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SLN Clean-Up Brigade
Date: Sunday, October 4
Time: 1 pm
Location: Cermak from State St. to Indiana Ave.
In August, the SLN kicked off a pilot program, bringing volunteers together, practicing proper social distancing, to clean up parks and other areas within the South Loop. The second event involved cleaning a 15 block section centered around Roosevelt and Wabash. This 3rd event of this pilot program will be Cermak from State St. to Indiana (Tentatively). Gloves & bags are supplied. Garbage picker/grabber is up to individuals to bring if needed. Limited supply of masks and water will also be supplied. To register, please email SLN Clean-Up Brigade More information will be supplied to those who register a few days before the event.
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South Loop Development Roundup
Our Sept. 16 online meeting covered the development and planning issues active in the neighborhood. If you weren't able to attend, you can view the entire presentation on YouTube.
Some context for discussing 601 S Dearborn
Revised designs are expected soon for a new building proposed for the parking lot across from the Transportation Building, but many hurdles remain before any new building can be built there. It might be useful to look at the regulatory framework affecting land use there.
As in most of the downtown area, the underlying zoning in Printers Row is DX-12, which would permit a building occupying the full site to rise 12 stories (what planners call a Floor Area Ratio, or FAR, of 12). A building occupying half the site could rise 24 stories, etc. However, the parking lot was in 1981 yoked to the Transportation Building in Planned Development No. 206, which specifies a maximum bulk (FAR) for the full site of 12.0, a maximum of 400 dwelling units, and required 75 parking spaces. Subtracting the bulk and dwelling units of the Transportation Building means the PD--as it stands now--would only allow a four-story building on the entire parking lot, one with 106 units.
 It seems likely that any development on the parking lot will require an amendment to the PD, at least to sever the site from the Transportation Building and to reduce the parking requirement, and probably to increase allowable bulk and unit numbers. City planning and zoning officials are very unlikely to want to see such a transit-rich downtown site developed at townhouse density. To preserve the character of Printers Row--a district of tall narrow buildings--the city's 2004 Near South Community Plan specifies a minimum height in this area of 90 feet and a maximum of 180.
Since the site is part of the Printing House Row Landmark District, the Landmarks Commission will closely review any new building, and is likely to frown on balconies, any exterior wall material other than brick, or any building with setbacks that does not fill the full site. Landmarks did, however, in recent years approve the nontraditional forms and materials on the building housing Totto's Market, and approved new buildings on South Michigan Avenue that dwarfed their historic neighbors.
In Brief
A Ninth Street Underpass connecting Clark to Wells under the Metra tracks has been planned for a number of years. Recently, utilities have been marked and a soil testing rig made borings in order for CDOT to assess the feasibility and estimate the costs. No construction is yet programmed.
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Chicago Museums Open Now or Opening Soon
Chicago has a great array of world class museums, many of them now either open or preparing to open. The museums that are open or preparing to open are doing so responsibly with proper social distancing, limiting capacities and enhanced cleanings. For information on a specific museum, click here!
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COVID-19
CPS Playgrounds Remain Closed
As Chicago cautiously begins to reopen parts of our city, all CPS playgrounds will remain closed in alignment with Park District guidance.
For more information on short-term rental reforms, Click Here!
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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.
New Openings: - Chicago French Press (Roosevelt Collection pop up)
Permanently Closed:
- Standing Room Only (610 S. Dearborn)
- Kroll's (1736 S. Michigan)
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Community Builder Spotlight
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Formed in 2001, SilverIP was born on the premise of leading technology paired with concierge-level customer service. We value our relationship with each of our 20,000+ customer and are happy to share our expertise with them. We specialize in providing ultra-fast Internet with speeds up to one gigabit to residential and commercial buildings, counting many of Chicago and Milwaukee's premiere and iconic properties as our clients. Our world-class team is guided by our core belief of providing our clients with exceptional value and service that is unmatched by any other provider. SilverIP has been based out of the South Loop for years, and we recently moved into our own building at 2241 S Wabash Avenue.
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Other Neighborhood Events
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CAPS Meetings
The Police Department will be holding all Beat meetings via Zoom through the end of the year.
MEEETING SCHEDULE:
Sector 10: 10/1/2020 @ 3 pm Sector 20: 10/14/2020 @ 3 pm Sector 30: 10/20/20 - Will be the District Strategic Conversation - See Below To receive a Zoom Invitation to the 10/1 and 10/14 meeting, please contact: Stanee E. Wills
District Strategic Conversation
Every year within the Chicago Police Dept., each district has 2 community conversations to assist in strategic planning for the upcoming year. This year these conversations are going to be virtual. The first conversation for the 1st Dist is October 20, 2020. The EventBrite link is below. These conversations help focus resources on policing needs of the community, and are instrumental in helping the districts plan for the upcoming year.
Printer Row Park Advisory Council
The Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners voted to begin the process to rename Park #543 to Printers Row Park. This initiates the 45 day notice period. We are in in Phase I. The 45 day notice allows the community to comment and at the conclusion of the 45 days, the board will put the issue on their next board meeting agenda (hopefully October 14th, 2020). Go to the link below and leave a comment supporting the park name change.
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. For now, meetings will be held virtually via Zoom.The next meeting is scheduled for October 21 at 6:00 PM. To register in advance for this meeting, Click Here! After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Additionally, the GPAC has a Committee on Art, Monuments and Markers. The Committee conducts reviews on existing and proposed exhibits for Grant Park in order to provide a well reasoned advisory recommendations to the Park District. The Committee had initiated a review on the Columbus Statue, prior to its removal. As the removal has been identified as temporary in nature, the Committee continued the review process. The current step of this process is. the acceptance of written public comments, which can be sent to vpgpacchicago@gmail.com, will be accepted until September 25. Further information will be posted and can be obtained at GPAC Facebook Page
Millennium Park Great Lawn
The Great Lawn reopened with social distancing circles painted on the grass that will help groups stay 6 feet apart from one another while still being able to enjoy the sights. The downtown park is currently accessible from an entrance at Michigan Avenue and Madison Street, and guests are asked to exit Millennium Park at Michigan Avenue and Washington Street, with daily hours running from 8am to 9pm. There's a maximum capacity for the park, which means that the entrance will close temporarily once the park it's full and presumably admit more people as visitors exit.
Columbia College The Glass Curtain Gallery at Columbia College Chicago is pleased to present Third Coast Disrupted: Artists + Scientists on Climate. This exhibition is the culmination of a yearlong conversation between artists and scientists centered on climate change impacts and solutions in the Chicago region. This exhibition opens September 8 and runs through October 30, 2020.
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Thank You To All Who Attended!
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SLN Clean-Up Brigade on Sept. 13
SLN Yard Sale on Sept. 19
SLN Photo Show: Aug. 27 & 29
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