Chicago Reaching for the Sky

[stache]

There's no point in being bitter about this.

[NewYorkDoc]

Grant Park 3 and the Waldorf Astoria are simply amazing!

[lbjefferies]

There's no point in being bitter about this.


Who is bitter? I do think it's funny however, that this silly little list, obviously meant to surprise people, has some people from Chicago positively giddy. I think this is the second time in as many days someone has referenced it to prove that Chicago not only compares with New York, but compares favorably. It is a "study" that, in fact, is quite easy to ignore.

[stache]

If only the same were true about you. ;)

[BVictor1]

Who is bitter? I do think it's funny however, that this silly little list, obviously meant to surprise people, has some people from Chicago positively giddy. I think this is the second time in as many days someone has referenced it to prove that Chicago not only compares with New York, but compares favorably. It is a "study" that, in fact, is quite easy to ignore.

Only people who don't agree with it think it's a silly little list.

People in Chicago are mostly indifferent to the list and if you click the link posted, you'll be able to read comments that people have posted. As you can see by actually reading the article, it's referring design, planning and architecture not what city is better overall than another.

[lbjefferies]

/\/\/\

I clicked the link, and I'm sorry I wasted the time. The rankings seem to be be based on categories chosen by blindfolded pigeons. And in spite of the fact that New York destroys Chicago in nearly every measurable way, they went with the massive upset because the air quality is better and Chicagoans seem less cynical about their built environment. Rah rah rah!

[BVictor1]

Yeah, well you're just one of several haters on this board.

And while you may not take much stock in the survey, I'm sure that there are other's who will do the same thing about your opinion.

[stache]

^ White man speaks truth!

[BVictor1]

One Museum Park

07/02/08
https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2008/07/629851.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2008/07/629852.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2008/07/629854.jpg

[Alonzo-ny]

I pray for the day a sensible NY comparison with Chicago discussion takes place, if you dare to speak out against this list, which is being treated as if it was recieved on Mt. Sinai by the way, you are just a hater? Give me a F-ing break.

[BVictor1]

^^

Now you know good and well how many people on this forum trash Chicago.

Whenever a positive article comes out, someone has something to say.

I didn't say that the list was written in stone like the 10 Commandments, but an occasional ounce of respect and the occasional admission that Chicago might actually do something better than New York would be nice.

[BVictor1]

300 North LaSalle

07/02/08
https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2008/07/629863.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2008/07/629858.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2008/07/629860.jpg

[lbjefferies]

I love the glass on that one.

[stache]

Yes, it is nice.

[TREPYE]

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2008/07/629852.jpg


The massing is awesome. Well proportioned, unlike some of the stupid disproportioned massings we endure here in NYC; a la 1 chase plaza, 55 water, 1 penn plaza, or the prospective (just grotesque) 4 WTC.

[lbjefferies]

/\/\/\

I was thinking the exact opposite. I think it is absolutely awful. In fact, I am baffled by the fact someone can actually think it isn't awful. This is a heaping pile of excrement next to 1 Chase. It's every bit as bad as 55 Water.

[Jake]

an occasional ounce of respect and the occasional admission that Chicago might actually do something better than New York would be nice.

I quite like Chicago's skyline and I don't really think the two cities are comparable due to the completely different setup of financial districts and land shape. So here, I'll admit it, Chicago does do some things better than New York and most of us fully respect Chicago.

I don't really see the point of "trashing" any city in the US, this isn't the 19th century with some kind of fanatic support for one's city, many of us have lived in other cities besides New York and Chicago anyway.

And the the poster above, I don't think you'll find much love for One Chase Manhattan Plaza on this forum. I think some see it as an abomination. haha

[Derek2k3]

/\/\/\

I was thinking the exact opposite. I think it is absolutely awful. In fact, I am baffled by the fact someone can actually think it isn't awful. This is a heaping pile of excrement next to 1 Chase. It's every bit as bad as 55 Water.

It's far from perfect but comparing it to 55 Water Street is a bit extreme.

[BVictor1]

Conservatory Tower
Chicago, Illinois
Conservatory Tower aspires to set a precedent for environmentally sensitive tall buildings in Chicago’s urban context. The 1.1 million sf project is composed of two distinct yet complementary components, a conservatory or enclosed winter garden, and an 80 story hotel and condo tower rising above.
The 28,000 sf winter garden is enclosed by a high efficiency glazing system, protecting a lush landscape and occupants from inclement weather, noise and air pollution, while optimizing natural air ventilation. The tower’s thin profile makes full use of natural light, while minimizing heat gain during summer months and shadow effect on neighboring spaces. Natural light can reach the interior spaces, reducing energy consumption year round. Topping the tower is a Sky Garden containing a number of condominium amenities and an enclosed garden.

http://www.scb.com/images/project/415/Conservatory_Tower_071108_22x34_Page_1.jpg

http://www.scb.com/images/project/415/Conservatory_Tower_Base1_Page_2.jpg

[BVictor1]

300 N. LaSalle

08/02/08
https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2008/08/637383.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2008/08/637384.jpg

https://community.emporis.com/images/6/2008/08/637385.jpg

[joe25]

I'll admit that something in the way of improvement to the existing plaza would be greatly welcome, but I really am not fond of this proposal for a second skyscraper on the Sears Tower site. In particular, the such sharp juxtaposition of designs just looks unpleasant. Also, it destroys a perfectly good (and quite common) street-level vantage point of Sears Tower. I think I'd need to see some other renerings before making a final judgment of its aesthetic merits however.

