Latest round of city's INVEST South/West program invites developers to revitalize sites in Humboldt Park, South Side: "Hoping to muster developer interest in more neighborhood commercial stretches, city planners are soliciting proposals for two parts of Humboldt Park and property straddling South Shore and South Chicago. The Department of Planning and Development issued the request for proposals as part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s Invest South/West initiative. Responses are due August 31, and officials want to pick winning proposals later this year after getting community feedback." (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Mayor Lightfoot's massive infrastructure plan should be less car-centric and more focused on bikes and transit: "The Chicago Works Five Year Capital Plan offers Chicago an extraordinary opportunity to show how walking, biking, and transit can help spark and sustain an equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic... Unfortunately, the plan also risks missing out on some enormous benefits by taking a business-as-usual approach to transportation. The approach risks letting politically popular projects like car-centric re-paving beat out smart, long-term planning and investment in cleaner, healthier, and safer modes of transportation." (Active Transporation Alliance)
The Goose Island office boom is just getting started: "A wave of new construction is expected along the North Branch and also on Goose Island... After a year of pandemic conditions, companies are not just reassessing how much office space they need, but there could be more of a focus on lower-slung office buildings with outdoor amenities, such as new sections of riverwalk planned for Goose Island and the Lincoln Yards site further north." (RE Journals)
Rotating shopping, dining, entertainment pop-up coming to vacant Medinah Temple in River North: "Following decades as home to events such as the Shrine Circus, and more recently as a sprawling furniture store, the 109-year-old Medinah Temple is ready for a new act with nods to its theatrical and retail past. Building owner Friedman Properties is teaming up with Blue Star Properties to bring a retail, food, and entertainment experience to the city landmark this fall." (Chicago Tribune)
The Medinah Temple building at 600 N. Wabash was built by architects Huehl & Schmid in 1912. The property was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2001 and most recently housed Bloomingdale's home store.Chicago Commission on Landmarks
Chicago's Google HQ is on the market and could sell for $360 million: Google's Midwest headquarters building in the Fulton Market District has gone up for sale, signs that landlords are expecting commercial property sales to pick up soon as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes. Los Angeles-based American Realty Advisors is looking to cash out on the 527,000-square-foot office building at 1000 W. Fulton Market... The 10-story building is expected to fetch bids up to $360 million. [Crain's Chicago Business]
North Center alderman shoots down condo proposal at Chicago Joe's property for lack of density: "Landrosh Development is going back to the drawing board after an alderman and neighbors rejected a plan to build condos at the site of Chicago Joe's [restaurant]... In his rejection letter Ald. Matt Martin cited the recent 47th Ward Irving Park Visioning process where neighbors highlighted their desire to foster a stronger commercial environment along Irving Park Road and the Northcenter Chamber's 2019 plan to add residential density to support local businesses." (Block Club Chicago)
Cinespace studios planing big expansion: "With business so hot he's having to turn some customers away, the owner of Chicago's booming Cinespace TV production center says. He hopes to increase the number of soundstages in the facility almost 50 percent by the end of the year. Cinespace operator Alex Pissios said the recent purchase of an empty industrial building at 19th and Rockwell, just southeast of his main campus, should allow him to add 15 to 19 new soundstages by the fall." (Crain's Chicago Business)
St. Anthony Hospital will redevelop Washburne School site in Little Village into mixed-use complex: "City Council approved the sale of the former Washburne Trade School in Little Village to St. Anthony Hospital Wednesday, making way for a new 32-acre development on the Southwest Side. The Focal Point development will bring a hospital, a vocational school, day care center, public market, affordable housing, restaurants, retail and sports fields to the area. Under the deal approved by the City Council, St. Anthony Hospital will be allowed to purchase the site at the corner of 31st Street and Kedzie Avenue for $ 5 million." (Block Club Chicago)
A rendering of the mixed-use campus proposed for the former Washburne Trade School in Little Village.Focal Point
