C.H. Robinson Inks Deal to Lease New Building at Former Gutmann Leather Site
Developer Sterling Bay has landed its first major commercial tenant for its growing portfolio of recently acquired industrial property in Lincoln Park. Crain's reports that logistics giant C.H. Robinson Worldwide has inked a deal with Sterling Bay to lease a new office building that will take the place of the former Gutmann Leather Company site off Webster Avenue. The company will relocate about 1,000 employees to the new three-story, 200,000-square-foot facility near the end of 2018, Crain's reports. While Sterling Bay would not comment about their plans for the neighboring Finkl steel site, the company does expect to break ground on the new facility very soon.
·Lease propels developer's plans for Lincoln Park project [Crain's]
·All previous Finkl steel coverage [Curbed Chicago]
·Lease propels developer's plans for Lincoln Park project [Crain's]
·All previous Finkl steel coverage [Curbed Chicago]
Harry Weese-Designed Riverfront Cottage Scores a Contract
The riverfront townhouse designed by Harry Weese that hit the market last week to much fanfare has already scored a contract. Designed and developed by Weese, the River Cottage townhouse development and its sail-like facade is not only unique looking, but is also unique in the sense that the units are very rarely available. The unit that entered the market last week was the first time in over 25 years that one of the Postmodern, nautical-themed houses went up for grabs. The 4,100-square-foot three bedroom property hit the market last Thursday with an asking price of $2.3 million and went contingent today. We won't know the offer price until the sale closes. However, there's certainly still a chance that the deal could fall through and another buyer could step up to the plate.
Rebuilding a Frank Lloyd Wright House, Piece by Piece
Bachman Wilson House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Image copyright Tarantino Studio; courtesy Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas.
In Bentonville, Arkansas, a house that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for a New Jersey couple more than 60 years ago has been painstakingly reassembled, board by board and pane by pane, overlooking the clear waters of the Crystal Spring. When it opens to the public next month on the lushly wooded 120-acre campus of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, it will be the first Wright house in Arkansas—a delicately preserved later example of the so-called Usonian homes that the architect conceived as models for affordable middle-class living.
How the house came to be in the Ozarks of northwestern Arkansas, some 1,200 miles from where it was first built, is a story that touches on the unforgiving potency of Mother Nature, a couple's untiring effort to restore and preserve an unsung architectural gem, and the ambitions of the Walmart heiress Alice Walton, who founded Crystal Bridges in 2011 with an eye toward establishing it as a destination for fans of American art and architecture.
Fire Claims Yet Another Landmark South Side Church
Extra-alarm fire at Shrine of Christ The King, landmark church in Woodlawn. pic.twitter.com/iUVEIAJ6B4
— CBS Chicago (@cbschicago) October 7, 2015
Woodlawn residents woke up to some very bad news this morning: the Shrine of Christ The King Catholic Church has been devastated by a raging fire. According to DNAinfo, the fire was first detected early this morning around 5:45 a.m. and by 9 a.m., the roof had collapsed. The church had been undergoing a massive and costly restoration effort, which started back in 2008. The scenario is eerily similar to that of the Pilgrim Baptist Church in the Bronzeville, which burned down in 2006 during a lengthy restoration effort. Despite raising money to rebuild, Pilgrim has sat idle ever since. However, Shrine of Christ The King has survived at least one fire before. Church members and representatives tell DNAinfo that they plan to rebuild after this week's catastrophe.
·Blaze Devastates 92-Year-Old Shrine of Christ the King Amid Restoration [DNAinfo]
·Fire heavily damages nearly century-old church in Woodlawn: 'This is devastating' [Tribune]
·Blaze Devastates 92-Year-Old Shrine of Christ the King Amid Restoration [DNAinfo]
·Fire heavily damages nearly century-old church in Woodlawn: 'This is devastating' [Tribune]
What Chicago Would Look Like if the Cubs Won a World Series
With the Cubs preparing for their big wildcard playoff game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, there has been a lot of discussion about how far the Cubbies may be able to go this season. Will the North Side get a World Series title for the first time since 1908? It's not very likely, but many are remaining hopeful. It's no secret that the North Side has been longing for a World Series pennant for decades, and this year's Cubs squad led by Joe Maddon could possibly pull a surprise move on everyone and bring it back to Chicago. If there's anything the Cubs are known for, it's for their legacy of losing. But even if the Cubs just simply make it to the World Series, it's safe to say that Chicago would almost completely implode. This clip (spoiler alert: it's a commercial for a video game) from 2012 depicts what Chicago could look like after the big W, and it's quite fantastic. Yes, it's a commercial and yes, it's a few years old, but there's actually a surprising amount of effort that went into this short video. It may be our year. Back to the Future even predicted it.
