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January 2020  Newsletter 
Upcoming
SLN Events
Trivia Night
March 11
Bar Louie (Back Room) 
47 W. Polk St.
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UPCOMING EVENTS


 
Trivia Night 
Date: March 11
Location: TBD

This event has been so much fun that we're having a third South Loop-themed trivia night.

There is no cost to participate in this event, nor do you need to be a member of SLN (but you should consider it!) Food and drink are at your own expense. Come with a whole team, or meet your neighbors by pooling your knowledge. (So we can arrange enough fabulous prizes for the winners, only 4 persons to a team, please.) Email Info@southloopneighbors.org to reserve your spot!

DEVELOPMENT

Updates on several neighborhood projects:
 
1000M Construction has indeed begun on 1000M, with caisson drilling under way. Financing for the project has been secured from Goldman Sachs.


717 South Clark   The project now known as Imprint is up far enough now to see what it will look like.   The project architects had two different renderings on its website, but it looks like the version without balconies is being built.  Just south of the new tower, the former Palmer Printing building is to be refaced with glass and used for amenity and parking spaces.

Roots Pizza Exterior work is nearly complete on this new restaurant at Polk & Dearborn. The hole in the roof is to allow a retractable portion for second-floor dining under the summer sky. Ald. King held a meeting Dec. 16 about the restaurant's Public Place of Amusement license, which will allow for live music.

Cannabis dispensary?  PharmaCann is reportedly looking at two possible South Loop locations for a recreational cannabis dispensary. One is the one-story building at 418 S. Wabash, across the street from Roosevelt University's highrise building; the other is the "Halloween store" space at 9th & Wabash.

410 South Wabash  A building permit was issued on Dec. 17 for new construction of a 25 story, 344 unit building with ground floor retail at Wabash and Van Buren.

The 78 The December Plan Commission meeting passed a minor amendment to allow the planned Red Line station as a use within the project. Though there are still technical hurdles to be worked out, the station is expected to be built on the west side of Clark at 15th.

One Central   Financing for this project remains very uncertain, despite inclusion of the possibility of state involvement in this year's must-pass budget bill. Developer Landmark Properties is now working with a new team of architects and planners, and has begun trying to make a case that the massive project would somehow magically transform Chicago's troubled South and West Sides.   Just before Christmas, the developer managed to get Congress to include in the omnibus budget bill a special extension to a federal railroad funding program that might be relevant to the project.

2300 S. Indiana Hotel  A business called Financial  Guru International has proposed turning the vacant building at 2300 S. Indiana in Motor Row into a 200-key hotel. This $36 million renovation would be home to a Studio 6 extended stay hotel, the first urban Studio 6 in Chicago. Building designs and construction schedules have not yet been set.

State Street Plan   The Chicago Loop Alliance has retained the South Loop firm of Site Design Group to create a Plan for State Street. The exact scope isn't yet clear, but it will probably focus on street furnishings and programming rather than the lanes devoted to traffic, and on the part of State Street between Wacker and Ida B. Wells Dr.

Pritzker Park   The city will be issuing a request for proposal for a developer to redevelop city owned land at State and Van Buren. The site includes the rather uninspiring Pritzker Park as well as the parking garage south of Plymouth Restaurant.

Circle Interchange   As regular users already know, t he ramp from outbound Ida B. Wells Drive to the outbound Kennedy Expressway (I-90/94) is closed until the end of 2020 to demolish and reconstruct the ramp.

The latest on all South Loop projects is always available at southloopupdate.com

IN BRIEF

4th Ward South Loop Advisory Council

Alderman Sophia King's Office has been in the process of forming advisory councils that will serve the ward's six different communities. Each council will take the lead in advising our office on areas such as arts & parks, development, public safety, infrastructure, education and much more. One of the six communities is the South Loop and an organizational meeting was held on January 15. 

They are still looking for interested citizens to serve as Chairs of Sub-Committees as well as persons interested in working on the various committees. For more information on the Council, how it is structured,  what committees there are, etc, see: 

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21st St. and Indiana Ave. Traffic Signal Update

The Chicago Department of Transportation has updated the time frame for the installation of a new traffic signal at 21st St. and Indiana Ave. Designs have been submitted to CDOT and are currently in review.  CDOT anticipates the following schedule going forward:
  • IDOT permit submittal: February 2020
  • CDOT Office of Underground Coordination submittal: April 2020
  • Release to construction/construction start: July-August 2020
  • Construction completion/signal turn-on: October-November 2020
Illinois Department of Transportation and CDOT review times can be variable, which would impact construction dates. For more information please contact the 3rd Ward Public Service Office at 773-373-9273 or at  Ward03@cityofchicago.org.  

