Landmark Victorian/Tudor Hybrid Relists With Price Chop
The landmark John F. Palmer House in suburban Riverside has returned to the market this week with a price chop. Built in 1895, the house was designed by noted Prairie School architect Joseph L. Silsbee and features a mix of both Victorian and Tudor elements. While it's not been confirmed, there is some speculation that Frank Lloyd Wright, a contemporary and apprentice of Silsbee, may have helped design the house's family room. In its lifetime, the six bedroom, six bathroom house has acted a private residence, a bed and breakfast but is currently being used by nonprofit organizations. Since it was last purchased in 2008, the house has received a new roof, repairs to the porch as well as new plumbing and electrical. The house returned to the market last July with an asking price of $1.799 million but can now be had for $1.499 million — a number that is very close to its last sale price of $1.45 million.
After Second Fire Woodlawn Must Fight Again to Save Church
The Woodlawn community is coming together for the second time in 12 years to save the historic Shrine of Christ The King after the building was ravaged by an October fire -- the second blaze in the building's storied 93-year history. Designed by renowned ecclesiastical architect Henry J. Schlacks, the 1923 church is a fine example of the Renaissance Revival style and features Romanesque columns and a 120-foot spire. After a 1976 fire destroyed much of the interior, the parish made basic repairs but struggled with dwindling numbers until a 2002 decision was made by the Chicago Archdiocese to shutter and demolish the church. Neighbors and preservationists joined forces to save the structure and successfully campaigned for its protective landmarking in 2004. The site was declared a shrine in 2006 and the Institute of Christ the King was brought on to oversee restoration which included work on the building's badly damaged ceiling. But following October's fire and vow from church members to rebuild, the Archdiocese has once again announced their intentions of demolishing the building at 6414 S. Woodlawn, citing a lack of structural stability.
52 Buildings to See Near The Times's Places to Go, Part 1
Clockwise from top left: St Mark's Cathedral in Korcula, Croatia; New City Hall in Toronto, Canada; Louvre Abu Dhabi; Twisting Tower in Malmo, Sweden, Renzo Piano's work in Malta, the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Few things provide as strong and reliable a dose of wanderlust as The New York Times's annual 52 Places to Go feature. In addition to offering hope to those slogging through the dead of winter and fueling the fantasy that you may somehow accrue enough vacation days, business trips, and unexpected financial windfalls to afford to take a fabulous vacation every week of the year, it also offers incredible photos of pristine landscapes and urban scenery from across the globe. While there's little additional inspiration required after seeing this compendium of dream vacations (outside direct links to discount flights), we went through the list and added our own suggestions for architectural marvels and historic buildings worth adding to the itinerary. Consider our list of sights as an addition, or additional realistic background on which to project your travel fantasies.
One of the Loop's Oldest Buildings is Being Demolished
[Photo: Gabriel X. Michael]
One of the Loop's oldest buildings is now down to its first floor as demolition crews continue dismantling the Osborne & Adams Leather Co. building on Lake Street. Built sometime between 1872 and 1874, the four-story building was one of the few surviving relics of the city's rush to rebuild after the devastating fire of 1871 that claimed much of Chicago's downtown. According to photographer and blogger Gabriel X. Michael, there are currently only 21 such buildings in the Loop. And while these old buildings represent a piece of Chicago history, only ten are protected as city landmarks. Beyond their age, these buildings are unique as they were built after the Great Chicago Fire but predate the advent of the skyscraper. And like many other older, unprotected buildings, this one is being demolished to make way for a new residential tower. A 33-story yellow steel and glass tower with 265 apartments is being planned for the site.
New Interactive Map Shows Home Construction Highest on City's North Side
News regarding Chicago's housing market can be a mixed bag at times. While the median price of Chicago homes grew at a rate below the national average in 2015, that's not to say that all aspects of the market are unhealthy. A good case in point would be Chicago's new home construction which has grown steadily over the past several years. At the start of 2012, 809 newly built homes were listed for sale in the city. By June of 2015 that number had grown to 2,294 listings and continues to trend upwards. Keeping tabs on this data is NewConstruction-Chicago.com, a site that recently launched a cool interactive map. Created by compiling closing data from the Multiple Listing Service in 2015, the map shows the highest concentration of sold newly-constructed homes on the city's North Side.
