Goettsch Partners’ Renovation Sets the Stage for Union Station’s Next Act
If you haven’t been by Chicago Union Station in a while, here’s your excuse to make the trip: The renovations are done. This is what the kids call “awesome sauce.” (© Amtrak. Courtesy of Goettsch Partners) Just in time for the landmark transportation hub to be reimagined with a new hotel, restaurants, and a sister skyscraper, Goettsch Partners has announced that work is complete on its renovation of the...
Another Loop Skyscraper Expanding Upward, Getting Open-Air Observatory
We’ve written a number of times about buildings in Chicago that were erected with vertical expansion in mind. 300 East Randolph is the most visible example, but there are others like 168 North Michigan and Union Station. Now another one of The Loop’s skyscrapers is getting a vertical expansion. But you probably won’t notice it unless you work in, or adjacent to, the building in question: Beacon Capital...
Details of Union Station Renovation Show Potential, Complexity
We’re learning more of the nitty-gritty details involved in the Union Station redevelopment recently approved by the City of Chicago. A lot of it is just numbers and trivia, but a few things stand out. The former Harvey House at Union Station will be renovated into a new entrance to the Great Hall from South Clinton Street. But it will also have plenty of leasable retail space. Hopefully this space will end up being another...
You Get a Skyscraper! And You Get a Skyscraper!
In its most Oprah-riffic maneuver since the great Skyscraper-palooza of 2014, the Chicago Plan Commission approved a slew of new skyscrapers for the Windy City. In a series of votes today, the commission approved plans for 18 new towers for downtown Chicago. To put that into a completely inaccurate and meaningless comparison, it’s like Chicago just got Indianapolis added to its skyscraper menagerie. 700 at the River The Plan...
Downtown Chicago Could Get 11 New Skyscrapers This Week
If there’s a skyscraper nerd in your office, don’t be surprised if he calls in sick on Thursday. That’s the day the Chicago Plan Commission considers the largest number of new skyscrapers for downtown Chicago since August of 2014, when four new towers were on the docket. This time, there are 11 major buildings in play: 700 at the River in River West 1,500 total residences 497 car parking spaces Total FAR: 8.1...
Union Station Redev Dumps Ugly Hat, Gains Pretty Tower
The latest plan to turn Chicago Union Station into more than what it currently is has a lot of people breathing a sigh of relief. Riverside Investment and Development, and Convexity Properties dished their new plan for the historic property last night, and it’s a significant improvement over what was previously on offer. The June version of this project featured an ugly, square hat sitting on top of the the city’s best...
Devs Try To Get Union Station Project Back On Track
Remember back in June when plans to redevelop Union Station came out and you were all, “Haven’t we been to this dance before?” Well, you were right to be skeptical. Riverside Investment and Development, and Convexity Properties are back with a new redevelopment plan for Union Station. A move necessitated by 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, who roundfiled the previous proposal. In that plan, a seven-story glass...
Union Station Redevelopment Making Tracks Tonight
The redevelopment of Chicago Union Station (210 South Canal Street) continues to chug along (see what we did there?) and the next step in the process is a public meeting to go over the most recent plans for the 93-year-old transportation hub. It was just about a year ago that Amtrak tapped neighbor Riverside Development to turn the aging, but vital, piece of the city’s infrastructure into something more than it is, and something...
Chicago Union Station Finally Gets Its Towers, Plus a Hotel and More
Riverside Investment and Development has been selected by Amtrak to redevelop its property in Chicago’s West Loop, including the historic Chicago Union Station. In the decade-and-a-half that this blog has been chronicling Chicago’s built environment, Amtrak has put forward a series of increasingly ambitious plans for maximizing its real estate assets in downtown Chicago, which include the station’s...
Amtrak Honored For Union Station Renovations
If you prowl the halls of Congress, you don’t hear a lot of good things said about Amtrak. It’s a popular punching bag among beltway insiders who like to grips about money not spent in their districts. But if you’re a regular Amtrak rider (3k miles this year for me), you’ve probably noticed that things are — slowly, but surely — getting better at America’s largest passenger railroad. One of those...
