Category: Urban planning
Chicago architects dish to New Homes on latest projects, pet peeves
For a while there, it was no fun talking to Chicago's top residential architects. It's not that they bored us — they're among the most interesti [...]
CTA narrows proposed Circle Line routes through Near West neighborhoods to 2
The Chicago Transit Authority has narrowed the options for its proposed Circle Line down to two routes, according to a story in today's Chicago Sun-Ti [...]
GGP will take New Urbanist approach with project on Chicago's South Side
A couple of years ago, it was trendy to buy a Louis Vuitton bag. Then, the hippest folks were buying miniature dogs that fit inside Louis Vuitton bags [...]
Will Washington Park Olympic improvements float in the Fountain of Time?
The Chicago Tribune's architecture critic Blair Kamin sounds upbeat about revised plans for the city's bid to host the 2016 Olympics, which now call [...]
Could Washington Park benefit from an Olympic-sized investment?
Anyone thinking about buying an investment condo in the Washington Park neighborhood? Mayor Daley has just announced that he wants the eponymous par [...]
Does Highland Park's downtown trump "faux" downtowns in other Chicago suburbs?
One of the reasons Mike and Eve Del Monte moved from Chicago to Highland Park was a vibrant and charming downtown that they saw as the antithesis of [...]
Daley kowtows to big-box retailers over minimum wage
Or, is Daley's veto a wise decision essential to the city's growth? Voice your thoughts at Yo's big-box minimum wage thread over at our Retail forum. [...]
St. Charles launches ambitious downtown development plan
St. Charles is hoping to capitalize on its riverfront location and historic architecture with an ambitious six-year $105 million redevelopment plan th [...]
Trying to resurrect downtown, Roselle can't give commercial space away
Developer Richard Gammonley says that Starbucks was offered property in Northwest suburban Roselle rent-free for four to five years - and turned the v [...]
The pros and cons of living in a landmark district in Chicago
How would you feel if the neighborhood you were living in became a landmark district? Has it happened to you? Does it affect property values? Do you [...]
Can new Science park, condos boost Skokie's dead downtown?
Downtown Skokie is about as lively as New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward on a wet day, but business owners hope that a new Science and Technology Park on O [...]
Brown Line reconstruction gets mixed reviews
The Kedzie and Rockwell stops on the CTA's Brown Line opened ahead of schedule last week, but the reconstruction is running 11 percent over budget, ac [...]
How much is too much preservation in Ukrainian Village?
Yo's truly likes old homes, and the nice thing about Ukrainian Village is that so many early 20th century homes have been preserved through the effort [...]
A condo building among landmarks in Ukrainian Village
This condo building, and one of two others, on the 900 block of Leavitt and surrounding streets, snuck in just before the block was zoned as a landm [...]
Landmarked homes in Ukrainian Village
As other neighborhoods frenetically tear down older homes and build $1 million-plus manses, much of Ukrainian Village has gone the other way. Vast s [...]
Mixed-use projects planned for the Near South Side
But wait, there's more: Earlier we told you about Eastgate Village, but there are several mixed-use projects planned for underutilized land that will [...]
Merits, flaws of Chicago's many TIF districts debated
If you think of a tax-increment financing district (TIF) as a small, well trained attack dog designed for a short leash, a pack of around 140 has take [...]
Hamlin Park to welcome new neighbors at Lathrop Homes
The little hamlet of Hamlin Park is looking lively these days and it's about to get even more so, with the Chicago Housing Authority's recent announce [...]
Bridgeport Village: another suburb in the city?
Our post on Bridgeport Commons, a city development with a suburban feel, drew some impassioned responses from our readers, ranging from "AAAAAAAAAAG [...]
Will zoning change make Joe E's a destination in Chicago's Irving Park?
The Bench, Yo's johnny-on-the-spot in Irving Park, is skeptical about the zoning change proposed for a stretch of Irving Park Road west of Pulaski.
T [...]