Live Local - Shop Local 
The South Loop is a vibrant neighborhood and as it continues to grow, it becomes increasingly more important  for residents to support local small businesses. The benefits of shopping local are documented through a number of  studies. 

South Loop Neighbors especially urges residents to shop at local businesses that have partnered with the South Loop  Neighbors as Community Builders. Community Builders are businesses that are members of the SLN and who  recognize that a partnerships between SLN and local businesses creates an optimal environment for our neighborhood  to maintain and increase the vibrancy of the South Loop!  Please visit our website to learn more about our Community Builders.  

Local Business Happenings:
 
Newly Opened:
  • Ming Hin Cuisine: 1234 S. Michigan Ave. 
  • Harbor: 1312 S. Wabash 
  • South Asia Institute: 1925 S. Michigan 
  • Grail Cafe: 715 S. Dearborn
  • Chipolter & Jets Pizza: 1100 block of Wabash 
Closed:
  • Pier 1 Imports: 1014 S. Canal 
Opening Soon: 
  • My Place: 1307 S. Wabash (Chinese Cuisine and Seafood)
  • Apolonia Restaurant: 2201 S. Michigan (European- Mediterranean fare)
  • Urban Paws: 16th & Wabash
  • Momentum coffee and cowering: 2100 block S. State
  • Teriyaki Madness: 829 S. Wabash
  • Fruve: 1131 S. State 
Community Builder Spotlight 
Baird & Warner

Baird & Warner's South Loop office opened it's doors in 2016 and is helping make South Loop real estate easier. Our highly trained, full-time sales associates are available to answer all your real estate questions quickly and knowledgeably. We offer exclusive listing and buyer brokerage and are experts in single-family home, condominium, townhome, multi-unit and new construction transactions. Our full buyer representation program helps our clients find the right home with the best possible terms, and we strive to get the best price for our sellers' homes in the shortest period of time with the least amount of inconvenience. We also offer one-stop-shopping for all your real estate needs -- including financial, title and home services -- and our on-site mortgage representative is available to provide convenient and confidential financial counseling.

For more information,  Visit our Website!

Nate Thompson
Baird & Warner
Designated Managing Broker - South Loop
"Member of Chicago REALTORS Young Professionals Network"
708-261-1405 - Cell
312-414-3315 - Office
704-909-7433 - Fax

 

Other Neighborhood Events

CAPS Meetings

Beats 111, 112, 113 & 114
Meetings will usually be held the 1st Thursday of every month at 6:30 pm. The next meeting will be held at the 130 N. Garland Condo Building on February 6. 

Beats 121,122,123 & 124 
Meetings will be held the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 6:30 pm. The meetings are held at 525 S. State Street.  The next meeting will be held on February 12. 

Beat 131 & 132 
Meetings will held the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 6:30 pm. The meetings are held at alternating locations, the 1st District Station, 1718 S. State Street and 2722 S. Dr. ML King Drive. The next meeting will be held at 1718 S State Street, 1st District Station on February 18. 

Museum Free Days 

Adler Planetarium: February 4-6, 11-13, 17-20
Art Institute of Chicago:  Every Wednesday evening from 5 -8 pm for Illinois residents  
Field Museum: February 1-29
Glessner House Museum: Admission is free to all on Wednesdays
McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum: Free on Sundays
Museum of Science and IndustryFebruary 3-6, 10-13, 18-20, 24-27
Shedd AquariumFebruary 3-7, 10-14, 17-21, 24-28

Grant  Park Advisory Council
Meetings in 2020 will be held on  the third Wednesday of each month , except December, at 6:30pm at the Maggie Daley  Field House. Next meeting is February 19, 2020.

Columbia College 
The Petty Biennial.2 
Glass Curtain Gallery - Columbia College Chicago
1104 S Wabash Ave, 1st Floor
November 7, 2019-February 14, 2020



Wintrust Arena and Soldier Field events
www.WintrustArena.com for a full list of events.

Second Presbyterian Church 
Winter Coat Drive.  Second Presbyterian Church hosts its annual Winter Coat Drive during the months of November through February. Donations of warm clothes, sweat shirts, hoodies, sweaters, coats, gloves, caps, scarves and mittens will be distributed to our neighbors in need. Donations are received Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. For more information, please call the church office (312) 225-4951.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ATTENDED

Annual Meeting - January 17