Chicago Skyscraper Developers Adjust to Work-From-Home Era
We love working from home the way a Sox fan loves a bar fight. But not everyone has the luxury of a private balcony from which they can watch a hawk disassemble a pigeon on the roof of the Bankers Building during a Zoom meeting. Some Chicago developers are making changes to their buildings in order to make them more attractive to those who find themselves suddenly without offices or classrooms. The latest is NEMA Chicago, the...
Shocking Developments at Navy Pier. If You’re a CTA Bus.
Some people are content to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic working from home in their sweatpants. Others crave returning to the office. Sometimes because this much family time is too much family time, or as a co-worker recently confided in a Teams meeting — paying for his own coffee is getting really expensive. If you’re among those who plan to resume shaving and bathing soon, you may return to work on a Chicago Transit Authority...
The Biggest Tourist Attraction in Chicago (and Illinois) Will Close
Navy Pier, which has delighted millions of tourists and local for a quarter of a century will soon be shut down. Even to joggers. The non-profit that runs Navy Pier has announced all of its operations will shut down temporarily after Labor Day. Navy Pier (Courtesy of YoChicago!) Yes, it’s virus-related. But no, it’s not about the refusal of some people to social distance on the lakefront or the questionable mask etiquette...
A Paucity of Paper Pushers Prompts Property Pivot to Public Pupil Pods
Some days it seems like there are more pigeons than people in The Loop. With so many office workers pounding keyboards at home these days, the Optima Signature tower in Streeterville is left with two floors of offices sans purpose. Its solution is to offer those offices to students, instead. The Optima Signature tower in Streeterville (Courtesy of Optima Signature) For a price between $1,800 and $2,400 a month, parents can rent the...
Locusts Descend, Loot and Plunder Downtown Chicago — Again
For the second time this summer, organized bands of thugs set upon downtown Chicago, pillaging the neighborhoods that make up the heart of the city. Downtown Chicago looting, August 10, 2020 The first time was May 30th, during the initial wave of protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Back then, while Chicago Police were busy with legitimate protesters, organized gangs of criminals hit The Loop, North Michigan...
One Vote Means Two New Skyscrapers for Chicago
While you count down your final days in quarantine pretending to pay attention to work conference calls while scrubbing the grout, giving the dog a bath, and watching reruns of Press Your Luck (no whammies!), the steady march of skyscrapers through City Hall continues unabated. Today, Chicago City Council approved a project that will alter the city’s skyline in a delightful way. March 2020 rendering of 400 North Lake Shore...
Navy Pier Plan Has CTA Buses Feeling All Tingly
If this was a certain recently-defunct real estate blog, we would use the headline “REVEALED: CTA’S SHOCKING PLAN FOR NAVY PIER!” But we’re not. We’re a certain been-reporting-on-Chicago-for-17-years-and-don’t-engage-in-clickbait publication. So that’s why we’ll just tell you that the Chicago Transit Authority has a cool idea for an electric bus charging station at Navy...
Two Tower Project To Replace the Chicago Spire Goes to Plan Commission With An Unusual Condition
The 35-year saga of 400 North Lake Shore Drive may finally come to a conclusion soon, as this week the Chicago Plan Commission is scheduled to consider the latest proposal for the property on the northwest corner of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. March 2020 rendering of 400 North Lake Shore Drive (Courtesy of Related Midwest) The location is perfect for a prominent, eye-catching trophy tower, and even in the mid-1980’s...
Chicago’s New Second-Tallest Building Gets Plan Commission Approval
The biggest thing to hit Michigan Avenue since Cap Streeter’s 35-ton steamboat has been approved by the Chicago Plan Commission. Tribune Tower East is now passed the hardest parts of its approval process, and will soon be legally permitted to climb 1,442-feet into the Chicago skyline. November 2019 rendering of Tribune Tower East (via CIM Group) In spite of numerous tweaks over the last year, up top the CIM Group and Golub...
Virus Not Slowing Down 113-Story Michigan Avenue Tower
If you’ve had ants in your pants for the last few days, it may not be a build-up of nervous anxiety from being locked in your home by the COVID-19 outbreak. It might be your spidey sense telling you that something big is afoot at 421 North Michigan Avenue. That’s where CIM Group is trying to put up a 113-story skyscraper in what used to be the Chicago Tribune’s parking lot. The plan for the 1,442-foot-tall...