Thousands Want to Dump the Trump Tower Into the Chicago River
A group of Chicagoans are tired of facing the 20-foot-tall letters that spell out Donald Trump's name on the glassy 92-story skyscraper that stands prominently along the Chicago River, and have started a (satirical) campaign to toss the tower into the water. The event, titled "It's Time to Relocate the Trump Tower to the Chicago River" has received over 9,000 RSVPs and another 19,000 people have expressed interest. So instead of merely debadging the Adrian Smith-designed highrise, thousands of city residents think that it is time to give the tower a freezing cold bath in the Chicago River. The suggestion of relocating the building, a practice that was frequently witnessed during the mid-1800s, comes from a Columbia College film student, DNAinfo reports. "We need all the help we can get to lift the Trump Tower into the Chicago River," the event reads. "Citizens of our city did it before with other buildings, so why can't we do the same?"
Booming South Loop Neighborhood to Add New Retail Complex
[Image via Google Street View]
While the South Loop's Roosevelt Road has traditionally been a strong retail axis, the success of recent shopping centers along Canal, such as The Maxwell and Southgate malls, has clearly caught the attention of developers. As a strong South Loop market continues to add density and affluent residents, retail growth is keeping pace and spreading westward as new shopping opportunities are being explored on the many empty or underused parcels along Clinton and Jefferson. One such project is a new 120,000 square-foot boutique shopping centeron its way to the northeast corner of Jefferson and Taylor Street.
Dozens of New Condo Units Coming to Ashland Avenue
A large stretch of Ashland Avenue in Lincoln Park is about to get dozens of new condos. According to Crain's, a suburban developer is planning to build a 53-unit development on 18 lots that line both the east and west sides of the 2700 block of North Ashland Avenue. Instead of constructing one large, monolithic complex, the developer, Interforum Holdings, will build separate two- to six-flat structures on each lot. According to Crain's, prices are expected to range between $499,000 for two bedroom unit up to $839,000 for a considerably larger three bedroom. Expect to see construction crews on site soon as the developer plans to start moving dirt as early as next week.
Map: A Castle in Every State in the U.S.A.
The United States of America is not typically thought of as a land of castles, and with good reason—the uniting of the American states coincided, not coincidentally, with the beginning of the end of the era in which kings and queens ruled over everything, holing up in huge fortified houses so that the peasants and/or invading barbarians couldn't kill them.
But in a way, that's too bad, because the U.S.A. is a land of excess, and there's nothing more excessive than a castle. And there are somecastles in this country—maybe more than you'd expect—which range from (mostly) vanity projects, to mini golf courses, to even a few places that originally served some military purpose. In fact, we found a castle in every state in the U.S.A.
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The Hensley Rentals to Open Soon in River North
[Photo by Jay Koziarz]
The Hensley, a new luxury rental mid-rise at 707 N. Wells, is finally leasing units at its River North locale after a long and complicated gestation period. Replacing a pair of single-story commercial buildings, 707 N. Wells started life as 12 stories and showed a modern, modular design when renderings were first revealed to the public in 2013. After community backlash, the Pappageorge Haymes Partners design became less radical and instead embraced the River North norm of beige painted precast concrete. The project also shrunk to 11-storiesand unit number dipped to 43 from an original count of 51. Akara Partners took over the project from developers Campus Acquisitions in mid 2014 and construction began late that year. The Hensley name was announced in 2015.
