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Old 09-26-2011, 09:24 AM
 
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I was looking at some income property units in Lakeshore East this past weekend, and I must say: What a bizarre area!

So, what is the history behind that "neighborhood"? I just seems amazing to me that such a large piece of property was available in that location to construct so many buildings at once.

I'm no urban planner, but to me, its seems as if they really did a poor job planning the area.
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Old 09-26-2011, 09:35 AM
 
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http://forgottenchicago.com/pics/LSD/cushscurve.jpg

It was a pretty crappy area of railroad yards, vacant land and industy until 1994. Then the railroad yards closed down and they put in a 9-hole golf course.

The golf course closed in 2001, and that's when Lakeshore East development started. It's a master planned community, and has actually won multiple awards for its use and design of the land.

The difficulty of the area is that it has to be integrated into the triple level street plan that already exists. This is why there are pedestrian areas on the top level, and entrances and docks on the lower levels. The very middle is a large park on the lowest level.

8 highrises have been completed in the past 6 years or so, with 7 more either under construction or in planning. This is why it looks strange right now, it's not finished. There are huge "gaps".
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Old 09-26-2011, 09:58 AM
 
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I think the previous poster needs to double check their dates. The Swisshotel, Stndard Oil of Indiana / Amoco building, Prudential Bldg, Hyatt and several of the other office and residential high-rises have been constructed in various periods dating back much further than 1994. The older office bldgs, linked by pedways, are called part of the "Illinios Centre" complex owing to the historical ownership of that land by the Illinois Central Railroad. The last freight terminal operations on that site were probably shuttered sometime in the 60's...

Owing to the scale and the relative risks there have been periods of more intensive redevelopment and lulls when funding is harder to come by. The reality of most urban development is that there are pauses and during those pauses there are shifts in what is in vogue. I tend to think the road decks are a little too wide and the lack of smaller scale will always lend a bit of "alien plant of the giants" feel to the area. ..
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Old 09-26-2011, 10:17 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FAReastcoast View Post
II'm no urban planner, but to me, its seems as if they really did a poor job planning the area.
Just curious what about the area is poorly planned in your opinion?
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Old 09-26-2011, 10:24 AM
 
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Part of the problem has been the political due to the pattern of development that had taken root over time. The initial building pattern over the old rail yards began with the construction of those older highrise condos you so along the eastern edge of Randolph. The residents of the condos essentially carved out their own little niche of peace and quiet a couple of blocks from the Loop. When crime was worse and the Loop itself was more beat up back in the 70s and early 80s, I could see some justification for wanting to keep the separation. Then things began to improve, a couple more buildings were constructed along Harbor Dr., the 303 building and Swiss were built, then the Blue Cross Blue Shield, then the Fairmount, and so on. Those residents took a fairly hard line in terms of what could be built there. By the time redevelopment efforts really kicked off with the latest condo building craze and Aqua, they saw the handrwriting on the wall, but demanded certain concessions, such as the park smack dab in the middle (even though Grant Park was right across the street). Rather than the townhomes lining a redundant park, it would have made more sense to fill the entire area in more densley and take any leftover fill dirt from construction to elevate a smaller portion of the land for a park or plaza--keeping everything at the elevation of Columbus and Randolph.

You see the same type of NIMBYism in other areas in close proximity to the Loop. The two other examples I can think of are the Plymouth Ct. area (basically a suburban gated community in the S. Loop) and West Loop Gate. West Loop Gate never had the dramatic seclusion of the other two, but they've imposed height restrictions (abt 135 feet) on development of the area west of the Greektown corridor. The end result of that one has been variations of the same theme as developers maximize profit on relatively expensive land: cheaply constructed/rehabbed buildings that contain 9 storeys of residential and three levels of parking on a podium. The end result of the madness is that the old guard gets to keep the relative tranquility of the area at the with redundant architecture and at the expense of a sorely lacking retail scene at street level. The S. Loop has since passed the area by. Most recently, the area is getting a Target where a 20 storey condo tower with retail and a Sundance movie theatre was supposed to have gone...before the community organization said it was too tall. Yippeeee.
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Old 09-26-2011, 10:36 AM
 
11,289 posts, read 26,063,401 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post
I think the previous poster needs to double check their dates. The Swisshotel, Stndard Oil of Indiana / Amoco building, Prudential Bldg, Hyatt and several of the other office and residential high-rises have been constructed in various periods dating back much further than 1994. The older office bldgs, linked by pedways, are called part of the "Illinios Centre" complex owing to the historical ownership of that land by the Illinois Central Railroad. The last freight terminal operations on that site were probably shuttered sometime in the 60's...

