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Lakeshore East
Architects are generally sensitive to the context in which their buildings will be situated. Building renderings and photos, however, rarely show the context, or offer only a limited glimpse of the surroundings. This panoramic view of the north side of the Chicago River, seen from upper Wacker Drive, illustrates Optima Center‘s distinctive presence on this ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on March 22, 2013
Stephanie Konow and Katie Bommarito are former rental services agents who grew frustrated with that business and set out to connect Chicago tenants directly with landlords by founding Chicago Rentals Direct. Eighteen months ago they led me on a tour of the six rental high-rises in the New East Side neighborhood – the area bounded ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on January 22, 2013
The Coast, a 49-story mixed-use glass tower at 345 E Wacker Dr in the Lakeshore East area of the New East Side, is slated to contain 515 apartment units, 18,000 square feet of amenities and 18,000 square feet of retail space. The Coast’s design by bKL “in the tradition of Chicago modernism” has spawned a ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on January 11, 2013
The 495-unit, 43-story Hubbard Place is rising rapidly at 360 W Hubbard in River North, and is about three-quarters of the way toward its full height. Judging from the last photos I took at the site the building is adding a floor about every three working days. Hubbard Place’s website is currently estimating occupancy in ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on January 8, 2013
In the torrent of words that’s been written about Aqua’s balconies, I haven’t seen any mention of the fact that they’re almost completely unused. The balconies pictured above on the highest floors of Aqua face north and have spectacular views along the river and over the north side of the city. Michael Kardas shot the ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on September 20, 2012
Five years ago yesterday we posted the picks of our then editorial staff for Chicago’s best new homes 2007. Our staff had a near-perfect record of spotting projects that either wouldn’t be built or would prove problematic for buyers if they were. In the eight categories in which we picked winners, only one project proved ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on May 1, 2012
If you have tales you’d like to share from your apartment hunt, add them in a comment or email yojoe at yochicago dot com. Here’s the sixth report from my veteran renter correspondent. Note that we don’t vouch for the accuracy of any of these tales, nor do we try to verify them. We will ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on February 14, 2012
Here’s a good test of what you prioritize and value in your next apartment. Consider a convertible studio and a 2-bedroom, 2-bath in two different buildings in the same location at the identical rent. Some will opt for far more space and an extra bath, some for the sexy architecture and the scene at a ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on February 2, 2012
If you’re in the market for a high-end rental on Chicago’s New East Side you have options in two very different buildings in the complex: Aqua and 340 on the Park. Aqua is a mixed-use building with a hotel on its lower floors, rental apartments in the middle and condos on the higher floors. Unit ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on December 16, 2011
Site work on the Coast at Lakeshore East, 345 E Wacker Dr, began in June of 2011. When it is completed in February 2013, the 49-story Coast will include 499 residential apartments, 18,000 square feet of retail space, 18,000 square feet of amenities and parking located below Wacker Drive. Pedestrian access will be from Wacker ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on October 30, 2011
The Chicago Architecture Blog recently stopped by the newly-opened
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Posted by Joe Zekas on October 13, 2011
The Coast will definitely not be clear. The new 499-unit 45-story rental tower that’s coming out of the ground at 345 E Wacker Dr as part of the Lakeshore East development will, as you can see from some of these photos, negatively impact the views from a number of existing high-rises in the area. North-facing ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on October 3, 2011
Join Todd Wendell, who was the project manager for the design team at Aqua, on the roof above the penthouse level, over 800 feet above Chicago, chatting about some of the challenges of building Aqua. It was a sunny clear day and the views were “beyond fantastic.” We focus more on the views in the ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on August 19, 2011
Stephanie Konow and Katie Bommarito are former rental services agents who grew frustrated with that business and set out to connect Chicago tenants directly with landlords by founding Chicago Rentals Direct. Tapping into their knowledge, I asked them to lead me on a tour of the six rental high-rises in the New East Side neighborhood ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on July 18, 2011
Ever since the announcement of a new tower at Lakeshore East fronting `Wacker Drive there’s been speculation about how it would affect the views from Aqua. According to its architects the façade of the new tower, now known as The Coast, is a “composition of light and translucency.” The Google Earth view of Lakeshore East, ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on June 29, 2011
The Lakeshore East mega-development on Chicago’s New East Side has three rental towers, The Tides, The Shoreham and Aqua, which also has condominiums and will include a hotel. You can also typically find a few units for rent in the Lakeshore East condo buildings: Aqua, The Regatta, The Chandler, The Lancaster and 340 on the ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on June 28, 2011
When it was completed in 1963, the 40-story, 955-unit Outer Drive East was the world’s largest apartment building, the only residential building east of Michigan Ave in Chicago’s Loop, and the only Loop high-rise east of One Prudential Plaza. It was also a triumph of Chicago politics: Mayor Richard J. Daley instructed the city planning ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on June 19, 2011
If you want to stay current on news about Chicago high-rise developments, the SkyscraperCity High-rise Development News forum is a must-visit. The forum is often the first place to break news about Chicago high-rises. A hat tip to the forum for alerting me to this recent update on Lakeshore East’s “Building A” at The Chicago ...
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Posted by Joe Zekas on May 16, 2011
Remember that supermarket that Magellan Development started building at Lakeshore East last year? It’s almost finished. Mark Boyer of Curbed stopped by recently and shared some snapshots from his trip this afternoon, including the one above. The 105,000 square-foot Village Market Center will be home to a Mariano’s Fresh Market, a III Forks steakhouse, and ...
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Posted by Joseph Askins on May 10, 2011
On Monday, Curbed’s Mark Boyer shared some new renderings of Magellan Development‘s next endeavor at Lakeshore East: a Brininstool, Kerwin & Lynch-designed apartment tower planned for 345 E Wacker Dr. Today, David Roeder of the Sun-Times followed up with a short report on the building’s design and timetable for construction. The 49-story high-rise will have ...
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Posted by Joseph Askins on May 4, 2011
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