A Look At A TargetExpress In Chicago’s Streeterville Neighborhood

The following post was originally published on UrbanReview | CHICAGO:

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As chain big box stores go, I’ve long-favored Target. But few Target stores stray from the typical suburban big box. Many years ago I visited the 2-story Target in NW Seattle, a decade ago a new Target replaced an older Target in the City of St. Louis with parking below the store.  Better, but big with lots of free parking.

In July 2012 a CityTarget opened in the former Carson Pirie Scott department store building at State & Madison, designed by Louis Sullivan in 1899.   It’s a terrific store — smaller than most Targets but it covers the basics well. Zero parking. Still, it’s 1.3 miles from the condo where we stay while in Chicago. Too far to stop by quickly for a few things.

In October 2015 the new Streeterville TargetExpress opened at 401 E Illinois St, Chicago, IL — just 4/10ths of a mile away — under a 10 minute walk.

The space had previously been occupied by organic grocer Fox & Obel, which closed in October 2013:

In court filings last month, Fox & Obel said that it planned to shut down permanently and sell all assets after its heavy debt made it impossible to maintain operations. The grocer said it received notice that its electricity would be shut off, forcing it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Fox & Obel closed for a time earlier this year after at least a half-dozen failed health inspections.

Despite its trouble, the store still had a loyal following. (Chicago Tribune)

Fox & Obel closed before we began staying in Streeterville. Besides, for a nearby market we like Treasure Island Foods at 680 N. Lake Shore Drive.  In July 2014 Whole Foods announced it would open a Streeterville location — it opened in late January 2015. The grocery market it good.

It’s not the biggest, nor the fanciest, but it’s very convenient. It’s the ideal Target for the neighborhood.

— Steve Patterson

Readers Rejected Apology From Lewis Reed Before Email Campaign Dramatically Altered Poll Results

It was nearly seven years ago I began posting a new poll question every Sunday. These polls are non-scientific, but some of us find them interesting. The polls were open for an entire week.  Most votes came on Sundays, except when an email campaign would dramatically alter the more natural outcome of the regular readers.

In November 2014 I switched the poll from lasting a week to just 12 hours: 8am to 8pm each Sunday. Since then no poll has been the subjected to mass voting as a result of an email campaign. Until this past Sunday.

At 3pm, my daily nap time, the vote was still progressing like usual — 30 votes after 7 hours. A few hours later the total vote count had ballooned to well over 125. Thankfully I checked the results on my iPad — leaving the 3pm results on my computer untouched.

Here are the results as of 3pm — 30 total votes:

Q: Lewis Reed has apologized for his appearance on Bob Romanik’s radio show last month. Do you accept or reject Reed’s apology?

• Strongly accept 3 [10%]
• Accept 0 [0%]
• Somewhat accept 4 [13.33%]
• Neither accept or reject 4 [13.33%]
• Somewhat reject 1 [3.33%]
• Reject 8 [26.67%]
• Strongly reject 7 [23.33%]
• Unsure/No Answer 3 [10%]

Just over 23% accepted, more than half rejected. The remainder were unsure or fell into the middle.

A few hours later the results looked dramatically different — 159 total votes:

• Strongly accept 113 [71.07%]
• Accept 10 [6.29%]
• Somewhat accept 5 [3.14%]
• Neither accept or reject 4 [2.52%]
• Somewhat reject 2 [1.26%]
• Reject 12 [7.55%]
• Strongly reject 8 [5.03%]
• Unsure/No Answer 5 [3.14%]

Seven hours to get 30 votes, but another 129 came in the last 5 hours. A Reed staff person found out about the poll through a mass email. See screenshots of both here.

Here’s the problem I have with Reed’s apology: timing. Reed said he was trying to get Bob Romanik to stop by using a note/sign while on the air on January 11th. I too would’ve been shocked & speechless. If he was truly upset and embarrassed about what was said he’d have tweeted he’s feelings following the broadcast. But he didn’t.

A series of apology tweets didn’t come until nearly a month later, February 8th, after more people listened to the show on YouTube. An apology letter was posted on Facebook at 8:34pm on February 9th.

I’d never heard of radio host Bob Romanik before February 8th. From a look at the official show website I don’t think I missed out.

Here’s the official show description:

The Kraziest Son of a Bitch you’ll ever hear on the radio.  Radio like you’ve never heard it before and will probably never want to hear again. If you think the real grim reaper is scary, wait until you see and listen to Bob Romanik “The Grim Reaper of Radio!”. The Grim Reaper’s show will be like his face, very scary and very, very ugly. “On the Dark Side” is the most controversial show on radio today. “The Grim Reaper of Radio” is not politically correct or politically incorrect, he’s politically insane!!

After your Experience with Bob Romanik, “The Grim Reaper of Radio”, Death Just May be Enjoyable!

Reed was so upset with Romanik during his January 11th appearance that he came back on January 28th (@25:20) — sending out a tweet w/photo! I listed to the entire show but Reed didn’t let Romanik know his January 11th comments were out of line. Fifty-seven minutes I’ll never get back.

Reed has embarrassed the Board of Aldermen.

— Steve Patterson

A Decade Since Locust Street Returned To Two-Way Traffic

A decade ago I was still living in South St. Louis, but I posted about a street I would move to within 2 years:

What a difference! Today I drove the full length of Locust Street from 14th west to Teresa (just shy of Grand). For the first time since I’ve lived in St. Louis, I was able to drive eastbound on Locust. It was like a totally different street!

