| Jefferson
Tower Condo Starts Construction has started on the $37 million Jefferson
Tower, a condominium on the northwest corner of Jefferson and Lake streets in
Chicago's Fulton River District.
The 25-story building will feature 198
condominiums, all with one bedroom or one bedroom plus den. The first floor will
house retail space, while the second through fourth floors holding a 200-space
parking garage.
The first residents are scheduled to move into the 300,000-sq.-ft.
building in January, and completion is expected in April 2006.
All homes
will feature balconies, hardwood floors in foyers and living rooms, granite counter
tops and slate floors in kitchens, ventless gas fireplaces per plan, high speed
Internet access, satellite TV and individually controlled heat and central air
conditioning. Homes will range from 623 to 1,072 sq. ft., with prices from $204,800
to $372,800.
Chicago-based James McHugh Construction Co. is the general
contractor, Chicago-based Loewenberg Associates Inc. is the architect and Chicago-based
Jameson Development LLC is the developer.
Real Estate Degree Called Chicago's
First In January, Chicago's DePaul University started to offer a bachelor's
of science degree in real estate.
The offering reportedly makes DePaul
the first Chicago school to offer an undergraduate degree in the field, said Finance
Professor Susanne Cannon, director of DePaul's Real Estate Center.
The
new degree was prompted by undergraduate student interest and strong industry
support, she said.
By the end of this academic year, about 300 students
will have taken an introductory real estate analysis course, up from 266 the year
before. About 50 to 75 students are expected to declare real estate as their major.
The
Real Estate Center has 70 students enrolled in its graduate degree program in
real estate that is offered by DePaul's MBA program.
Development Planned For North Chicago
Plans have
been announced for the redevelopment of 32 acres at the intersection of Sheridan
Road and Martin Luther King Drive in suburban North Chicago.
The project
will be known as Sheridan Crossings due to its location on Sheridan Road near
the crossroads of the Naval Station Great Lakes.
Redevelopment activity
will start in early spring 2005.
Funding will be obtained from a $10 million
bond offering that the North Chicago City Council approved.
The bond program
will underwrite the cost for the acquisition, demolition and environmental remediation
of the parcel. It will also be used to support infrastructure improvements and
the reopening of Gate 4 of the Naval Station Great Lakes facility.
The
McShane Corporation/Bulls Development Corp. team is comprised of Rosemont-based
McShane Corp. and Killen, Ala.-based Bulls Development Corp., a joint venture
partnership that will provide planning, development, design, construction, leasing
and sales.
The site is currently programmed to support a mixed-use environment
of retail and commercial establishments. A professional real estate brokerage
firm will be engaged to represent the marketing and leasing interests for the
project.
Lake
Shore Drive Redo Gets National Award The reconstruction of Chicago's South
Lake Shore Drive has received national attention.
The Federal Highway Administration
in Washington, D.C., recognized the project in the urban category of its biannual
Excellence in Highway Design Awards Program.
The FHWA commended the project
for improving the roadway and enhancing the neighborhood. The project was also
honored for the new drainage system that has improved water headed into Lake Michigan,
new pedestrian underpasses and restoration of the historic Animal Bridge.
Both
the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Chicago Department of Transportation
were honored.
There were five other winners outside of Illinois, Indiana
and Wisconsin.
Beamer
Center Completed The $10.2 million Todd M. Beamer Student Center was recently
completed on the Wheaton College campus.
The facility is named after Todd
Beamer, a 1991 graduate who has been lionized for leading a group of passengers
aboard the ill-fated United Airlines Flight 93 hijacked by terrorists on Sept.
11, 2001.
His last-known words, "Let's roll," are inscribed on
a wall sculpture at the south entrance to the student center.
Elmhurst-based
Sigalos & Associates Ltd. provided design-build services.
I-Pass Sales Soar December proved to be a record-breaking
month of sales of I-Pass transponders, as Illinois Tollway customers purchased
transponders before toll rates increased for trucks and cash-paying cars on Jan.
1 to fund the Tollway's 10-year, $5.3 billion Congestion Relief Plan.
A
total of 59,462 transponders were sold from Dec. 13 to 19, exceeding the total
sales for the entire month of November.
The highest total single day sales
was Dec. 23, when a total of 17,153 transponders were sold.
I-Pass sales
to date have increased by 248 percent over last December's figures. A total of
192,620 transponders have been sold between Dec. 1 and Dec. 25, compared with
55,436 sold during the same period in 2003.
In November, I-Pass usage on
the Tollway at rush hour climbed to 57 percent of all tolls collected, compared
to 47 per cent usage for November 2003.
Currently, 52 percent of all tolls
collected daily are paid through I-PASS, compared to 43 percent in 2003.
170 Senior Homes Rising in Elgin The third phase was launched
of Traditions at Fitchie Creek, a community of 170 ranch homes in Elgin.
Construction
began in late January, and models are anticipated in late summer 2005. Prices
range from $249,900 to $370,000. First deliveries are projected for before the
end of 2005.
Downers Grove-based Burnside Construction is building the
facility.
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