City hopes Wabash can emerge from shadows of the el
As well-heeled homebuyers snap up units in highrise developments near the dazzling new Millennium Park, city officials and Loop stakeholders are planning to beautify a rundown stretch of South Wabash Avenue and transform it into a chic shopping destination.
The stretch of Wabash Avenue between Wacker Drive and Harrison Street stands in the shadow of the noisy overhead el tracks and is regarded by many as an ugly duckling wedged awkwardly between beautiful Michigan Avenue and State Street, that great street.
“People are a little intimidated by Wabash during the day,” says Ty Tabing, executive director of The Chicago Loop Alliance, which is leading the revitalization effort. “The sidewalks are a little deteriorated, and the street can be pretty dark even though it’s light. During the night they tended to take alternative routes rather than walk under that loud rickety el.”
The el tracks, dark and noisy as they are, will stay put during the renovation, which makes some doubt that any spruce-up can fundamentally change this street. Or should. Wabash may be dark and dingy, but it’s also a slice of classic Chicago that has a certain romance, some critics say, and a thin, prettified veil might be more silly than substantial.
But city officials and area boosters say that a makeover of Wabash Avenue can attract retailers and investment, and help create a richer neighborhood. In spring, the Department of Transportation will install planter boxes and bike racks, and light the underside of the el tracks. The $20 million revitalization plan also will include sidewalk repairs where necessary, says Brian Steele, spokesman for the Department of Transportation.
Burgundy el tracks
The first thing Chicagoans probably will notice is that the dirty cream color of the el tracks will be replaced by the same burgundy hue that adorns the city’s system of moveable bridges.
“It’s going to promote Wabash as a unique entity,” Steele says. “In the past, on other streetscape projects this has fostered retail and residential development. It helps the area to grow and the city to leverage private investment.”
Steele is referring to the successful makeover of Randolph and LaSalle streets. However, Wabash Avenue faces certain geographic challenges that those streets did not. Wabash is narrower, and even after the transformation is complete, it will still be sitting under the noisy tracks.
“How do you beautify Wabash? It sounds like an oxymoron,” says Gail Lissner of housing analyst Appraisal Research Counselors. “Are they going to provide ear muffs for people?”
Blossoming neighborhood
The spotlight on Wabash comes as the residential base grows in this corner of the Loop. Over the next few years, more than 600 people will take up residency in two new highrises, the sold-out The Heritage at Millennium Park, 130 North Garland Court, and The Legacy at Millennium Park, 60 E. Monroe St.
Other up-and-coming developments will add to the masses. GlenStar Properties and Walton Street Capital announced in January that they would convert 14 stories of the office tower at 55 E. Monroe St. into condos. MDA Chicago City Apartments, a high-end rental development at 63 E. Lake St. opened last September, and the highrise condo development Modern Momentum (MoMo), 8 E. Randolph St., is under construction.
The developers of the highrise condos want to draw high-end retailers to the commercial spaces within their buildings. Many of the current storefronts on Wabash, however, are empty, their only window displays large signs seeking tenants. The city’s Jewelers Row District, which runs along Wabash between Washington and Monroe streets, has a low-key presence. Fast food and low-grade retail fill out these blocks.
Turn-of-the-century look
Luring upscale women’s clothing stores will give the street some cohesion and attract a stylish mix of retailers, says James Hanson, a principal in Mesa Development, co-developer of The Heritage and The Legacy.
Already, upscale clothier Ann Taylor Loft has taken up residency on the first-floor of The Heritage. The developer is courting other women’s clothing boutiques, hoping to secure tenants for late spring or early summer, and Chicago coffee chain Intelligentsia also is slated to arrive in spring. A similar plan is being devised for The Legacy’s 8,000 square feet of retail space, but tenants were not confirmed at press time.
Mesa’s decision to incorporate the historic facades of three low-rise buildings on Wabash into the design of The Heritage earned the company both kudos and criticism, but Hanson says their retention is the key to promoting that end of the street.
“Wabash [Avenue] is the real deal,” Hanson says. “It’s not some fabricated ‘nostalgia street in the suburbs.’ It feels like a turn-of-the-century shopping environment.”
To the south, The Palmer House Hilton, which was acquired by Thor Equities in August 2005, is planning a $150 million “Real Chicago” renovation, evocative of the 1920s, including a new intricately lit canopy on Wabash, a new 125-car public garage and upgraded dining and retail.
Even skeptics seem to agree that Wabash needs better lighting, but some wonder if other planned improvements will airbrush an a muscular street that evokes the city’s working-class roots.
“It’s not a pretty stretch of the Loop, but I appreciate that at least a tiny part of the city’s industrial working roots hasn’t been glossed over – until now, apparently,” commented a recent reader at Yo Chicago, www.YoChicago.com, a New Homes Magazine Web site. “I will say, though – better lighting and level sidewalks sound pretty good.”