Status Update: Four East Elm
It’s not yet a soaring tree in Chicago’s skyscraper forest, but 4 East Elm is slowly growing as erection continues on the edge of the city’s Viagra Triangle district. The Chicago Architecture Blog‘s Daniel Schell stopped by to fix the cable recently and found that so far, it’s just a lot of poured concrete for the parking garage. But a firm, thick base is needed for this new member of the neighborhood....
Approval Expected For New Gold Coast Residential Tower
This week we should find out if Chicago’s Gold Coast will get a new condominium tower. The Chicago Plan Commission is scheduled to take up the plan for 1149 North State Street, a proposed 25-story building at the corner of State and East Elm Street. Although the two-story brick retail building immediately to the north is considered part of the property, it is actually owned by another company and it will not be torn down to...
Nearby Development Is No Salvation For Ogden Plaza
A strip of urine-soaked concrete, and scraggly trees in the heart of Streeterville will remain closer to urban blight than urban paradise for the foreseeable future. Ogden Plaza was reconstructed as recently as 1990 in a design by Lohan Associates. Its centerpiece is a giant clock sculpture by Vito Acconci that counter-intuitively does not function as a sundial. There had been hope that new development bordering Ogden Plaza (429 North...
Neighbors Want Taller Skyscrapers in Streeterville
The new apartment and hotel tower planned for 435 North Park Drive in Streeterville is evolving, and moving closer to reality. Responding to the concerns of neighbors, changes have been made to the as-yet unbranded hotel inside the as-yet unnamed building. For the most part, those changes are minor, and perhaps reflecting the neighborhood’s growing comfort with being the glass tower capital of Chicago, a recent public meeting on...