This Just In - Block 37 Update

For those of you following the wild ride that is Block 37, Crain's reports that "WBBM-TV/Channel 2 is expected to sign a lease 'within days' for a showcase television studio on the Loop site."

According to the article, " The company expects to break ground by the end of the year...A lease with Channel 2 — the project’s first — would be a shot in the arm for a development that has lost momentum in recent months...News that a signed lease is only days away would silence some skeptics who believe that Mills’ plan to develop Block 37 will fail just like others that preceded it."


Image by Yanul

After years and years of hot air surrounding developments on this site, the more I hear about plan after plan of high-rise, multi-use BIG developments, I'm tempted to think that Chicago should just stop trying to get its money back. Why not relocate the ComEd station and build another world-class park that ties the Loop to Millennium Park and celebrates open space? Perhaps I'm being too cynical, but we can't expect developers to achieve greatness and find the "ideal" solution for the site via their money-driven thinking, something the city seems to want as they rebound from one developer to another.

I think the Mayor must realize that this void he's created isn't going to fill itself (with buildings, a designed park or other creative option) and as his time in City Hall ticks away, Block 37 might just become his (unwanted) legacy, over his greater accomplishments like Millennium Park.

Thanks to Karen for the link to the Crain's report.