Hotel Tower Planned For 150 East Ontario. Again.
If at first, or second, or third, or fourth you don’t succeed, try try again. That seems to be the motto of the lonely loam at 150 East Ontario Street, which has been trying to sprout a skyscraper since the height of Gold Coast fashion was leg warmers, scrunchies, and chunky Kenneth Jay Lane jewelry underneath your Freezy Freakies. March, 2021 rendering of 150 East Ontario. (Via the Office of Alderman Brendan Reilly.) The...
New Hotel Opens on Navy Pier
Since the South of France is not going to happen for you this Spring, maybe it’s time to consider a little post-COVID staycation action. To that end, a new hotel, called Sable at Navy Pier has opened — you guessed it — at Navy Pier. And unlike those gasthauses that proudly proclaim “Mag Mile” in their titles even though they’re actually half way to Sheridan, this hotel is actually on Navy Pier. Image of Sable...
Trib Tower Condo Progress Fuels Speculation
It’s been 18 months since we last showed you the back side of Tribune Tower. Back then, the venerable skyscraper was being gutted by skid steers, and a tailings pile of bricks and sorrow was growing in the parking lot facing North Cityfront Plaza. Tribune Tower under construction in March, 2021. (Courtesy of Streeterville Spy Jody.) Today, we see a very different scene, according to these photos that Streeterville Spy Jody...
Trib Tower Rock Tally Down to 149, As One Piece Moves to the Suburbs
Eight years ago, we received an e-mail from a teacher asking for a list of all of the stones embedded in the facade of the Tribune Tower. Neither she, nor we, were able to find a full list on the internet, so we spent half a day wandering around what was then the home of the Chicago Tribune, jotting down the rocks. The resulting article, listing all 149 rocks, is now our fifth-most-read article, with over 13 million views. Tribune...
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...
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Loop Skyscraper Stalled, Blames COVID May 2, 2021 -
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