Massive overhaul of former AT&T campus up for approval
Hoffman Estates officials Monday night are expected to formally approve Somerset Development’s massive remaking of the shuttered former AT&T campus. The New Jersey-based developer plans to replace the former corporate headquarters into a “metroburb” with a mix of multifamily housing, offices, retail, restaurants, conference facilities and a hotel. Somerset, which led a similar redevelopment of a former Bell Labs building in Holmdel, New Jersey, is tentatively calling the project “City Works.” [Daily Herald]
River City owners unveil new look of complex
Marc Realty Capital and the Wolcott Group tapped Blue Star properties to lead the makeover of the River City apartment complex, which the developers bought last month in the city’s largest condo deconversion ever. The overhaul includes new residential amenities and design changes, some of which are being panned by preservationists who want to preserve architect Bertrand Goldberg’s original brutalist vision for the complex. [Curbed]
Industrial development around Little Village draws community ire
As the city mulls plans for future development around Little Village, some community activists want to limit the amount of industrial projects in the neighborhood. Several city departments teamed up with community groups to put together a 75-page report on development in the area, which has drawn a significant amount of industrial development in recent years. But the plan has angered some groups who argue new warehouses would increase diesel pollution and congestion. [Block Club]
Lipinski vows to push for action on Union Station improvements
U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski said he plans to push for movement on plans to redevelop and expand Chicago’s Union Station. Lipinski last week was named chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The panel oversees Amtrak, which he said is dragging its feet on improvements at the depot, which is set to undergo a major redevelopment. [Crain’s]
Winfield redevelopment plans up in the air after tax tift
Plans to redevelop a section of Winfield’s Town Center into a medical and commercial district are in jeopardy after Central DuPage Hospital wants the property to be tax-exempt when a tax increment financing district in the area expires in 25 years. Mayor Curt Barrett said the new development should be subject to property taxes, and suggested the Northwestern Medical System misled the village about the plans. [Daily Herald]
Community mulling possible future use of historic Evanston mansion
After being spared the wrecking ball last year, Evanston’s Harley Clarke mansion could become a museum, educational center, event venue or more if community supporters get their way. City officials last year moved to tear down the historic home but abandoned the demolition plans amid a community debate that saw opponents and supporters alike mount public campaigns. Now backers of the nearly century-old lakefront manor are trying to plot its future. [Evanston Review]