Monday, January 11, 2010

DREAMY WINDY CITY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN FOCUS FOR 2010

Now that the Olympic Games are a half-remembered fairy tale, what new, exciting and creative residential developments are on the horizon for 2010, as Chicagoans step into the second decade of the 21st Century?

One of the most innovative residential real estate plans on the drawing board is the long-awaited proposal by developer Gerald W. Fogelson to erect a six-block long deck on air rights over the Metra railroad tracts along the west side of Lake Shore Drive between 14th Street and Cullerton Avenue, just west of Soldier Field.

Fogelson, land developer of the giant Central Station development in the South Loop with Forest City Enterprises, is planning to develop 4,400 condominiums and 2,500 hotel rooms featuring “extraordinary views” of Lake Michigan and the city on the air-rights site, which is just north of McCormick Place.

Such big dreams for the city skyline are pretty. But building a new residential neighborhood on a concrete deck floating on air rights above the old Illinois Central railway tracks—similar to the multi-million dollar Millennium Park project—is an expensive proposition that could cost at least $3.5 billion, experts say.

No wonder Fogelson Properties is asking City Hall to create a $500-million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district to generate tax dollars to provide infrastructure for the project. This would be the largest TIF District in Chicago’s history.

Just south of McCormick Place on the Near South Side, bulldozers are continuing to demolish the Michael Reese Hospital complex in the early days of the new decade.

Once the proposed site of an Olympic Village to house athletes for the Games, the city’s new plan for Michael Reese calls for seeking qualified developers for the 37-acre campus in the first quarter of 2010, and asking for developer proposals later.

Meanwhile, preservationists are floating a creative “Michael Reese Chicago Economic Stimulus” proposal to save the campus. “The historic hospital complex would make an excellent site for a National Veteran’s Campus,” suggested renovation specialist William Lavicka of Historic Boulevard Services.

Many of the Michael Reese buildings were designed in the 1960s by Bauhaus founder and famed architect Walter Gropius, and its serene courtyards and gardens were planned by landscape architect Hideo Sasaki, preservationists note.

“Michael Reese Hospital provided landmark medical care for Chicagoans for more than 100 years,” said Lavicka, a licensed structural engineer in Chicago for more than 40 years. “The vintage hospital buildings are solidly built and could last 500 years. They only need interior rehabilitation with new plumbing, electrical, heating, air conditioning and finishes which can be done for half the cost of new construction.”

Although some demolition is underway at Michael Reese, Lavicka believes work still can be halted in time and the buildings can be prepped for renovation and adaptive reuse as a “Veteran’s Village.”

Lavicka believes his proposal, which he recently pitched to Mayor Richard M. Daley, Gov. Pat Quinn and President Obama, would far outweigh the now lost so-called benefits of the Olympic Games. Lavicka, a veteran who already has erected a Vietnam Survivors Memorial in the Tri-Taylor neighborhood on the Near West Side, outlined the following reasons why his economic stimulus plan at Michael Reese could greatly benefit the Windy City:

• Chicago’s veterans deserve their own campus in the heartland of America as a prominent touchstone for their service, duty and bravery. Fifty percent of the renovation work would be done by tradesmen and women who served in the U.S. military.

• Renovation work will provide up to 5,000 housing units for Chicago-area veterans. Additional out-patient service for America’s veterans in the existing hospital buildings would be provided, making Chicago a center for national veterans care. And, the entire renovation project will be “green” with rehab of stone, brick, concrete and steel structures being completely reused.

“Every American has great respect and admiration for the military and the U.S. veteran,” Lavicka said. “Let’s take one more step beyond laying wreaths, playing taps and raising flags. Now is the time to create a Veteran’s Campus that will employ, feed, house and care for those whose devotion to service cannot be denied.”

So, it is a big choice for city planners. Do they want luxury condos with a view of Soldier Field, or a Veteran’s Campus dedicated to the historical view—contributions made to America by our nation’s heroes?