In a glass box on the 103rd floor

Crain's Chicago has a great article about the opening of the Ledge at the Sears (Willis) Tower Skydeck.

High above Chicagoland on the 103rd floor, this glass cube gives you the opportunity to step out among the clouds. It offers a different perspective on Marina Towers and all the other downtown buildings. Marina City does have a similar perspective with the cantilevered balconies. I have a hard time stepping out to the outermost portion of my balcony...



Check out the video of The Ledge:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid28200935001?bclid=28210826001&bctid=28223913001

Time to take a walk - a river walk

The Chicago Tribune had a great article on the near completion of the river walk to State Street.



The Michigan Ave to Wabash section is complete. The above picture shows O'Brien's Cafe along with the new walking path.

The good news is that the Wabash to State part will complete in the next two weeks. When complete, it will end near the Vietnam Memorial and Marina City. You will be able to walk direct on the river level from Marina Towers to the lake without having to go up and down stairs at each street and going under all the traffic.



The under bridge elements keep traffic debris off pedestrians and resemble the Cloud Gate (The Bean) exterior.



Just in time for summer!

Scale model of downtown Chicago & Marina Towers on display

From Wednesday through Sept. 20, the Chicago Architecture Foundation has a great scale model of Chicago and Marina City on display. The Chicago Tribune has a great overview of the project.



The best part of the whole thing is that its only a 15 minute walk from our building and its free!

Chicago Architecture Foundation
224 South Michigan Avenue
312.922.3432 x240.

The new hotel The Wit opens on State Street

This past Wednesday The Wit hotel opened on State Street. It is a pretty interesting design that is welcome over the construction debris and scaffolding. I have been watching its construction from my balcony at Marina City.




Govnor's pub, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Dunkin Donuts are gone, but in its place we have three new restaurants. The previous was shut down and ultimately condemned because of instability in its top floor. The new building includes a pretty interesting rooftop restaurant with both an indoor & outdoor area. With really great views that include Marina Towers.





Chicago Tribune's Blair Kamin has also written a review:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-0528-witmay28,0,2521186.story

Make no little plans...

"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized." A phrase credited to Daniel Burnham, the architect of Chicago's 1909 Plan of Chicago.

Well, it looks like the city has another renovation plan its considering. In the Tribune, the Chicago Central Area Action Plan is outlined. Below is the proposed West Loop Transportation Center.


A four level, $2 billion transporation center under Clinton Street. It would connect Union Station and the Ogilvie Transportation Center served by Metra trains with CTA bus and rail lines, Pace buses, a proposed Carroll Avenue transit line and long-distance Amtrak high-speed trains.

Check out the Tribune article for some of the very interesting proposed changes.

Time to think about air conditioning.

You wouldn't think that the warm weather will be in Chicago soon, but you can count on humid, hot days soon. If you live in Marina City, you probably have one of the older air conditioning and heating units. These 45 year old beasts aren't very energy efficient and do break down.

Over the last couple of years, I have had the pleasure of working with Rob Engelthaler. He is my new heating and air conditioning guru. When the cooling portion of my unit went out in my Marina Towers bedroom, I wasn't looking forward to putting money into repairs. Someone gave me Rob's name. For $1,500, I had a new quiet and efficient unit installed. New thermostats and new wiring were included in the price. He even took the old one away at no charge.

Rob's has just created a website to advertise his business.

Below is a new unit installed.



Here is my unit with the cover off.


These units are the very popular GE Zoneline heat & a/c units that hotels all over the place use. Thankfully they fit perfectly in the old metal sleeve above the balcony door.

Rob's installed price is below. I think that if you can work with your neighbors to order 3 or more, there may be a discount.

Model (BTU Rating) Price
9000 $1400.00
12,000 $1500.00
15,000 $1600.00

Rob's contact information is as follows:
Robert Engelthaler
2306 Commonwealth Ave
North Chicago IL 60064
847 785 0875 office
773 991 4128 cell
http://www.marinatowerheatingandcooling.com

Time for Cheese? Yes!

While waiting for my fiance Wednesday and killing time, I happened on a very interesting neighborhood shop. Pastoral Cheese, Bread and Wine at 53 E. Lake Street is right around the corner from Marina City.


Pastoral is a part time (lunch hour during weekdays) sandwich shop and full time specialty cheese, bread and wine shop. From their website, “In a world of mass produced products stacked high on shelves in supermarkets, superstores and wholesale clubs, there is still a time and a place for small bath, high-quality, handcrafted products sold in an intimate environment with the most attentive and thoughtful service. Somehow artisan products like cheese, bread and wine, which hail from the land in some of the most beautiful places on Earth deserve to be showcased, cared-for and sold someplace that reflects their special roots – PASTORAL!”

Service was definitely top notch when I stopped by. I got a tour of all the products with the majority of time spent on the huge and unique assortment of cheeses. What a great place! I am going to try two of the classes that Pastoral is offering:

Wines of the Southern Hemisphere on April 25 at 6:30pm.
Wine, Beer & Spirits for Cheese Lovers on May 9 at 6:30pm.

With all the chain stores & restaurants in the Loop near Marina Towers, its nice to have a store that is locally owned & operated with some excellent products!

New Marina Towers neighbor on the cutting edge of green.

If you live and/or work in the River North neighborhood, you may have noticed the construction work opposite the new office tower 353 North Clark. With so much building in the neighborhood, I almost missed this story in Green Bean Chicago. A large parking garage is being constructed on the northeast corner of Kinzie & Clark. This parking garage incorporates sustainable features and is called Greenway Self Park.

The most noticeable feature of the completed structure are the wind turbines on the southwest corner of the building. You can see those below.


