era weese realty

http://www.architecture.org/architecture-chicago/buildings-of-chicago/building/merchandise-mart/
Size has always mattered in the Midwest. From the World’s Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas, to the World’s
Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville, Illinois, the pursuit of bigger and better is evident in the region’s landscape. The
Merchandise Mart, situated on the Chicago River, occupies over 4 million square feet (approximately 372,000 square
meters) or the equivalent of 2 1/2 city blocks. Upon its completion in 1930 it was the largest building in the world and served
as Marshall Field’s wholesale warehouse where retailers could buy stock.
DID YO U KNOW
It was one of the first buildings in the city to be built over railway air rights.
Designed by Alfred P. Shaw for the architecture firm Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, the Merchandise Mart is one of
Chicago’s many Art Deco buildings that reflects the optimism of the 1920s. The steel-framed structure is clad
inlimestone, terra cotta and bronze and its ornamentation displays many of the style’s popular motifs. The recessed vertical
windows with dark spandrels emphasize the building’s verticality and balance out its horizontal mass. Rows of decorative
chevrons (zigzags) and diagonal towers at each corner of the building are common motifs used during the Art Deco era.
The Merchandise Mart began as a wholesale warehouse store for Marshall Field that included rental space for other
wholesalers. The idea was to unite sales of furniture, fabric and other decorative materials under one roof. However, it
wasn’t the financial success investors expected. The Great Depression forced Field & Company out of the wholesale market.
In 1945 the building was sold to a group headed by Joseph P. Kennedy for about a third of its original cost.
The Kennedy family held onto the property for over three decades and sold the building in 1998 to its current owners,
Vornado Realty Trust. In the last ten years the building has undergone retrofits to implement energy efficiency measures
and integrate real time data into its operations. It’s still a designer showcase venue today. More than one quarter of the
building is leased by tech companies including tech startup incubator 1871, and Motorola Mobility.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_House_(Chicago)
Fulton House is a former cold storage warehouse converted into a residential building at Wolf Point, Chicago. Fulton
House was built in 1898 by Frank B. Abbott as a 15-story warehouse structure. In 1908, the building was converted to a
cold storage warehouse with an addition of a section to the north and a 16th floor. The split of the original south section and
newer north section can be seen from the outside by a large crack on the exterior wall as well as a few details on the facade.
The building's fame came from the conversion as a residential building by Harry Weese from 1979 to 1981. The 16 story
building now contains 106 residential condo/lofts located at 345 North Canal Street. Once in a run down neighborhood, the
area is now under renewal and revival.
Wolf Point South Tower is the tallest of three planned buildings to be developed in the Near North Side community area on
the Wolf Point property at a fork in the Chicago River in downtown Chicago. The building is planned to be 950 feet (289.56 m)
tall.[1]
On January 26, 2012, the Chicago Sun-Times broke the story that the Kennedy family was planning a three-tower
development at Wolf Point. On May 8, 2012, Chicago Alderman Brendan Reilly announced that a three-tower proposal
for Wolf Point had been made including buildings of approximately 900 feet (274.32 m), 750 feet (228.60 m) and 525 feet
(160.02 m) and that plans would be made public on May 29. The South Tower would be the tallest of these buildings. The
property upon which the development was planned is historic and drew scrutiny by critics. Plans for the tower
development were presented as scheduled by the Kennedy family on land that they own in the River North neighborhood
at the confluence of South, North, and Main Branches of the Chicago River southwest of the Merchandise Mart complex.
As plans for the Kennedy proposal were developing on the north bank of Wolf Point, a plan for a 45- to 50-story office
building on the west bank called River Point were progressing according to Robert Sharoff of The New York Times.
Chicago Tribune Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic Blair Kamin felt that the initial plans presented by Christopher G.
Kennedy needed some work.
On October 30, 2012, a revised plan was presented that included more open space.[12][13] In November the responses to
the revisions were negative,[14] and Reilly withdrew the proposal on November 27.[15] The Chicago Plan
Commission approved the plans for the entire three-tower development that included 1,410 residential units, 450 hotel
rooms and 1,285 parking stalls on January 24, 2013.[16][17] In May 2013, opponents of the planned development filed suit
in United States Federal Court.[18] On November 19, 2013, U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve ruled that the valuable and
iconic views of downtown are not something that can be constitutionally protected saying "Illinois courts do not recognize
property values, air, or light as constitutionally protected property interests." [19] The Wolf Point Towers broke ground in
March 2014.[20] Neighboring Wolf Point West Tower had its groundbreaking ceremony on July 18, 2014.[21] In July 2015, a
rumor emerged that the tower might exceed 1,000 feet (304.80 m).[22]
Flood of ‘92
On April 13, 1992, basements and other underground facilities throughout Chicago were flooded with more than 250 million
gallons of water from the Chicago River when workers who were driving in pilings in the river near Kinzie Street, punctured
a century-old freight tunnel which was connected to dozens of underground areas downtown. The water quickly rushed into
the basements of several Loop office buildings, retail stores, underground parking facilities and subways. The city was
forced to evacuate much of the downtown area, due to the water. It took three days before the flood was cleaned up enough
to allow businesses to open. The flood cost the city an estimated $1.95 billion.
Chicago Sun Times
Architect: Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Completed: 1977
This building was previously the Apparel Mart and was built as a compliment the neighboring Merchandise Mart. In 2004,
the Sun-Times newspaper moved its offices into the building, when its former headquarters building was sold to make way
for the Trump Tower.
East Bank Club
Construction finish: 1980
East Bank is known nationally, thanks in part to members Oprah Winfrey, President Barack Obama and Mayor Rahm
Emanuel. Mr. Levin seldom advertises the club, relying on word of mouth.