Minimalist Hancock Center Condo Looks Like Something From a Coffee Table Book
[Photos: VHT Studios]
This single bedroom condo at the John Hancock Center is a perfect venue for having deep discussions about design with your friends or for just staring at like it's a house featured in a coffee table book. It's so minimalist and slightly bizarre that it's hard to believe that someone may have actually lived there. Just wait until you get to the bathroom though. The broker babble is also pretty excellent as well. Here are a couple of good ones:
"...THE SECOND BEDROOM WAS RECENTLY RENOVATED AND HAS EPITOMIZING GRANDEUR ELEGANCE HIGH ABOVE WATER TOWER."
"THE UNIT HAS VERY ACCOUTERMENT IMAGINABLE , SOPHISTICATED CUSTOM MILLWORK FINISHES, AUDIO VISUAL SYSTEM AND LOTS MORE!"
Aldermen Looking to Regulate Chicago Airbnb Hosts
[Just a few of the Chicago listings on Airbnb.]
A handful of aldermen are looking to clamp down on the unregulated short term rentals through Airbnb, Crain's reports. The service has grown considerably in the last several months, but some aldermen say that it represents an unfair competitive advantage to hotels, and in some cases, Airbnb rentals can simply just be a downright nuisance to some neighbors. Ald. Michele Smith (43rd), Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) and Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) have co-signed a letter to the city's Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection indicating that the city has issued that fewer than 200 vacation rental licenses for short term rentals. Airbnb currently features about 3,000 listings for Chicago alone. Similar to the sharing economy companies like Uber and Lyft that have "disrupted" the cab industry, Airbnb may become the City Council's next target for licensing, taxes and safety inspections.
·Aldermen seek crackdown on Airbnb scofflaws [Crain's]
·Here's how big Airbnb has gotten in Chicago [Crain's]
·Previous Airbnb coverage [Curbed Chicago]
·Aldermen seek crackdown on Airbnb scofflaws [Crain's]
·Here's how big Airbnb has gotten in Chicago [Crain's]
·Previous Airbnb coverage [Curbed Chicago]
Retired Cubs Pitcher Kerry Wood Buys $4.2M Winnetka Mansion
Former Cubs slinger Kerry Wood has officially become a suburbanite. The retired pitcher, who is trying to ditch his Lincoln Park house, recently closed on a six bedroom, 11,000-square-foot mansion in the North Shore suburb of Winnetka, paying $4.225 million for the property, the Tribune reports. Built in 2014, the house is basically still brand new. It features coffered ceilings, custom millwork, a media room, a walnut-paneled office space, a wine cellar and an indoor basketball court. While Wood still hasn't been able to find a buyer for his Chicago house, which is currently listed for $3.25 million, he has decided to move on to bigger digs.
Are You a Minimalist, a Maximalist, or Somewhere in Between?
There's been a shift of late in the design world. Where a kind of minimalism once reigned supreme—a hybrid Japanese-Scandinavianstyle that seemed, ultimately, aimed at making us throw everything out and live like monks—eclectic maximalism has slowly regained its footing.
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Mapping Chicago's 21 Highrises Under Construction Right Now
A year ago when we first put together our first list of the highrises under construction in Chicago, we were stoked that they totaled 14 towers. The number then increased to 18 earlier this year. Today, that number is now 21. There are twenty one highrises currently under construction across the city, which include new hotels, office towers, apartments, and even a couple of condominium projects. It's no secret that the economy is back on its feet, but with the sudden glut of new apartment projects that hit the city, some have wondered if we're currently experiencing a rental bubble to follow up the condo bubble from last decade. There are still many more apartments on the way, especially in the South Loop, but at least now there are one or two condo projects in the mix to prove the industry isn't completely myopic. However, with 14 of the 21 projects on our list being apartment buildings, rentals continue to dominate the field.