The new garage also features the following:
- Natural ventilation
- Low-E glass to further reduce energy demand
- A green roof to combat heat
- A bike storage room for 2 dozen bikes
- Six plug-in stations for electric vehicles



I snapped a few construction photos while on my way to lunch from Marina City.








In the photo below, you will notice the pre-fabricated structure being delivered. Unlike an office tower, this parking garage is constructed in pre-fab sections that are delivered by truck and put into place by crane.



Below is a pre-fab piece being lifted.

Can the unions save the Chicago Spire like they saved downtown and built Marina City?

CBS2 Chicago has an interesting article on the Chicago Spire. There is some talk about a major union is considering using its pension fund to finance construction of the building and secure jobs for members.

Below is a picture of the current state of the building's stalled construction. The developer has completed most of the foundation work, including caissons and the very obvious circular building core.



This story caught my attention because it parallels the construction story behind Marina Towers 50 years ago. On marinacityonline.com, you can read the entire genesis of Marina City. I have enclosed a little here:

"William McFetridge, president of the Building Service Employees International Union (now known as the Service Employees International Union), was concerned about his union members not being able to get jobs in the suburbs. He wanted to persuade people to live in town, where wages would be higher.

According to Howard Swibel, son of real estate developer Charles Swibel (1927-1990), all William McFetridge knew was that he wanted to invest his union’s pension fund not so much in stocks and bonds, but in something progressive – something that would help people. He mentioned this to Charles Swibel, who suggested the union invest in housing"



It would be great to watch the building rise while sitting on my balcony this summer!

Loop U

The Chicago Tribune had an interesting article the other day about college students that make up a significant portion of the residents in the Loop.

"A sprawling urban campus has taken hold in the Loop and South Loop, with close to 60,000 students from 20 institutions of higher learning inhabiting a slice of downtown Chicago and making a significant economic impact."

Above is a photo of University Center located at the corner of Congress & State Street. According to it's developer, the building is America’s largest joint residence hall, providing housing for nearly 1,700 students attending Columbia College, DePaul University and Roosevelt University.

River Walk coming along nicely.

The Chicago Tribune reported today on the progress of the river walk: Chicago river walk extension keeps rolling along.

"The latest phase of work to connect existing sections of riverfront pathways is expected to be done in June."

The progress is great news for the neighborhood and our building.

I snapped a couple of photos from my balcony in the west tower:



















This shot is the section from Michigan Ave to Wabash. The area in front of O'Brien's restaurant has been extended further out and extends under the Wabash bridge.



















This photo is the section from Wabash to State St. This construction is not as complete as the previous photo. You can see the earth mover bringing gravel to fill in the area that still has water. The anchored barge and tug boat in the middle and left of the photo make quite a racket when they are running.

Balcony season is just around the corner

I was planning to go to the Chicago Flower & Garden Show to get some inspiration for my balcony garden. I had very good luck with marigolds & morning glories last year, but would like to incorporate more plants. My neighbor successfully grew tomatoes and jalapeno peppers last year. I don’t want to be jealous this year, so I am going to do both the flowers and a number of vegetables.

The Flower & Garden Show runs today through Sunday, March 15 at Navy Pier. Since it is a short cab ride away or a comfortable walk (when not raining), I have no excuse not to visit. Since now through about the first or second week in April starts the Chicago rainy season, it will be therapeutic to get a glimpse of summer in March.

Flower & Garden Show info is:

http://www.chicagoflower.com/

“From the intricately designed lush themed-gardens of the midway, to hands-on demonstrations and in-the-soil workshops, to realistic garden displays that can translate into your own yard or balcony and educate you about sustainable and achievable results, you will find Chicago's first blush with spring to be invigorating”

Dates:
March 7 - 15, 2009

Show Hours:
Monday - Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Tickets:
Weekdays...$12
Weekends...$14
discounts for groups of 15 or more

Navy Pier DISCOUNTED PARKING IS ONLY $14 per vehicle per day!
*Valid from 3/7/09 - 3/15/09 at garages located on-site at Navy Pier or at the Alternate/Overflow garages located at 460 East Illinois or 403 East Grand, located 1 block from Navy Pier. No purchase necessary. May not be combined with any other offer. Subject to availability.

Construction

Over the last week I bumped into two of the great contractors that work in Marina City. Joe Karner of KNK Renovations (708 819 8978) and Mario Gaddula or VMG Construction (708 351 7751). If you are considering upgrading your home at Marina Towers, you should talk to these guys. They are really an asset to the building.

When I show listings in the building, I like to take the prospects through the completely renovated condos. The rehabbed homes are such a wonderful transformation.

Why I'm bullish on Marina.

This post kicks off my Marina Towers blog. What better subject than all the reasons I'm bullish on the building.

1. Cost of ownership.
Compared to its condo neighbors, Marina City has a very favorable ownership cost. Assessments, property taxes, and household energy are low and manageable. My favorite is leaving for a vacation, flipping the breaker for the hot water heater and shutting off the heat & a/c. My place stays temperate in the winter or summer.
















2. Views.
While some views have been compromised by the office tower construction at Clark & Kinzie, most units still have a stellar view. Compared to most in Streeterville or other parts of River North, the views are much much better.

3. Balconies
Three seasons of the year our wonderful balconies serve as a second living room.

4. Location
Our excellent location continues to improve with new neighborhood restaurants and amenities. Why bother with owning a car when you can walk to work and use the CTA to get just about anywhere else.

5. River Walk
You haven't heard much about it in the press or around the building, but during construction they sure are making some noise! Once this is complete to Franklin in a couple more years, it will really redefine our part of River North.




















When this is completed, you will have riverwalk cafes, vendors selling crafts, art shows, and other activities right at our doorstep. It will be a magnet for office workers during the day, residents at night, and tourists on the weekend.

These are only five of my favorites. What are yours?