Owing to the scale and the relative risks there have been periods of more intensive redevelopment and lulls when funding is harder to come by. The reality of most urban development is that there are pauses and during those pauses there are shifts in what is in vogue. I tend to think the road decks are a little too wide and the lack of smaller scale will always lend a bit of "alien plant of the giants" feel to the area. ..
I was talking about the planned Lakeshore East development that started in 2001. I wasn't taking into account the other buildings built in that area before that date. There are maybe 5-10 of them, and the entire area is known as the New East Side or soemthing like that when including Lakeshore East as well.
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Old 09-26-2011, 11:22 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vlajos View Post
Just curious what about the area is poorly planned in your opinion?
Well 60614 cleared some of it up, but I think the following were poorly planned:

1. The neighborhood is cut off from the rest of the Chicago grid system
2. The park in the middle has a feeling of "residents only" and not really part of "greater Chicago"
3. The area has a very sterile "suburbs within the city" feel
4. Retail/Restaurants seem like they wouldn't do well in the area, as only residents of the buildings would really have access

I didn't realize the background on the area, but it just really threw me for a curve when I actually explored the area a bit.

I must say, the buildings that were constructed seem great. I checked out a few units in "340 on the park" and the views are amazing!
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Old 09-26-2011, 11:25 AM
 
14,802 posts, read 17,560,693 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FAReastcoast View Post
Well 60614 cleared some of it up, but I think the following were poorly planned:

1. The neighborhood is cut off from the rest of the Chicago grid system
2. The park in the middle has a feeling of "residents only" and not really part of "greater Chicago"
3. The area has a very sterile "suburbs within the city" feel
4. Retail/Restaurants seem like they wouldn't do well in the area, as only residents of the buildings would really have access

I didn't realize the background on the area, but it just really threw me for a curve when I actually explored the area a bit.

I must say, the buildings that were constructed seem great. I checked out a few units in "340 on the park" and the views are amazing!
Got it, and agree in general. Like Chicago60614 stated, most of the residential stuff was built within the last 10 years. I imagine in another 10 it will be a bit more established.
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Old 09-26-2011, 05:22 PM
 
3,631 posts, read 10,198,842 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FAReastcoast View Post
Well 60614 cleared some of it up, but I think the following were poorly planned:

1. The neighborhood is cut off from the rest of the Chicago grid system
2. The park in the middle has a feeling of "residents only" and not really part of "greater Chicago"
3. The area has a very sterile "suburbs within the city" feel
4. Retail/Restaurants seem like they wouldn't do well in the area, as only residents of the buildings would really have access

I didn't realize the background on the area, but it just really threw me for a curve when I actually explored the area a bit.

I must say, the buildings that were constructed seem great. I checked out a few units in "340 on the park" and the views are amazing!
I would have to say that a more "insular" "suburb in the city" is Dearborn Park.

My favorite tidbit about Lakeshore East and immediately north in Streeterville is the fact that the ground underneath is covered in thorium contamination (you won't find anything planted IN THE GROUND in that area) Lindsay Light Company Sites | Region 5 Cleanup Sites | US EPA
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Old 09-26-2011, 06:54 PM
 
1,478 posts, read 2,399,330 times
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Originally Posted by supernerdgirl View Post
My favorite tidbit about Lakeshore East and immediately north in Streeterville is the fact that the ground underneath is covered in thorium contamination (you won't find anything planted IN THE GROUND in that area) Lindsay Light Company Sites | Region 5 Cleanup Sites | US EPA
I remember when they were tearing up the pavement in front of the AMC and had the radioactive soil remidiation signs up everywhere. That had to make a lot of resident in McClurg Court happy.

I think it would shock a lot of people to know what's in the soil in a lot of areas that are thankfully covered by ashphalt. Before they put the new park up at Sangamon and Adams, I took my dog over to that lot when we first moved to that area. The foundation of a building that looked to be from the early 1900s was what remained of whatever was there, as were some old disintegrating floor tiles that appeared to be from the 40s or 50s. 99% chance both things contained asbestos. What was more troubling was that some weeds and water had done a number on much of it, reducing it to a nice dusty powder. It was a dry, windy day in August and you saw little dust clouds forming among 5-6 dogs roaming around with their owners. That was the first (and last) time we went over there until they cleaned that stuff up.
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