Amazon Lease Continues Goose Island's Move Towards Tech
Call it Goose Island 2.0, Silicon Island, Innovation Island or whatever you want—it's pretty clear as this point that Goose Island's transformation from an old heavy industry hub to a tech-focused center is well underway. Last year was a very transformative year as the man-made island scored a major grant to build the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute and was also the focus of two major projects from R^2 Companies (formerly South Street Capital) that would deliver over 635,000 square feet office space for workers in the tech industry. Today, Crain's reported that Seattle-based Amazon has inked a deal to lease a 52,000 square foot warehouse at 1111 N. Cherry Avenue, which will be used as a distribution center to deliver packages within Chicago faster. While packing and shipping consumer goods may not be exactly high tech, the presence of the name Amazon certainly adds to Goose Island's increasing cache of major players moving operations onto the island.
·Amazon.com to put first Chicago warehouse on Goose Island [Crain's]
·Chicago Tops Country for Company Expansions & Relocations for Second Year in a Row [Curbed Chicago]
·Developer Sees Bike-Ped Bridges, Good Design as Keys to Goose Island's Future [Curbed Chicago]
·Previous Goose Island coverage [Curbed Chicago]
·Amazon.com to put first Chicago warehouse on Goose Island [Crain's]
·Chicago Tops Country for Company Expansions & Relocations for Second Year in a Row [Curbed Chicago]
·Developer Sees Bike-Ped Bridges, Good Design as Keys to Goose Island's Future [Curbed Chicago]
·Previous Goose Island coverage [Curbed Chicago]
Landmarks Commission to Discuss Fulton-Randolph Historic District Plan Tomorrow
[Photo via the City of Chicago]
The Commission on Chicago Landmarks will hold a public hearing this week on the controversial Fulton-Randolph Market District landmarking designation, DNAinfo reports. The hearing, scheduled for Thursday morning at City Hall, will give the public an opportunity to respond to the commission's plans to award landmark status to the historic Fulton-Randolph Market District. The contested plan, developed cooperatively by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and the Historic Preservation Division, Department of Planning and Development, will impact approximately 144 properties and 88 contributing buildings.
Gold Coast Mansion Built by Potter Palmer Returns After Two Year Break
A Gold Coast greystone built by the famous Chicago developer and Marshall Field & Company co-founder Potter Palmer has returned to the market after a two year absence. The home, one of a handful built in the neighborhood by Potter, had previously asked $4.5 million, but was eventually chopped down to $3.75 million. However, it returns today with a higher $3.95 million ask. The five-level home has been split up into multiple units, but the listing agents suggests in all caps that the mansion can be "easily converted back to a single family row home." It likely won't be as easy (nor cheap) as the listing agent may suggest, but after looking at these photos, this mutilated home probably wishes that it would be gutted once again.
Examining Nepal's Architectural Legacy After the Earthquake
A sunset behind the temples of Durbar square in Kathmandu from 2010, which was heavily damaged during the quake last Saturday. Photo by Pietro Columba/Creative Commons.
As images of flattened buildings bounce across the Internet, the scale of the humanitarian tragedy left in the wake of the recent Nepal earthquake has begun to take hold. And while the loss of life, and efforts to aid survivors, are paramount, another loss has also begun to reverberate. Nepal's unique position, perched on the roof of the world and at the crossroads of great civilizations, has left the country with an unrivaled and singular architectural heritage with seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites spread out across the Kathmandu Valley, many of which were severely damaged in the quake. "It's just aesthetically stunning," says David Gellner, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford. "It's like going to Rome, history is built into every street corner. This kind of Hindu-Buddhist urban landscape was once much more pervasive. It stretched from Afghanistan to Bali, and now the Kathmandu Valley is where it is. It's like going back in a time machine to see what northern India was like in the first century AD."
How Frank Lloyd Wright Made Prairie Style (and Oak Park, IL) Famous
Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the most important American architects to ever live, and his influence on architecture can still be witnessed to this day. However, long before he was a full-fledged star architect, Wright made a name for himself by designing and building homes in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park throughout the 1880s, 1890s and first decade of the twentieth century. It was during this time that Wright first began to experiment with designs and styles that would eventually become known as the Prairie School of architecture. Wright's first big break was working as a draftsman for the legendary architect Louis Sullivan, who also fronted Wright the money to build his famous home and studio on Chicago Avenue in Oak Park. Wright, who referred to himself as "the pencil in Sullivan's hand," was fired in 1893 after taking a few commissions under the table while employed by Adler & Sullivan. Once he set out on his own, Wright's Prairie style truly began to form, and folks around the country (and the world) began to notice his designs.
Historic Colvin House in Edgewater Hits the Market for $1.2M, Needs Some Love
[Photos: Benjamin van Loon]
Edgewater's Edwin Colvin House at 5940 N Sheridan stands as one of the last remaining lakefront mansions that used to be the face of wealth on Chicago's north side. However, today it can be yours for a cool $1.2 million and a lot of elbow grease. As with any home with a colorful history, this 6,040-square-foot mansion, designed by Prairie School architecture George Maher in 1909 and designated as a Chicago Landmark in 1994, is showing some signs of age. Its distinct design, which blends Prairie and classical American styles, features interior amenities such as three marble fireplaces, a wine cellar, and a pied décor installed by the home's various owners over the years. The exterior, with its broad overhangs and yellow Roman brick cladding on a corner lot, includes a three-car garage attached by an arched port cochere, lending an austere aesthetic to the home. It's a remarkable property described by its listing agent Linda Rodriguez as, "A beautiful woman in the morning who hasn't yet put on her makeup."