--Randall

Not to mention, killing the view for some people in the sears tower

[SolarWind]

August 6, 2008

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/300/dscy0083zk8.jpg

[NYC4Life]

It's facade matches the color of the Chicago River.

[BVictor1]

Not to mention, killing the view for some people in the sears tower

That's at the bottom rung of importance.

[NYCboy1212]

NYC comes back

[Kris]

NYCboy, welcome to the forum.

This thread is about Chicago highrise development. Please stay on topic.

[Zephyr]

http://www.chicagomag.com/images/logo.gif

http://www.chicagomag.com/images/DE_Plate.gif


Aug 20, 2008
Housing Bulletin—Good News for Chicago Condos
By Dennis Rodkin

With all the reports (including many from Deal Estate) about a vast inventory of unsold condos, it’s a surprise to learn that urban condos are the best-performing part of Chicago’s six-county real-estate market. In the latest release of local market information by the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR), the median price of a home dropped in five counties and stayed flat in Cook County. The declines ranged from 1.9 percent in Lake County to 12.4 percent in McHenry County.

But that August 13th IAR report, which compares data from the second quarter of 2008 to the same period in 2007, separated condo sales from single-family home sales—and the difference was dramatic. In April, May, and June of this year, condos in Cook County sold for 9.6 percent more than they had during the same months in 2007. Single-family homes sold for 12.3 percent less. (The report does not separate Chicago condos from condos in other parts of Cook County, but by far the largest share of condos is in the city — and sales of condos in the city probably helped account for the fact that home prices in Chicago were up 5.1 percent in the second quarter.) So while there may be way too many condos for sale in the city—a report out Tuesday from Appraisal Research Counselors said that downtown Chicago neighborhoods alone had 5,867 unsold condos in the second quarter—they are, for now, the rare part of the real-estate market where the arrow points upward.

Jim Kinney, the president of Rubloff Residential, suggests that significant changes at both ends of the price ladder are making this happen. Because mortgage lending has tightened up, Kinney says, the number of first-time buyers has plummeted. “They’re not dragging down the middle of prices,” he explains. At the same time, some of the big-ticket downtown condo buildings have come online, delivering on sale contracts that were written as much as two or three years ago. That means both the lower and the upper ends of the price range are rising—leading to a higher middle.

During the second quarter, several new condo buildings had sales for $1 million or more, which exerted a strong upward pull on the median price. They included 505 McClurg Court (AKA, the Parkview); 600 North Fairbanks, a Helmut Jahn design; 310 South Michigan, the old Encyclopedia Britannica building; 600 North Lake Shore Drive; and 420 East Waterside. “Delivery of these higher-end buildings skews the [overall] price,” Kinney notes.

One building in particular—340 on the Park, which overlooks Millennium Park from the north side of Randolph Street—played a big role in lifting the area’s aggregate condo price. From April to June, there were nine sales there for $1 million or more, according to Midwest Real Estate Data. That’s down from 14 sales in the prior quarter, so the boost provided by this one building may be diminishing. (So far in the third quarter, there have been five sales over $1 million in the building.)

How long will condos maintain this upward momentum? Hard to say, but Appraisal Research Counselors’ new report provides two indicators. The report notes that 2008 will turn out to be the peak for new downtown condo deliveries, with a small drop in 2009 and very little other than the Chicago Spire set to deliver in the three years after that. But the $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers in the new federal housing stimulus package may bring back a crop of first-time, low-price condo buyers. That would be a good thing, of course, because it would move some lower-priced inventory off the market. But on the negative side, it would lower the aggregate price of all area condos sales.


Copyright 2008 Chicago Magazine (http://www.chicagomag.com/Radar/Deal-Estate/August-2008/Housing-Bulletin-Good-News-for-Chicago-Condos/)

[spyguy999]

Not the tallest or the greatest building, but fairly nice for a pretty inexpensive hotel.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5429/withotelu.jpg
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/7493/35820190031d76592acfo.jpg
Photo credit (http://www.flickr.com/photos/26554581@N00/3582019003/)

[stache]

I like it!

[spyguy999]

^Yes, it's called Roof.

