Alderman Reilly Reports

 

  December 23, 2014




Alderman Reilly wishes you and your loved ones a happy and safe holiday season!

In observance of the holidays, the Offices of Alderman Brendan Reilly will be closed for the Christmas and New Year holidays beginning at 4:30pm on Wednesday, December 24th and will reopen for regular business hours on Friday, January 2nd.

 

Please note that Thursday, December 25th and Thursday, January 1st are official City Holidays - City Hall, public libraries, health clinics, senior-service centers and other city offices will also be closed.   

 

If you are in need of city service, please call 3-1-1 or call 9-1-1 in case of emergency.  All public safety services including police and fire will remain at full strength and will not be impacted. 

 

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Last Week at The Chicago Plan Commission ...  

 

The Chicago Plan Commission (CPC), comprised of 22 mayoral appointees, is responsible for the review of proposals that involve Planned Developments  (PDs), the Lakefront Protection Ordinance, Planned Manufacturing Districts (PMDs), Industrial Corridors and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts.  They met last Thursday to review a full agenda of items, including two projects in the 42nd Ward.   

 

 

451 East Grand Avenue 

 

Alderman Reilly is pleased to have once again partnered with SOAR in the review of an upcoming development in the Streeterville community. Over the past year, the development team was required to make a ward-wide presentation in addition to numerous smaller presentations at condo buildings surrounding the subject site.  The product of these many meetings with residents and city departments is a less dense, more compatible structure with a 1.5 acre publicly accessible park.    

 

The 451 E. Grand parcel is already part of Planned Development No. 368 which spans a large portion of eastern Streeterville.  Being within a large planned development boundary, the land was already assigned bulk, density and height development rights.  It was Alderman Reilly's job to review the existing development rights against the current proposal and determine the best possible solution for the neighborhood.

 

The chart below offers a comparison of the project proposal v. the negotiated plan to be presented to the Plan Commission:

  

Proposed/Existing                     

Negotiated

500 dwelling units

350 dwelling units

600 parking spaces

296 parking spaces

Zero public open space

1.5 acre publicly-accessible park

5 curb cuts

3 curb cuts

Bulky, dense structure

Thinner building respecting light/air

 

From the traffic standpoint, there were also numerous improvements incorporated into the plan.  The Alderman required that the developer comply with CDOT recommendations related to the location of condo and apartment entrances to forging a better ingress/egress solution for Peshtigo/Grand traffic and pedestrians. Acknowledging that Streeterville has some of the worst congestion in the city, this reconfiguration was key alongside the reduction of curb cuts out of respect for the thousands of pedestrians on surrounding streets.  The developer will also repave streets and reconstruct sidewalks along the perimeter of the site.

 

  

The new park space, not an existing developer obligation, was folded into this approval by Alderman Reilly based upon the condition of the site and countless complaints by residents.  By including this land into the developer obligation, residents will soon have a modern park with the appropriate mix of sodded areas, trees, playground equipment and a dog-friendly area.  A park of this quality would not be possible with city funding, so the Alderman enlisted the developer to not only reconstruct the existing land but maintain the entirety of the park in perpetuity.

  

Alderman Reilly would like to express his gratitude to SOAR membership and the residents of both 530 N. Lake Shore Drive and Parkview for their participation in the many months of rigorous community process.  This routine collaboration of public review and comments with developer engagement has afforded downtown Chicago dozens of projects that not only beautify our landscape but provide substantial public benefit to 42nd ward residents.

  

Click on the following links to view the application and CPC presentation.

 

 

  

 400 West Huron

 
 
 

The site is currently occupied by the former Scoozi! Restaurant and two additional parcels: a corner parcel to the east and former Cushing Printing building to the west.  The proposal includes demolition of both the corner and Scoozi structure with a future rehabilitation and conversion of the masonry Cushing building for condos at a future date.* 

 

This development proposal underwent substantial public scrutiny in community meetings, both ward-wide and smaller review sessions with River North Residents Association membership. These dialogues produced a plan which is a vast improvement from the developer's initial offering.

 

Proposed

Negotiated

80 rental units            

46 condo units

80 parking spaces

61 parking spaces

A standard 10' retail height

A 18' showcase retail floor height

No dog run

1,200SF heated, enclosed dog run

Limited streetscaping

Larger sodded parkways


The parking reduction was achieved actually two separate times---once from the original rental plan (80 spaces) and a second time (71 spaces) to better manage the ratio closer to 1:1 (1:3) at the final 61 spaces.  

 

The developer was also asked to increase the amount of green space along Huron Street, changing the previously proposed landscape planters to mirror the broad expanse of grass on the block to the east, adjacent to the Tuxedo Row Townhomes.  A clear six foot wide sidewalk will be reconstructed and maintained up against the building, with the remainder of the streetscape comprised of a sod carriageway alongside of the curbline.

 

The scale of the development was also adjusted with an 18' clear ground floor space to open up the corner and create a more pedestrian friendly experience with greater transparency at the base of the building. It is also likely that this will be the future home of River North's next new exciting restaurant.

 

Alderman Reilly is grateful to the leadership of RNRA for their participation in the many meetings and conversations which produced a more compatible project in many ways: more appropriate density, more prudent parking policy and more contextual masonry design.

 

To view the presentation for this proposal, click here

 

*The Cushing site redevelopment will require a return trip to the Chicago Plan Commission with community meetings and notification prior to the public hearing date.


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443 North Wabash Elevated Walkway Now Open!

Almost one year ago, Alderman Reilly was presented with a demolition permit for the former Lake Shore Athletic Club (LSAC) including the attached elevated walkway, located at 443 N. Wabash.  As many residents can attest, that walkway which connects Michigan Avenue to Wabash Avenue is heavily trafficked year round.   

 

Understanding that demolition would be more costly and take additional time, the Alderman negotiated the retention and necessary reconstruction of the walkway for continued public use.  Additional support beams and columns were installed and a new handrail was added on the north side where the walkway was previously connected to the LSAC building.

  

The walkway has been closed since February for public safety reasons but just re-opened last week----several weeks ahead of schedule!

 

Alderman Reilly would like to sincerely thank Zeller Realty Group for restoring access to this important public amenity and remaining a strong corporate leader downtown.




 
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Office of Alderman Brendan Reilly
325 W. Huron St., Ste. 510

(312) 642-4242
(312) 642-0420 (fax)
Office of Alderman Brendan Reilly
City Hall
121 N. LaSalle St., Room 200
(312) 744-3062