^ another lot I'm curious about is where that property close to Skinker where the African American Cultural Center was to go... not sure if that is going anywhere but I think the fence/sign is still there. Not as big a parcel as the others but would be great for a nice two-story infill.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing how this tower adds to the vibrancy of the East Loop... there is so much yet to do and we need feet on the ground.
As far as the concerns about scale go, I'll point to my old stomping grounds at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The main street of Campustown (which is neither downtown Champaign nor downtown Urbana) is Green St., and for decades it was made up of 2 and 3 and maybe an occasional 4 story building. Mostly first floor retail with residential above. It saw a few taller buildings go up before I ever got there, but we're talking 6 stories, not 10.
It had always been a very vibrant street, and certainly was when I was there. Very walkable, very welcoming.
While I was there it saw it's first large scale tower go up. It's 24-stories. It changed the physical character of the street, it didn't change the vibrancy or the walkability or the types of things you could find in the retail bays.
Every time I've been back to campus since I left (and keep in mind I only left at the end of 2011—graduated 2010 FWIW), I'm amazed at the changes. Now there high rise towers up and down the street or ones under construction. From what I can gather, it still hasn't changed anything about the experience of the street for the worse.
I mean, some might prefer the more intimate feel of smaller buildings, and I can totally respect that. But it's just a change. It's not one that is likely to make the area any worse off.
And in the case of this Loop project, I think it's going to do wonders for the East side of the Loop.
Just the height of the building alone I think will have a positive psychological effect that will help encourage people to cross Skinker. Like, "hey- there must be more cool stuff to check out that way."
stlgasm wrote:Just the height of the building alone I think will have a positive psychological effect that will help encourage people to cross Skinker.
Definitely. It will also make the Metrolink station seem that much closer, since you'll basically be able to see this building from anywhere (at least along the south side) of the Loop.
jstriebel wrote:I mean, some might prefer the more intimate feel of smaller buildings, and I can totally respect that. But it's just a change. It's not one that is likely to make the area any worse off.
There's a bit of height to the starbucks location in the loop and plenty of height to that retirement home on Westgate. There are several tall buildings. This towering monster could certainly have taken a nod from the Moonrise and put the height back just a bit from the street to maintain the sidewalk feel, but it will not be out of place. As long as the whole street doesn't start to look like that, occasional height can add great variety, and transit stations should get special permission for that sort of thing anyway.
Let's put another one at Skinker and Delmar.
Personally, I feel sad about the state of the Majestic in the Central West End next to that giant box with no street appeal. Euclid didn't have to be developed like that.
