Wilson Park Renovation Update

The Wilson Park Renovation is slated for completion next week.  A final punch list is slated for review and the park will be open for use most likely late in the week.  Official ribbon cutting will most likely take place in the Spring when nicer weather graces us again.  Enclosed below are some photos from various stages of the process.

Original Playlot

West Lawn & Old Sprinkler

Fieldhouse (streetview)

Start of the renovation

Demolition of playlot

Intermediate Demolition phase

Sod on West Lawn/Conversion of old sprinkler

New West Walkway

Renovation of walkways

New Walkways. Playground takes shape

New Surface on playlot

New Sprinkler in SE corner

New Southplaylot

New West Lawn-Freshly sodded

New North Playlot area

New South playlot surface

New playlot with pavers area

New south playlot and sprinkler

New surface and playlot

Finished Playlot with commemorative pavers area

Original concept design for renovation (prior to amendments)

Bridgeport Restaurants Receive awards

The Michelin guide announced it's Bib-gourmand winners and on thaT list were two Bridgeport restaurants NANA and Han 202.

To read the full story visit:

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2010/11/michelin-guide-chicago-announces-its-bib-gourmand-winners-.html

Cermak Fresh Market coming to Bridgeport

By Sarah Severson (Chicago Gazette)
October 29, 2010

In just a few months, Cermak Fresh Market will open as a full service grocery store in the former Bridgeport Jewel-Osco space at 3033 S. Halsted St., filling a major void that has existed for the last three years.

Cermak Fresh Market has operated grocery stores in the Chicago area for the last 30 years. It currently runs ten stores, with the new Bridgeport location and another site in the works.

Eleventh Ward Alderman James Balcer worked with Cook County Commissioner John Daley to help bring the store to Bridgeport. With a Cermak Fresh Market in the 11th Ward at Archer and Damen Avenues, Balcer was familiar with the company and the people behind it.

“This neighborhood had a big need for a store like this, and it’s a good fit,” Balcer said. “I’ve always liked their products, they’re very congenial, they work with the community, and it’s a pleasure to have them here.”

The new grocery store is a part of the City’s redevelopment plans for the neighborhood. Cermak Fresh Market is known for its emphasis on perishable items such as produce, meat, and deli items. It will offer a wide selection of groceries, including those with an international flair to reflect the neighborhood’s diversity and ethnic makeup.

“We cater to the neighborhood and carry items that appeal to those who live in the area,” said Michael Bousis, Cermak Fresh Market spokesperson and a member of the family that owns the chain. “We’re aggressively priced and give the freshest and best quality that we can.”

Bousis said the store’s prices often are lower than those found at national chains.

Workers are demolishing the building’s interior while the owners obtain City building permits for the store’s transformation. Once permits are in hand, construction should take four to five months, with the opening expected in February or March.

“It will be the same space, but with a much improved layout over what the Jewel store had before,” said Sakis Karasmanakis, general contractor for S Construction Co., which is handling the renovation.

Workers will leave the structure in place but revamp the inside and reface the outside. They also will install new wall coverings, flooring, and energy-efficient lighting and equipment.

The interior measures about 18,000 square feet, but the sales area will be bigger than at the former Jewel-Osco to permit a larger selection of various foods, including a full array of fish, dairy, meat, bakery, and hot foods as well as non-perishables.

Workers also will resurface the parking lot, remove the wrought iron fence, add landscaping, and install lighting in the parking lot and alley. “It’s going to be a beautiful store from the outside in,” said Karasmanakis.

For the original story

Speigel Building Update

Developer: Landmarking would help stalled Bridgeport project

By: Andrew Schroedter November 04, 2010

(Crain's) — David Dubin hopes the city makes the former Spiegel Inc. administration building in Bridgeport a landmark, a move he believes would help revive his stalled plan to redevelop the brawny structure into residences.

Mr. Dubin, CEO of Dubin Residential, in 2006 proposed converting the vacant, 250,000-square-foot building at 1038 W. 35th St. into loft-style condominiums, but was unable to obtain construction financing before the housing market crashed.

Mr. Dubin is back with a new plan for 158 units — likely to be rental — and 60,000 square feet of office or retail space.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks on Thursday is scheduled to consider making the six-story, Art Moderne building a local landmark.

Although his plan has changed, Mr. Dubin, who has specialized in moderately priced neighborhood projects, is still facing a familiar problem: He doesn't have a construction loan.

Adding to that challenge, the mortgage used to finance his $6.4-million acquisition of the property came due Monday.

Mr. Dubin says he's in talks with his lender and is confident the two sides can agree on an extension.

"I've worked with banks for years and nothing ever gets done on time," he says.

He hopes landmarking will boost the project's visibility and improve his chances of landing construction financing.

The red-brick and concrete structure, built in stages for the catalog house and completed in 1942, was added last year to the National Register of Historic Places. The City Council would need to give final approval to make it a Chicago landmark.

Suprisingly, Mr. Dubin hasn't ruled out shifting the project back to for-sale housing, despite the neighborhood's backlog of unsold condos.

“There's a glut of mid-rise elevator buildings” in the area, says Jeff Benach, executive vice-president of Chicago-based Lexington Homes LLC, developer of a 39-unit townhouse project about a half-mile south at 37th and Sangamon streets.

In a report recommending landmarking for the building, the city's Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning notes the property's place in the city's history and its unique design, with “the bands of steel windows and vertical columns of glass block.”

Chicago was once the country's mail-order hub and Spiegel one of the city's largest firms, employing more than 10,000 workers at the end of World War II. It was founded in 1865 by Civil War veteran Joseph Spiegel.

Best known for its women's apparel, the company eventually moved its headquarters to the western suburbs. In 2005, the company emerged from bankruptcy protection as Eddie Bauer Holdings after selling off the Spiegel brand name. Spiegel was acquired last year by New York-based private-equity firm Patriarch Partners LLC.

A venture led by Mr. Dubin financed the purchase of the Spiegel administration building in 2005 with a $6.35-million mortgage from Midwest Bank & Trust. That loans was replaced in 2007 with a new loan from National City Bank that was scheduled to come due Monday, property records show.

A spokeswoman for PNC Bank, which acquired National City in 2008, didn't return a message.

To read the original story on Crain's Chicago Business

Lofts at Bridgeport Place: Some activity to come?

Lofts at Bridgeport Place: If You Landmark It Will They Lend?

Originally in 'Curbed Chicago'

It's been a long journey, but Bridgeport Place Lofts hasn't gone anywhere — yet. Dubin Residential first floated the loft conversion of the old Spiegel building on 35th Street in the go-go market of 2006. Then, perhaps capitalizing on the building's location across the street from the popular Zhou B Art Center, they re-branded it as "live-work spaces for artists." Still unable to finance the development, Dubin is at it again, this time seeking to get Landmark status for the building, which the developer hopes will breathe new life into the stalled project. Crain's reports that the Commission on Chicago Landmarks considered granting Landmark designation to the boarded-up building. (No word on the outcome yet.) Dubin's website advertises "true urban rentals," although Crain's reports that the developer hasn't ruled out condos.

To read more.