Posh Printer's Row Three Bedroom Loft Seeks $775K
[Photos: VHT Studios]
Here's a refinished South Loop loft that pleases on several levels. First of all, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms spread over 2,000 square feet, there's plenty of room to spread out and feel cozy. But most importantly, the photos reveal a renovation that's quite nice and mix of different styles and materials. The unit sports raw, concrete slab walls, but the ceilings boast both striking timber and dark steel support beams. The space is also ideal for entertaining as this unit comes with a free-standing wet bar area. Fans of subway tile the faux industrial look may want to take a close look at this unit. This one can be had for three quarters of a million bucks.
2016 Pritzker Prize Goes to Alejandro Aravena, Chilean Architect Behind Innovative Affordable Housing
Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, center, has won the 2016 Pritzker Prize. His UC Innovation Center at the San JoaquÃn Campus, Universidad Católica de Chile Santiago (left) and Constitución Cultural Center (right) from 2014, also in Chile, represent recent built work by Aravena's firm, ELEMENTAL. Photos by Nina Vidic (left), via LaFarge Holcim Foundation (center), and by Felipe Diaz (right). All images are copyright and courtesy of ELEMENTAL unless otherwise noted.
48-year old Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena has been awarded the 2016 Pritzker Prize. He's the first laureate from Chile, the third from South America, and the fourth from Latin America. He's also a telegenic star of the international architecture scene, best-known for a housing complex built at a cost of $7,500 per unit and a proponent of "the rigorous use of common sense" to create sustainable, affordable and resilient cities.
Ricketts Family Now Controls Majority of Wrigley Field Rooftops
The Ricketts family, who bought the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field in 2009, have further strengthened their hold on the ballpark's adjacent rooftop properties with the purchase of the Beyond the Ivy rooftop buildings at 1010 - 1038 W. Waveland and the Sky Lounge Wrigley Rooftop at 1048 W. Waveland, according to Danny Ecker of Crain's Chicago. After contentious battles with rooftop owners over revenue-sharing and Wrigley's addition of view-obstructing video boards, the Ricketts family started snatching up rooftop properties in January of last year with the purchase of 3639 N. Sheffield Ave., 3643-3645 N. Sheffield Ave. and 1032-1034 W. Waveland Ave. They further bolstered their rooftop portfolio with the acquisition of 3637 N. Sheffield, 3617 N. Sheffield and 3619 N. Sheffield in May of 2015. Today's news brings a total of nine rooftop operations controlled by the Wrigley Field owners and means the Rickettses now posses the overwhelming majority of the rooftop businesses flanking the ballpark's outfield.
Landmark House on Wide Stretch of Lakefront Takes Its Sixth Price Cut
[Photos: VHT Studios]
A crescent-shaped mid-century home designed by brothers George and William Keck is starting off the new year with a price cut — and a big one at that. The Riparian Crescent Ranch that sits on 181 feet of Lake Michigan shorefront, has just lowered its asking price by half a million dollars, seeking $3.249 million. Built in 1962, the steel and glass house has now received six price cuts since it originally listed for $5.499 million in September of 2014. While the property is certainly valuable and appealing to developers, the owners have previously indicated that they are holding out for a preservation-minded buyer that will keep the house intact. Will this latest price reduction finally entice a buyer?
Taking a Look at Zurich's Brand New Schaumburg HQ
[Photos by Jay Koziarz]
Since officially breaking ground in mid 2014, progress on Zurich Insurance Group's enormous new North American headquarters in suburban Schaumburg has moved forward with the steady determination of a fine Swiss watch. The design, comprised of three very large offset Jenga-esque bars supported by internal cross-bracing, is a joint venture between Chicago-based architecture firms Goettsch Partners and CannonDesign. The henge-like structure tops out at 11 stories and will deliver a whopping 750,000 square feet of space for approximately 2,500 Zurich employees and contractors. While the site's giant multi-level concrete garage built to accommodate thousands of employee vehicles is an undeniably suburban feature, automobile-centric design is pretty much par for the course when it comes to corporate headquarters built outside the city's central business district. Zurich's new HQ is the Chicago area's largest single-tenant office project since Tellabs Inc. moved to its new 800,000 square-foot Naperville campus in 2001.
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