In 2012, East Bank was ranked 21st on Club Industry's top 100 list for income volume, reporting $54 million in revenue. The
ranking is notable given the club is not a franchise. It has the largest volume of any single urban club in the country, Mr.
Levin says.
Q What has surprised you most over the years?
A When we built the club, we had no idea we'd have this many members. We've had to convert tennis courts to locker
rooms and workout rooms.
Q Was it hard to raise money to finance such a large facility (450,000 square feet, including the garage and deck)?
A We had several major insurance companies turn us down. People in Chicago liked it a lot, but we'd go to New York and
Connecticut and they'd say, 'What is this? It's not a business. It's not a hotel. It's not an apartment building or a shopping
center. I don't know what to call this thing, and we're not going to finance a tennis court.' We ended up getting a relatively
small loan from Continental Bank, which doesn't exist anymore. We had to put in and raise a lot of equity.
Kingsbury Plaza
The Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois is betting that the good times will keep rolling in the downtown
apartment market.
The pension fund acquired a majority stake in Kingsbury Plaza, a 47-story tower just north of the East Bank Club in River
North, according to people familiar with the transaction. TRS acquired its interest from GE Asset Management,
which built the 420-unit high-rise in 2007 in a joint venture with Chicago-based apartment landlord Habitat Co.
Prices of high-end apartment towers in downtown Chicago have soared the past few years, fueled by rising occupancies
and rents, a favorable lending climate and strong demand for risky assets among yield-hungry investors. Downtown
Chicago is an “extremely attractive market,” said Kenneth Lombard, partner at Capri Capital Partners LLC, the Chicagobased real estate firm that advised TRS on the acquisition.
“We're just really continuing a commitment we have to acquire Class A properties in major metropolitan markets
throughout the United States,” Mr. Lombard said.
Habitat will continue to own a minority stake and manage the building, 520 N. Kingsbury St. Mr. Lombard said Capri
recapitalized the building on behalf of an institutional investor, without identifying the investor. A TRS spokesman declined
to comment, and a GE Asset Management spokesman did not return a call.
It's unclear what the pension fund paid for its stake in Kingsbury Plaza, or what the transaction implies about the building's
value. Similar downtown apartment buildings in the past year have sold in the range of $300,000 to $350,000 a unit.
Where multifamily values go from here will depend on how well the downtown market handles a surge in
development expected to add about 8,300 units, a 35 percent increase in supply, between 2013 and 2015. If demand
can't keep up with supply, as some predict, occupancies and rents could fall, taking property values down with them.
`Cottages` Built Along The River May 26, 1990 By John Handley. Chicago Tribune
Chicago architect Harry Weese said he got the idea for his River Cottages when he was traveling through Budapest,
Hungary, in the late 1950s. As Weese crossed the Danube River on a ferry, he noticed an unusual riverside development
where the Communist government apparently had allowed local architects to do whatever they wanted. Now, more than
30 years later, Weese has created his own unique residential project on the banks of the Chicago River. With a rakish,
swept-back design, the River Cottages actually are four townhouses in two attached buildings, one four stories high and
the other, five. The peaked roofs, cross-bracing and decorative portholes were meant to recall the sailing schooners that
once docked at this spot across from historic Wolf Point. Located on Canal Street at the west end of the Kinzie Avenue
Bridge, the River Cottages are next to the 14-story Fulton House condominiums, a former windowless storage building
that Weese rehabbed. Directly across the river on Wolf Point is the Apparel Center and Holiday Inn. Views of the Loop`s
towering skyline, with the curved, green-glass expanse of the 333 Wacker Drive building across the river to the southeast,
can be seen from the windows of the townhouses.
Three of the four units, ranging from 2,200 to 4,200 square feet of living area and priced from $325,000 to $500,000, have
been sold. Weese has kept one unit and may move into it himself, he said. ``We may do other cottages along the river,``
said George Vrechek, vice president and treasurer of Harry Weese & Associates. But Vrechek said they would be less
elaborate and a different design from the River Cottages. ``We have had preliminary talks with a developer about the
possibility of river cottages farther up the North Branch of the Chicago River,`` he said. ``In the past, though, people have
not been much oriented toward the river for residences.`` To date, two of three new owners have moved into the River
Cottages. The townhouses` special design features-balconies, spiral staircases, decks, skylights and angled windowscreate light and airy interiors. In the five-story building, the units are arranged with an entry room on the ground floor;
living room, dining room and kitchen on the first floor; master bedroom on the second floor; other bedrooms on the third
floor; a study on the fourth floor; and a roof deck on the fifth floor. An elevator connects the various levels, or fitness
enthusiasts may choose to use the stairs. A mature tree spreads its branches in a garden between the buildings.
Besides watching river traffic, the residents can look out the rear windows at the frequent commuter trains rolling by on
elevated tracks across the street. In fact, the River Cottages have a strong railroad connection. The land they are built on
was the site of Chicago`s first rail depot. In 1848, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad was organized by William
Ogden, Chicago`s first mayor, whose lawyer was Abraham Lincoln.
In November of that year, Chicago`s first grain transported by rail arrived from farms to the west. The grain was loaded
onto schooners at water`s edge where the River Cottages are now. Before the American Revolution, the house of a
French fur trader named Guarie was near the site. In the 1830s the immediate area included Elijah Wentworth`s Wolf
Tavern and John Kinzie`s Tavern.
MONTGOMERY WARD BUILDING COMPLEX: Built in 1907, previously served as the national headquarters for the
country's oldest mail order firm, Montgomery Ward. The property is located along the North Branch of the Chicago
River at 618 W. Chicago Avenue in Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois. It was listed on the National Register of Historic
Places and as a National Historic Landmark on June 2, 1978 It now houses condominiums, restaurants and office space,
home to Groupon, Wrigley, the Big Ten Network, among others.