The long-awaited Adams – Sangamon Park has finally opened in the West Loop, after 7 years in the making.  It was dedicated (twice) last week.  Once by Mayor Daley, and once the area’s Alderman.  There seems to have been some competition with the the Mayor and Alderman Fioretti, allegedly a mayoral hopeful.

In any case, the park seems to be a hit with local residents, workers, dogs, children – and their nannys.  It has already been drawing large numbers every day since the fences came down.

The architects did a great job appealing to all of the needs of locals.  Check out the terrific review and photos from Inhabitat.

Wes Walker

According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Chicago in the year 2040 will have 2 million more inhabitants and will be part of a new “super-region similar to those in China and Brazil” that will compete in a new global economy.

To plan for this growth, there needs to be a regional transportation, development and infrastructure plan with a progressive vision like we’ve never seen before… or have we?

For this new grand plan, CMAP is turning to Chicago’s original master planner, Daniel Burnham.  Burnham’s 1909 Plan of Chicago, that created the public lakefront and wide boulevards, is the inspiration for the new “Go To 2040” proposal that the agency has unveiled.  The plan incorporates new underground high speed train lines and freight handling systems as well as mega transportation hubs in the West Loop linking with existing ones like Union Station, which was actually designed by Burnham.

I guess everything new is old again.

-Wes Walker

Go HERE for the New York Times article.

Travel and Leisure Magazine’s World’s Best Hotels 2010 survey results are in and Chicago has 4 hotels on the list.  Chicago’s Trump International Hotel and Tower made the list for the first time and even earned the distinction of Best Big City Hotel in all of the United States and Canada.  Usually a big winner, New York only earned one spot on this year’s list with it’s Ritz Carlton Central Park.

Hmmm…  the nation’s top destination for this 4th of July holiday and now the world’s best hotels list.  And you thought Michigan Avenue was already crowded!

-Wes Walker

Photo by: Jason Little

By Wes Walker

Although the City did not hold its usual 3rd of July fireworks off of Grant Park this year, there were still record numbers of attendees to the week-long 2010 Taste of Chicago.  Evidently, there was also a record amount of food consumed at the annual festival.

There were 53 food booths and more than 300 menu items.  Some of the fare gobbled up by the crowds included 125,000 turkey legs served by Manny’s Deli; 161,000 tacos from Carbon and La Justicia; 100,000 servings of pizza from Bacino’s, Doreen’s and Home Run Inn; 40,000 pounds of ribs from Robinson’s and 100,000 ice cream cones from Original Rainbow Cone.

The City ended the 35 year history of a massive massive fireworks display off Grant Park.  It was broken into 3 smaller shows spread out along the lakefront.  The City did not include Sunday’s fireworks gazers in the attendance estimates of the Taste, but, did not release official estimates for those crowds.

Did you attend this year?  What is your opinion of the Taste of Chicago?

After some controversy from the Wrigleyville neighborhood, and some design concessions from the developer, Chicago City Council has approved the new plans for a mixed use development directly across the street from historic Wrigley Field, (or is it Toyota Field?).

M&R Development altered its 2008 proposal which included 2 highrises.  The new development will consist of a 137 room, 8 story Hyatt Hotel, 135 apartments, 400 underground parking spaces and over 145,000 square feet of retail space.

M&R says that the development, currently named Addison Park on Clark, will be a sustainable construction project and that they will file for LEED certification.  They expect construction to take about 2 years from the time of groundbreaking.  Hmmm, maybe Hyatt will be finished with union negotiations by then.

What is your opinion of the project?

Chicago’s newest Sculpture, in the South Loop’s Pritzker Park, gets the finishing touches.  See the Chicago Now article HERE.

Move over New Orleans!

Priceline released it’s most popular destinations for the upcoming 4th of July holiday, and Chicago’s Millenium Park, Loop and Grant Park area has become the country’s #1 pick.

Check out the LA Times article HERE.

Chicago has a great music scene year-round, but this July… IT’S HOT!  (Sorry, had to do it.)

Check out Metromix’s incredible list of July’s Top 30 Concerts!  Including:

Silversun Pickups, Against Me!

Jack Johnson

Colombian Music Festival

Kings of Leon

Wilco

Lilith Fair

The Loneliest Monk

Carrie Underwood

The Swell Season

Pitchfork Music Festival

The Streets on Fire

From Index Publishing

The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, or Landmarks Illinois, has released its list of this year’s ten most threatened historic sites at a press conference at the State Capitol in Springfield. Four sites on the list are located within Chicago: the North Pullman Historic District, Prentice Women’s Hospital, St. Laurence Complex and Uptown Theatre.

Four blocks in the North Pullman neighborhood, comprising 87 total buildings, currently enjoy landmark protection. Many of the buildings are from the 1880’s and have outlasted the railcar company that spawned them. But absenteeism, poor upkeep and a 25% foreclosure rate all put the residential buildings at risk.

Influential architect Bertrand Goldberg has no buildings in the area with Chicago Landmark status, and that includes the Prentice Women’s Hospital (right) adjacent to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Northwestern moved out of the space in 1999 but may take ownership of the building later this year as the last of its tenants moves out. This may spur the hospital to tear it down for the construction of a new modern facility.

The St. Laurence Complex in the South Shore neighborhood, comprises a church and rectory built in 1911 and school buildings constructed in the years following. Sold off by the Archdiocese of Chicago, plans for a senior housing center and later a school have fallen through. Water damage from burst pipes has increased the likelihood that the complex will be razed.

Making its third appearance on the top ten list, Uptown Theatre seemed on the rebound. After decades of vacancy, the theater, made a Chicago landmark in 1991, was given new life when a developer purchased the property in 2008 with plans of restoring it to an active venue. But those designs were hampered by the limping economy and Chicago’s largest movie palace once again faces its destruction.

The annual “Ten Most Endangered Historic Places” list is designed to focus attention on sites throughout Illinois threatened by deterioration, lack of maintenance, insufficient funds or inappropriate development. A number of the sites listed this year have fallen victim to the poor economic climate. Since the program’s inception in 1995, 42 sites have been saved, 34 have been demolished or substantially altered, and 90 remain threatened. For a detailed list of all saved and endangered sites, visit Landmarks Illinois.

By Real Living Helios

According to figures generated for ChicagoCondosOnline.com by MRED, the regional MLS, year-to-date sales of Chicago condos for the first two months of 2010 are:
* Up 30% in total dollar volume, to $356 million
* Up 41% in units closed, to 1,097
* Down 12% in median sales price, to $255,000
* Down 8% in average market time, to 143 days

Comparing February sales to January:
* Units closed were down only 1%, from 549 to 543 closings
* Dollar volume was down 13%, from $190 million to $165 million
* Median sales price was down 11%, from $270,000 to $239,000, the lowest since March 2003
* Average market time was up 4%, from 140 days to 146 days

For details on month-over-month and year-over-year: click here.
For previous market reports: click here.

Source: www.ChicagoCondosOnline.com