Get a Four Bedroom in Lincoln Park's Historic Shakespeare Building for $849K
Lincoln Park is a neighborhood full of luxury residences, and they do come in all shapes, sizes and forms. However, if one wants to experience the old school luxury that helped put the neighborhood on the map, then one only needs to look towards The Shakespeare along Lincoln Park West. Of course, there are stately mansions on Fullerton Parkway and elsewhere in the neighborhood, but this spacious 2,700-square-foot residence is larger than many single family homes. The building's exterior is simply beautiful, in a very classic sense, and this particular unit offers wide views of Lincoln Park (the actual park). This listing is a co-op and not a condo, so monthly assessments are relatively high at $1,211 per month. If you've got the cash, this lovely four bedroom can be had for $849,000.
The Chicago Architecture Biennial Offers Thrilling, Eclectic Overview
A prototype enclosure designed by Selgascano + HelloEverything. Photo by Steve Hall, courtesy Chicago Architecture Biennial.
While discussing her firm's conceptual design for a revamped, community friendly police station, on display now at the Chicago Architecture Biennial, architect Jeanne Gang spoke about the power of designers to enact change and make a difference. Her firm built on that idea with an in-depth look at both the history of police station design and a correspondingly focused solution. It was one of the stronger exhibits at the architecture celebration that just opened last weekend and runs through January 3. It was also one of the most grounded submissions, and not just because of its weighty subject; in a hall with many speculative projects, it stood out.
The New Class of Skyscrapers That Will Forever Change the Chicago Skyline
[The next generation of Chicago skyscrapers.]
This year is shaping up to be quite a transformative one for Chicago's legendary skyline. The economy has rebounded and the real estate market is red hot with people starting to buy homes again and developers proposing new tower projects for the downtown area. Investors aren't as afraid to take risks as they were just a few years ago and there seems to be no end in sight for Chicago's latest building boom. Major companies are moving back to the city from suburban campuses and Chicago's talent pool continues to expand at an exponential rate. It's starting to feel like the good times again, and when there are good times, there are also lots of exciting new projects in the pipeline. Many of the downtown projects proposed in the last couple of years have been for new hotels and apartment towers, however there are a handful of very ambitious skyscrapers that if built, could forever change city's skyline. While a couple of these projects are still in the very early stages, most are moving forward and have either started pre-sales or construction. This next generation of skyscrapers also places a lot of pressure on developer Related Midwest to produce a worthy successor to the failed Chicago Spire project. But enough with the jibber jabber, let's take a look at what's to come.
Permit Data Shows That Chicago New Construction is Booming
Unless you've had your head buried in the sand, it's pretty clear that construction in Chicago has been on the upswing in the last year. The economy has rebounded and Chicago has once again become awash in new construction and renovations to existing structures. Construction permit data portal Chicago Cityscape has graphed out the data behind new construction permits over the last nine years, and the chart reveals that the Windy City is back on the upswing when it comes to new construction.
#ThisPlaceMatters, a Celebration of Personal Landmarks Across America
The Egyptian Theater in DeKalb, Illinois, was the subject of a successful preservation campaign as reopened its doors in 1983. According to the director, everyone in town has some story of either working there in high school, or going there on a first date. Creative Commons photo by Daniel X. O'Neil.
All month long in October 2015, Curbed and the National Trust for Historic Preservation are teaming up on #ThisPlaceMatters, a social campaign highlighting the most beloved places across America. Our motto at Curbed is "Love where you live," which ties in succinctly with the National Trust's mission to highlight everyday buildings and places alongside those officially earmarked for historic preservation. We're looking to you, our readers, to submit photos of your favorite places, preserved or not, via Instagram and Twitter by tagging them with #ThisPlaceMatters.
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Curbed University delivers insider tips and non-boring advice on how to buy or rent a house or apartment.
- The Eternal Debate: Renting vs. Buying
- Inside the All Powerful Condo Association
- Here’s the Lowdown on Mortgages
- On the Topic of Appraisals
- The How-To on Home Inspections
- Making Sense of Brokers' Commissions
- There's Nothing Short About Short Sales
- The Flip: Can You? Should You?
- Curbed’s Guide to Renting in Chicago
- The Weird World of Rental Deposits and Fees
- Documents Needed to Rent an Apartment in Chicago
- Property Research Pointers for Diligent Renters & Buyers
- Using Property Records to Your Advantage
Your answer to the question, "Where should I stay in Chicago?"
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