Last question posed to candidates for alderman at last week’s NEAR meeting. 

What is your position on the extension of the pedway which was approved by the city council in 1969 and reapproved by the council in 1979, 1993, and 2001?
 
Ward outlined several documents including ammendments to Planned Development #70 over the years, perhaps the most important of which was the Lakeshore East development which stated that it is not responsible for connecting the pedway to the existing buildings. However, according to Ward, the previous documents are binding and require that the LSE build the pedway for the entire neighborhood.
 
Natarus stated that Chicago’s Corporate Counsel does not agree with Ward’s interpretation. Natarus recommended that Ward or advocates in the community get an independent legal opinion and the Natarus would himself introduce an ordinance if he can get a legal opinion agreeing with Ward’s interpretation.
 
Reilly agreed with the Alderman about wanting a legal opinion. He went on that it happens all too often that a developer is allowed to change language. He said that in meetings the the Alderman is responsible for advocating for the average citizen. Reilly said that he is willing to work with the neighborhood to explore some possibilities and believes that Corporate Counsel should produce an opinion.

Fourth of five questions posed to Aldermanic candidates at a recent NEAR meeting. 

What actions will you take to ensure construction & opening of the new elementary school in the New Eastside and how do you see our community involved in the process?
 
Ward outlined three possible locations within the Lakeshore East development. The first was what was originally approved in 2001 as part of the PD #70 ammendment. This location is in the northeast corner Lakeshore East park.
 
The other two locations are just north of the park. The school could be placed in the lot between the Lancaster and the Shoreham buildings. However, there are walls on all four sides which would limit the light and windows, especially at the lower levels. The final proposed location could be next to the Tides building currently under construction. It would be just west of the Tides between the parking structure and the fire station.
 
It was Reilly turn to respond to this question first. Reilly explained that the developer has agreed to put up half of the money to build the school, which has roughly a $5 million dollar price tag. He noted that people have moved into the neighborhood in anticipation of a new school and that the Chicago Public School system depends on the state for funding. He said that the new school should have been taken care of a long time ago and that the community will be involved in questions such as where to site the school and what it should look like.
 
Natarus mentioned that he had insisted that Lakeshore East put in the requirement for a school. Three months ago the City of Chicago passed a bond issue that has money for the school. He said that the state is not funding the school, the city is funding the school. It is his opinion that the original location, in the northeast corner of the park is the best location. He said that building against the garage (either of the other two locations) is “ludicrous”. He assured attendees that the school will be built and that he is very much in favor of the school and supported the bond issue.

From GlobeSt. - “Construction is expected to begin as soon the developer receives the final building permit, which should be within a few weeks, Carlins says.” ”The 81-story building will feature condominiums, apartments, an 18-floor hotel, retail and office space.” The building is expected to be complete in mid-2009. “Amenities will include indoor and outdoor 25-yard lap pools, an outdoor wading pool, a track, fire pits, hot tubs, a spa section, weight rooms and a theater component.”

For more information see — http://www.globest.com/news/834_834/chicago/152584-1.html

The Tribune reports that Magellan will begin to use Titan for commercial leasing. Titan was formed by Ben Rosenfield who was formerly with Millenium R/E which Magellan had been using for commercial leasing.

Titan will focus on retail space in Aqua. Presumably, Millenium R/E dealt with the space next to 340 On the Park including the new Treasure Island.

 For more information, see the third news item at –

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0701310043jan31,0,3408723.story

On December 5th an anonymous contributor added to the Lakeshore East entry on Wikipedia that the next building planned for Lakeshore East may be called the “Redhead” and could be a 87 story structure –

* The Redhead (2011, slated for 87 stories)

The IP address of the poster suggests that they are in Chicago –

Send information about Redhead or any other news to editor@new-eastside.com or post a comment.

The Tribune reports in their “Development Notes” on the penthouse plans for Aqua. Added to the existing high-end units available at 340 On the Park, the planned ParkHomes, as well as the ultra-high end units planned for the Chicago Spire just across the river, there may eventually be some real competition for buyers in this range.

