CTA to Wicker Park Building: No Fat Bricks
Losing weight is hard. If it was easy, there wouldn’t be an entire industry built around it. But you can’t just call up Weight Watchers and ask Marie Osmond to help you knock a few pounds off an overweight building. Rendering of Alcove Wicker Park That was the dilemma faced by Vermillion Wicker Park LLC recently when it got a letter in the mail from the Chicago Transit Authority. Some smart people did the math...
The New Kid on the Block in Wrigleyville
If you ever get to go to a Cubs game again, you’ll find that the tradition of staggering from the bleachers to the Taco Bell across the street is over. The Taco Bell is gone. In its place a new four-story commercial building is rising on the corner of Addison and the space that used to be the Chicago and Evanston Railroad. 1111 West Addison Under Construction (July 2020, Courtesy of Wrigleyville Spy Joel) Wrigleyville Spy Joel...
Site of One of Chicago’s First Walmarts to Become an Office Building
Remember when there was that cool art supply store right off the CTA Brown Line at Chicago Avenue and then Walmart moved in and the black beret crowd in the neighborhood snapped their Blick Masterstrokes in half when they heard the news? The building that brings back those gentrification flashbacks will soon be a memory. October 2019 rendering of 777 North Franklin A plan has been submitted to the city for a nine-story office...
55-Home Project Breaks Ground in Wicker Park
A new development near the intersection of Milwaukee and Division will bring a little more density to the Polish Triangle area. Alcove Wicker Park consists of a seven-story condo block with 43 homes, plus an additional dozen townhouses. They’re expected to be available next year. Rendering of Alcove Wicker Park (August 2019. Courtesy of @properties.) It’s a Vermillion Development project designed by Hirsch MPG. In line...
Cars Yield To Homes in Lake View East
Chicago and cars have an interesting history together. Both blossomed around the same time, and the early automobile industry left an impression on the city. The first auto race in America was held in Chicago (to Evanston and back). Car racing was a staple in the early years of Solider Field. Some of the South Loop’s best historic architecture is preserved in the showrooms and garages of Auto Row. And there is still a small...