Sitting atop TheWit hotel on the 27th floor, Roof is chicago’s unparalleled stargazing destination. A 7,000-square-foot glamorous, year-round indoor/outdoor lounge, Roof offers stunning city views, roaring fire pits, handcrafted cocktails, live music, and most exhilarating of all: a suspended, glass-enclosed table for eight that literally dangles 27 floors above the city.

[scumonkey]

nice-Sure beats getting a McSam!

[spyguy999]

300 N LaSalle (completed)
From Pickard Chilton:
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8255/40553586.jpg
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1791/11228835.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1920/36550220.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1552/48921612.jpg

From Kendall Heaton:
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/4595/25239028.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8335/96597565.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/7416/55350040.jpg

[stache]

Too bad about the Waterview - :(

[Luca]

Even realizing the extremely flattering choice of light conditions, etc., I have to admit that the La Salle building looks pretty good. After all the deconstructed/funny shape sh!t of these years, all of a sudden a relatively simple 'box' looks... clean.

[ablarc]

A return to the classics.

Or is it the basics?

Oh ... they're the same thing.

[Alonzo-ny]

It would be better if it rose straight up next to the river like its neighbour.

[Reaktor 4]

What is with the excessive amounts of city bashing in this thread?

As a resident of Chicago whose partner in crime lives in NYC, I can say that both are wonderful cities, with their own wonders and flaws. They're very unique cities and I wish there was more of a camaraderie between them, rather than harsh competition.

New York is an amazing city, with an energy that can be felt upon arrival, and a style that is unique to itself. To hold Chicago up to comparison is like criticizing a horse for not flying. The presence of tall buildings does not mean they should be viewed as warring tribes. Neither city is better than one or the other. They are different cities, both with similar qualities, but still different, and they are both equally worthy of being appreciated.


I apologize that my first post on this forum is aimed at a topic that has been derailing this thread, but I just felt this was important to say.

Think of it this way: By hating upon another cities development, you basically become a friend of that cities NIMBY douche-lords. Redirect the hate to our common enemy!

[stache]

I have lived in both and NY is better.

[spyguy999]

From SCB:

50 E Chestnut
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5166/49215214.jpg
Parkview West
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2465/25456670.jpg
http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/8565/67627955.jpg

[spyguy999]

Spertus Museum

Krueck + Sexton:
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7413/86830143.jpg
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9128/15157694.jpg
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/3360/61014294.jpg

[Alonzo-ny]

The NYC v Chicago topic hasn't been active for a long time now. If you really need to re-awaken it there is a thread with that title, don't use this one.

[Reaktor 4]

Was hardly reawakening the topic. I think stache's remark goes more to that effort than mine.

[stache]

Try not to get your panties in a twist about it, and welcome to the board.

[OmegaNYC]

^^^ Ouch.....

[Reaktor 4]

Try not to get your panties in a twist about it, and welcome to the board.

Shhhh

[Alonzo-ny]

Great picture by cbotnyse at SSC:

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f21/cbotnyse/my%20photos/Image13.jpg

[spyguy999]

BCBS - 25 story vertical addition - 743 ft
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3900/4027813931f20e0cc354b.jpg
Laurie Chipps/ flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluebike/4027813931/)

[Derek2k3]

743'?
The building must be massive and its neighbors must be quite tall also.

[lofter1]

The additional 25 stories looks to be a view killer for those who bought up high in the Aqua:

AQUA - Chicago - by Studio Gang Architects (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16554)

[BVictor1]

The additional 25 stories looks to be a view killer for those who bought up high in the Aqua:

AQUA - Chicago - by Studio Gang Architects (http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16554)

Not really. It was never a secret that BCBS was going to be adding 25 more floors. In fact, there is a tower planned for the space betweenAqua and BCBS that might have a school at the base. This is one reason why the balconies were designed the way they were, to help maxamize views.

[Citytect]

How much do you think the wave pattern balconies help to maximize views? Can't be much and only if you're standing on the railing. Sounds more like a marketing ploy to me.

[wrab]

How much do you think the wave pattern balconies help to maximize views? Can't be much and only if you're standing on the railing. Sounds more like a marketing ploy to me.

S/G mapped out the view corridors of the tower very early on in the project, using city models and string to determine the primary and secondary sightlines and then sculpting the balconies accordingly. The balconies really do bump out the footprints of the units.

For instance, a south-facing unit on the 60th floor that would otherwise only allow views of the BCBS tower in front of it might now gain a view of Grant Park or of the Lake. The balconies have been placed to allow sightlines between buildings and/or at oblique & right angles.

One does of course need to be on the balcony to get the privileged views.

Not the best example, but this pic from S/G shows how a south-facing unit might gain a view through adjacent buildings to the East and the Lake:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/wjcordier/3944513367_26e53d9bb9_o.jpg
http://www.studiogang.net/projects_e1.htm