From the Chicago Tribune – “A collection of penthouse residences has been added to the top two floors of Aqua at Lakeshore East, offering views of Lake Michigan, the Chicago River, and Millennium and Grant Parks.

“The grouping includes five duplex units and one-single level design. They range from 2,364 to 3,869 square feet and are pre-construction priced from $1.9 million to $2.9 million.”

Read more at http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/newhomes/chi-0612090208dec09,1,931322.story

Aqua construction will be complicated by a few factors including the architecture and the height – contruction will continue on the upper floors as multiple types of tenants will start using the lower floors.

From GlobeSt – [There will be the] “requirements of residential, commercial and office tenants while the construction crews are still building the upper floors, Alexander says. “This rarely happens, but I think with the taller buildings it will become more common, you’ll see it at the Trump International Tower in Chicago before our project,” Alexander says. “Moving construction crews around tenants is challenging, we have to handle noise, dust, and even separating vertical transportation, they can’t use the same elevators. Safety is also a huge concern, as is keeping water out of the building, basically the top of the building is open during construction.”

More information at http://www.globest.com/news/786_786/chicago/150811-1.html

Richard Ward has a number of comments and photographs on his web site.

http://www.neweastside.org/CleanUp.html

When I consider the streets down under, I think of a weather-shielded passage to the Loop area e.g. Marshall Field’s / Macy’s that is a bit dirty (we’ll take the stroller but won’t roll it into our apt. after) and perhaps unsafe — I would not recommend friends to use it after dark, which is basically commute time now in the winter.

Correct me if I’m wrong (leave a comment), but it seems these “lower” streets will not exist in the Lakeshore East development. Lower Harbor Dr. became a Lancaster parking lot. If you look at all the new developments, it’s not clear where the ingress/egress will be for the new buildings. It appears that it will be all on top. (?)

Eric

This morning, Comed roped off a portion of area that has been boarded up for the past week or so, that is in the new “Lakeshore East” (or whatever they will call it) park. The park will be turned over to the Chicago Park District for maintanence in the coming years, not sure yet changes that may entail for park users.

At the last NEAR meeting Natarus ranted/talked for a while about dogs on leashes and picking up after them. I hope the dogs on leashes idea never gets enforced in the new park, I love to see 5 to 8 tiny dogs running around in circles and my daughter playing with them in the open field.

The larger or problematic dogs (or just dogs with cautious owners) can go to the fenced in area.

I have reported on this previously although I have not stressed it — the Monro East garage will soon be dug up down four levels and everything on top (tennis courts, playground) will be gone! for a couple or more of years. This is part of the 99-year lease deal of all of the Grant Park garages to Morgan Stanley approved a couple weeks ago.

It is not unexpected as the South and North (Millenium Park) garages were recently reconstructed and Monro East is next on the list, although the reconstruction might be considered a bit premature, it could last another 10 or 20 years ?

Personally I don’t care about the short-term loss of the tennis courts so much, but I think there should be some serious consideration to build a temporary playground for the kids during the couple or few years of construction. Note that the Lakeshore East playground is only for very young kids, the playground in Grant Park is much more varied, the equipment/installations are rated 2-5 years and 5-12 years. The Lakeshore East park equipment is for toddlers.

end editorial – Eric

As reported by the Chicago Tribune, a fire broke out from a small heating unit at “340 On The Park” last Thursday. The situation was contained within 20 minutes and one worker who tried to put the fire out was treated for smoke inhalation.

“About 150 workers were in the 62-story building at 340 E. Randolph St. when fire broke out on the 26th floor just before 3:30 p.m., Chicago Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor said.”

More information on the Chicago Tribune.

From 02138 — “Gang’s latest opportunity to build on that tradition comes from James Loewenberg, architect and developer of the 28-acre Lakeshore East project. He met Gang and her husband and business partner Mark Schendel at a Harvard alumni dinner, and hired them to design the 82-story, $300-million tower, Aqua.

