This morning I finally got around to piecing together footage from our visit to the recently opened Roosevelt Collection, located at 150 W Roosevelt Rd in the South Loop. There’s only so much we could see on Friday — a lot of the development is still fenced off and under construction, and only a couple of two-bedroom models are open for viewing. Still, it was nice to get a close look at the project after spending the past two years viewing it through scaffolding and concrete barriers.
A few things to note as you watch this video: The Kerasotes ShowPlace movie theater should be open by Thanksgiving, David Barton Gym is still lined up as a tenant, and the large park planned just north of the development will be the very last thing to open. A scale model on display in the leasing center still shows a proposed high-rise on the project’s northwest corner — Habitat Company leasing agent Taylor O’Shaughnessy said plans for the tower were still up in the air and might hinge on the awarding of the 2016 Olympics to Chicago. Today’s news probably doesn’t help those plans, but we’ll keep an eye on the development as it moves forward to see if the tower stays put in Roosevelt Collection’s marketing materials.
I wonder if they were having trouble selling the condos and that prompted them to turn these units into rentals. If anyone was to rent, I wonder how expensive it is. Either way this looks almost like a self contained neighborhood because other than going to work anyone who lives there may not have to leave this development for any reason.
Levois: Look for more on the leasing rates on Monday morning.
So I walked over there today and talked to one of the construction workers and he mentioned the Kerasotes would open November 2, 2009. I think that is optimistic and you mentioned Thanksgiving in your video. Either way that is great that it will be opening soon. The worker new nothing of the park. If delayed until Fall 2010 it would be a shame but my main concern is access from the north side of the development. Did they mention if the stairs would be accessible to people who want to enter from the north side via Wells St or Financial St or do you have to walk all the way around to Roosevelt? I also heard rumor that the Kerasotes will have loveseats in the theater that you can order food and alcoholic beverages from without having to leave the theater. Do you know if this is true? Thanks for the great video.
Brian –
Re: Kerasotes: We’ll touch base with Roosevelt Collection soon to see what the timetable is for the theater. I know that Jerry Kleiner will operate a bar inside the theater, but I don’t know whether you will be able to take your drinks into the screening room with you or whether there will be any love seats, a la Muvico and similar theater franchises.
As for the stairways, I don’t know whether they will be accessible once the theater opens or if they will open closer to the park’s completion. We’ll try to find that out as well.
Thanks Joseph. I sent a message to Kerasotes and it looks like they plan to open December 18, 2009. Quoted reply below:
“Thank you for coming to Kerasotes ShowPlace Theatres and for your interest in the Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON in Chicago. We anticipate this location will be open on or about December 18, 2009. This location will be a premium location with a restaurant and bar as well as reserved seating in all auditoriums. We will be offering a specialized member’s club for the ICON locations which will enable card holder’s to attend special events and premieres. At this point, we do not anticipate the ICON locations will be part of the Five Buck Club. We are hoping to have the ICON section of our website up by mid November and further information about all the benefits will be detailed at that time.”