Lake Shore Drive (east).
Zone Four: 18th St. (north) to Stevenson Expressway (south) and Clark St. (west) to Michigan Ave. (east).
Zone Five: 18th St. (north) to Stevenson Expressway (south) and Michigan Ave. (west) to Lake Shore Dr. (east), excluding McCormick Place.
Here are some preliminary drawings showing the proposed design/layout for the Mariano’s looking to go on the corner of 17th & Clark (drawings attached, page 6 shows the best building design shots). They are stating a 6/1/12 construction start date, but unfortunately there are still in the conceptual/prelim pricing stage.