“The winning idea took inspiration from the city itself. Gang’s premise was that people buy tower apartments for the views, so the firm built a model of Chicago and plotted sight lines, running lengths of string between undulating tower balconies and city landmarks.

“I always wanted to do a tower, but I never thought I would get a chance,” Gang says. In fact, Aqua, slated for completion in 2009, is the largest project ever awarded to an American firm headed by a woman.”

Read the full article on 02138mag.com.

From Chicago Sun-Times –

“BY ANDREW HERRMANN Staff Reporter
It’s only rock and roll, so the song goes. But when it comes to an annual music festival held in Grant Park, some neighbors just hate it — at least at Lollapalooza levels.

“The Chicago Park District board on Wednesday OKd a five-year, $5 million deal with the producers of the three-day Lollapalooza festival, a move officials lauded as a fresh cash infusion for district-wide park improvements but derided by one neighborhood group as guaranteed racket.”

Read the full article.

From NewcitySkyline - “In case a community with an award-winning park and master architectural plan plotted hand-in-hand is not impressive enough, add a high-rise project that will be a first for the city of Chicago and a visual motif that aims to makes people feel like they are on vacation while at home. Still not interested? What about the fact that celebrity tenants including Vince Vaughn, Bobby Jenks and Jake Fox would be your neighbors?

“Lakeshore East, one of the newest and most publicized developments in Chicago this decade, is a $4 billion downtown phenomenon that is currently humbling viewers and selling as fast as winter coats.”

Read the full article on NewcitySkyline.

From GlobeST.com –

“Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc. has agreed to purchase 15 floors of the pre-developed 82-story Aqua building for $82.4 million, or approximately $412,000 per key.”

“The hotel portion of Aqua will consist of approximately 200 luxury suites averaging 650 sf each…”

“Strategic Hotels anticipates that the new hotel will be operated in conjunction with its existing Fairmont asset, to which it will be physically linked.”

For the full article see:
http://www.lakeshoreeast.com/media/articles/globest-10022006.pdf

Lakeshore East has published another Currents newsletter and has redesigned the LakeshoreEast.com web site.

Topics include: “Aqua Praise Goes National”, “Parkhome Sales Begin”, Ground Broken for The Tides, and more.

Currents Newsletter.

They have also updated the press mentions and press releases section of the web site –
http://www.lakeshoreeast.com/press_articles_pr.html.

“Evening had come to an oddly pastoral little piece of Chicago’s downtown. Kids ran through sprinklers, dogs bounded around a dog park and office workers strolled home.”

“While Lakeshore East is not the largest residential development downtown in terms of the area it covers, it has the most units. In all, 4,950 units, 1,500 hotel rooms and some office space are proposed.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0610010351oct01,1,5675108.story

My notes from the meeting held last week at the Shoreham are now posted in the forum –
http://forums.new-eastside.com/index.php/topic,85.0.html

If you were there and remember things I don’t list or would like to post additional questions or comments, please do so.

On Monday, Sept 25 at 7:00 PM at The Shoreham 400 East South Water St. Hospitality Room.

ALL ABOUT LAKESHORE EAST ———- THE SCH00L

N.E.A.R. (New East Side Association of Residents) is hosting this meeting.

Present will be Richard Ward NEAR President, Joel Carlins, President, Magellan Development Corporation and Dr. Elizabeth Purvis, President, Chicago Charter Schools Foundation.

They write –

“…IT’S DOWN TO THIS! IF YOU’D LIKE A “GRILL MOMENTO”, IT’S PROBABLY FOR SALE!!! STOP IN FRIDAY…WE’RE HERE FROM 8-3!

AND…YOU ARE ALL SO AWESOME. THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, AND ESPECIALLY FRIDAY, SO SPECIAL. WE HAVE BEEN VERY LUCKY TO HAVE YOU AS PART OF YOUR LIVES!!

…AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO SOME OF YOU…YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND WHY YOU’RE SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SPECIAL!!!

CHERYL & KENT”