Inside Method's Colorful New Soap Making Factory in Pullman
[Photos: AJ LaTrace/Curbed]
Yesterday, the leadership of the soap and cleaning supply manufacturers Method and Ecover officially opened the doors to their brand new $30 million plant on the far South Side. The opening of the new facility is significant on many levels, but particularly so when considering Pullman's long legacy of manufacturing and its role in the early labor movement. However, as the city's downtown continues to boom with new developments, the South Side has had a much different story. The tides are changing for the Pullman neighborhood though, as Alderman Anthony Beale and Mayor Rahm Emanuel indicated that the Method plant is the first new factory to be built on the South Side in nearly 30 years. Started in an apartment in San Francisco, the Method company will produce thousands of cases of cleaning supplies in Chicago per day in a LEED Platinum facility—the only one of its kind in its industry and only one of two in the United States.
Living Off the Grid in a Yurt; Lake Michigan Shipwrecks; More
·Lake Michigan shipwrecks are visible from the air [Smithsonian]
·What you can get for $500,000 in Chicago [Chicago Mag]
·Living off the grid in a yurt on abandoned Chicago land [Reader]
·New Divvy stations popping up in the South Loop [Sloopin]
·Old Lincoln Park dairy and barn lists for $9.25M [Tribune]
·Baltimore solidarity march draws hundreds [DNAinfo]
·What you can get for $500,000 in Chicago [Chicago Mag]
·Living off the grid in a yurt on abandoned Chicago land [Reader]
·New Divvy stations popping up in the South Loop [Sloopin]
·Old Lincoln Park dairy and barn lists for $9.25M [Tribune]
·Baltimore solidarity march draws hundreds [DNAinfo]
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Historic Brick & Limestone Clad Buena Park Mansion Enters Market With $3.6M Ask
Here's a home listing you don't see everyday. The century-old building at 800 West Buena Avenue that currently houses the Smart Love Family Services and preschool is up for grabs and is being marketed as a single family home. Designed by Doerr Brothers Architects and built in 1917, this large three story mansion is centrally located in Buena Park and can be had for $3.6 million. Clad in brick and limestone, the 15,000 square foot mansion still retains many of its original architectural features, and according to a statement from listing agents Renee Greene and Dana Galowich, the home's exterior has remained largely untouched. Certainly, the home, its two story garage and coach house combo and its large adjacent parking lot offer a unique opportunity, and hopefully its next owner will breathe new life into it.
Theaster Gates Bringing Public Art to Two South Side Locations
When the City of Chicago launched its $1 lot program—Large Lots—in 2014, the plan was met with optimism, opportunity, and creativity. It would become a way for the city to empower its citizens to transform neighborhoods. Over the past year, it has done just that, culminating most recently in a free public sculpture garden created by activist artist Theaster Gates in Grand Crossing. As reported by the Chicago Architecture Blog, Gates has entered a lease agreement with Chicago for the parcel at 1245 East 72nd Place, which will be his to lease in perpetuity for $1. Gates has made a name for himself as one of south side Chicago's main artistic proponents.
Sneak a Peek at the New White House China Set Created By Michelle Obama
All photos via Apartment Therapy
On the heels of debuting a redecorated family dining room at the White House, Michelle Obama has unveiled the brand new Obama state china service, which will be deployed for the first time at the Japan State Dinner tomorrow night. The 11-piece place setting, which Apartment Therapy got to preview last week, consists of white china adorned with bands of a white relief pattern featuring pinwheels and palm fronds, matte gold, and a bright "Kailua blue" inspired by the waters seen in President Obama's home state of Hawaii.
After years of planning, the new Logan Square dog park will finally break ground this Friday. Located at 2529 W. Logan Blvd, the construction of the park had been delayed several times due to the higher-than-expected construction bids. [DNAinfo]More than 170 Affordable Housing Units to be Preserved, Built
[The Jeffery Towers Apartments. Photo via by Weese Langley Weese Architects.]
The City of Chicago recently approved financial plans to both create and preserve over 170 units of affordable housing on Chicago's west and south sides. Included in the plans are the upcoming Harvest Homes development at 3512-46 W. Fifth Avenue in Garfield Park, which will consist of 36 units in four, three-story buildings. Harvest Homes Apartments, L.P., will be leading the $12.6 million project. Also included are the 135-unit Jeffery Towers Apartments at 7020 S. Jeffery Boulevard in South Shore. Under the coordination of the Interfaith Housing Development Corporation, the seven-story, 1910-era building will undergo a $17.5 rehab, including the installation of a new boiler, mechanical systems and elevators, restored masonry, and upgraded bathroom and kitchen fixtures. Units in both locations will be made affordable to households earning up to 60 percent of median income in the area.
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