Great Architecture is Fleeting, Ugly Garages Forever

click images for larger view

Even as Curbed Chicago is showing the scaffolding going up around the concrete cloverleafs of Bertrand Goldberg's Prentice Hospital,  a 500-car urban cockroach of a parking garage at Randolph and Wells is getting a reprieve.

We had written back in May about the new 23-story tower by Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture that was set to replace the raw-boned garage.

151 North Franklin, John Ronan Architects

Last week, however, Ryan Ori of Crain's Chicago Business reported that the garage was sold out from under the tower's developer, J. Paul Beitler.  Competing developer John Buck has purchased air rights above the garage to stop any construction from blocking the views from Buck's proposed new 36-story 151 North Franklin, just next door.  151 North Franklin tenants and the apartment dwellers of Randolph Tower, just across the L tracks, will now be able to amuse themselves observing each other's behavior patterns without obstruction.  According to Crain's, Buck still needs city approval and an anchor tenant to get his 825,000 square-foot project off the drawing board, but that hasn't stopped him from creating a 151 North Franklin website which includes this video walkthrough . . .

151 North Franklin from REA on Vimeo.

The design, which would be the first skyscraper by John Ronan Architects,  includes this deep dish lobby space . . .

151 North Franklin, John Ronan Architects

The tower will replace a nondescript Walgreen's on the corner of Randolph and Franklin that was previously home to the legendary �Max the Hat's� Zimmerman's Liquors, in it's time proclaimed to be the largest wine and spirits store in the world.

In addition to its own plaza . . .

151 will share the park across the street separating it from Buck's 155 North Wacker tower to the west.  The project will be presented to the community at a public meeting next Monday.

According to Crain's, Beitler is scouting another location for his tower.  The garage's new owner, InterPark Holdings - which �parks over 20 million cars annually� - is expected to undertake some renovations at the nearly high-century old garage.  Let's hope its intrinsic charm survives.

Is White Modesty the new Overreaching Ambition? 200 West Randolph

click images for larger view

I was going to write a post about the relatively modest, 23-story skyscraper J. Paul Beitler is planning to build on the site of this old parking garage at 200 West Randolph, but the Sun-Times Chicago Grid's David Roeder beat me to it (registration required), and basically said most of what I wanted to write. (Although he got the name of architectural firm wrong - it's actually by James DeStefano of Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture - not Dirk, but Avi.)

The current garage includes one of the Chicago Loop Alliance's Pop-Up Art Galleries, now featuring Self: Coming Soon by Gerry Santora.

The new 200 West Randolph will up the ante by commissioning Dale Chihuly to create one of his popular glass sculptures for the building's white marble lobby.

The project is shooting for Silver LEED, but perhaps the developer's most interesting talking point is how 200 West is supporting TOD (no, not death - transit oriented design) by actually eliminating 375 current parking spaces.  According to the project narrative, �The development team has worked diligently in response to the City�s planning goals of reducing public parking spaces near public transit facilities.�  The current seven-story garage has 510 spaces; the new building only 135, on three floors placed at the bottom of the building so as to keep much of the noise of the Loop L beneath the office floors above.  They're also eliminating curb cuts on Randolph and Wells. Access to the garage will be via the alley (Couch Place) to the north. 

Roeder reports that 200 West will be the first new downtown office building since 2010, and the $140 million project is shooting for a 2015 completion.  Get your orders into Eat and Drink now.