Heading westbound from downtown you see new markings on the street when you are approaching 14th Street behind the library. The right lane becomes a right-turn only lane while the left lane is forward or a left turn. Ahead you can see temporary two-way signs that will likely stay around until people have adjusted to the change.

Driving down the street I noticed myself not wanting to drive as fast. With only a single lane in my direction and cars coming the other way in their lane it just didn’t seem like a high-speed escape route anymore. I knew if would feel different but it was more profound than I had anticipated. Locust St. Now Two-Way West of 14th!

That was ten years ago today — here are a few of images from that post:

I can imagine  how awful these last eight years would’ve been if Locust St had remained one-way Westbound. Hopefully we’ll get around to changing Pine & Chestnut back to two-way traffic West of Tucker (12th) – 14th.

— Steve Patterson

‘Indulge In Urban Living’ At Streets of St. Charles

I had 20 years to eat at Noah’s Ark restaurant in St. Charles before it closed in 2000, but I never did.  With a lot of land and a highly visible location developers were interested. New Urbanist developer Greg Whittaker, of New Town at St. Charles, bought the site. He hired Duany Platter-Zyberk (DPZ) to plan a New Urbanist project to be called Plaza at Noah’s Ark.

December 2006:

The multi-use development is planned on 26.8 acres occupied by the former Noah’s Ark restaurant and motel and a small subdivision. The area was developed in the 1960s, but the restaurant closed in 2000 and the hotel two years later.

Plans include an 18-story high-rise residential complex, an outdoor ice rink, a movie theater, a 150-room upscale hotel, restaurants and a parking garage that could include 1,827 spaces. (Post-Dispatch)

March 2007:

The 26.8-acre high-density development is planned for the site of the former Noah’s Ark restaurant and motel at the southeast corner of the Interstate 70 and South Fifth Street interchange. Plans call for an 18-story residential building with a minimum of 518 units costing about $250,000 each, retail shops, a movie theater, a 10- to 14-story hotel, an outdoor ice rink and a multilevel, vertical parking garage. (Post-Dispatch)

November 2011:

The site plan allows for 17 buildings, as many as 12 of which would be one or two stories tall. None would be taller than six stories.

An earlier plan called for 27 buildings ranging from one to 18 stories and set aside 374,200 square feet for commercial space and 759,600 for residential units.

Under the current plan, commercial square footage will range from 561,575 to 1,147,275. Residential square footage can be from 505,000 to 602,000, with an average unit size of 971 square feet.

Construction of the second building is expected to begin sometime in 2012, Buralli said. The 300,000-square-foot building would include the site’s 196 residential units. Cullinan doesn’t plan to sell any of the residential units for now. (Post-Dispatch)

April 2013:

Peoria, Ill.-based Cullinan bought the property in January 2007 from Whittaker Homes, which had acquired the site for a project then called the Plaza at Noah’s Ark. Cullinan renamed it and reached a new development agreement with the city, but the recession delayed construction. The City Council in January 2010 approved $40 million in bonds to help get it going, and in July 2011 approved a revised plan calling for more commercial square footage, less residential space and fewer buildings than Whittaker proposed. (Post-Dispatch)

A few years ago I saw it after the first building was completed, earlier this month I returned when we were in the area.  My reaction is best described as mixed.

Drury plans a 180-room hotel.

As I said, I have mixed feelings on this project. As a 25+ year resident of the City of St. Louis, their slogan “Indulge in Urban Living” is laughable to me. But I know I’m not their target market. To most residents of St. Charles County this is more urbanity than they ever thought they’d see on their side of the Missouri River.

A decade or more ago this site would’ve been developed as a big box with an even bigger parking lot. Smaller buildings would’ve dotted the perimeter. Visitors would’ve been expected to arrive via car and to drive to reach other buildings on the site.  From my brief observations, it appears the planners have made sure pedestrians can reach every building via a sidewalk.

While I’m not going to give up my downtown loft to live here, it’s an improvement over old-school development patterns.

I’d love to visit in my wheelchair so I could experience it as a pedestrian. It appears I can catch the St. Charles Area Transit’s I-70 Commuter bus at North Hanley, which I’ll do in the coming month or two. A few hours exploring the site, touring a model apartment, having lunch will give me a better feel of the project.

— Steve Patterson

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Sunday Poll: Do You Accept Lewis Reed’s Apology (UPDATED)

UPDATE:

This poll was manipulated by mass voting.

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Last week a radio interview from January 11th began spreading like crazy on social media and the news:

For anyone who’s ever listened to Bob Romanik’s On the Dark Side radio talk show on 1190 AM, it should come as no surprise that a recent episode is drawing controversy. After all, the ex-strip club owner/police chief and convicted felon is always coming after his political and personal enemies with a mixture of wild insults and abhorrent threats, all book-ended by the show’s trademark rainstorm sound effects as though forecasting the flood of complaints that’s to come.

So it’s not exactly news that Romanik tried to discredit 15th ward alderwoman Megan Green last month by calling her a “good-for-nothing, skanky bitch” who, in his words, deserves to be literally flushed down the toilet and sexually violated by a storybook character. For veterans of Romanik’s radio wars, it’s more of the same. (St. Louis Magazine)

Romanik’s guest was Lewis Reed, President of the Board of Aldermen.

Short version: 2:50 minutes:

Long version: 12:34 minutes:

After this became controversial Reed apologized in a series of tweets:

Today’s poll question:

[results deleted]

This poll will be open for 12 hours, will close at 8pm.

— Steve Patterson