The federal General Services Administration (GSA) is selling four buildings it owns on State Street, and Chicago has an RFP to collect proposals from private developers. GSA policy requires them to be sold to the local municipality, and the city will immediately sell it to the selected developer.
The city’s RFP — bids are due Monday, May 1, 2017 — requires that the Century building at 202 S State St and the Consumers building at 220 S State St are retained and renovated. The two buildings between them, at 212 and 214 S State St, can be demolished but “proposals should maintain its [214] historic storefront at a minimum”.
Alder Brendan Reilly said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, “All but one of these buildings are considered to be potentially landmark-worthy and all four of these buildings are definitely at-risk. They have not been well maintained and will require structural work and significant facade restoration.”
Aaron Joseph questioned why the situation of so much real estate in the heart of the State Street commercial district had “decayed” since the GSA bought the properties in 2005. Indeed, you may recognize these buildings by the long-term presence of scaffolding, and occasionally there have been murals on the corner building.
Neighborhood news
- A debate on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight with Paris Schutz overemphasizes new construction in Pilsen. Schutz: “But Ald. Solis acknowledges that the boom in construction has led to higher rents and some families have been priced out of their homes.” It doesn’t appear that there’s a boom in Pilsen. In 2016 there were only 17 residential new construction permits, six in 2015, and five in 2014. Previous years had similar numbers, or none at all. The increase from 2015 to 2016 doesn’t make a “boom” trend. Solis should look into the idea that allowing more housing would mitigate rent and property value increases.
- The Roosevelt library branch in Little Italy will move down the block to new digs at 1259 W Taylor St in a couple of years, DNAinfo Chicago reported. The new building will be combined with Chicago Housing Authority units, designed by SOM, on vacant land the CHA owns and where the Jane Addams homes were.
- Perkins + Will was selected to design a combined library and housing in West Ridge; John Ronan Architects will design one in Irving Park.
- Sterling Bay, the development company credited with revitalizing the Fulton Market/Randolph Street corridor, is now selling off its properties: “Sterling Bay doesn’t hold anything. We buy it, we fix it, we sell it.”
- Yes, people who currently live in Jefferson Park would live in a new proposed affordable housing development, despite the bigoted rhetoric some neighbors are throwing their way. (DNAinfo)
- Resident groups are still arguing for the Obama library foundation to agree to an enforceable Community Benefits Agreement (Sun-Times)
- Curbed Chicago summarizes all of the construction activity and current and past organizing in Woodlawn, a neighborhood adjacent to the future Obama library in Jackson Park.
- A new co-op opens in Bronzeville — South Side Weekly counts it among six co0perative housing organizations on the South Side