
Today the Wrigley Building moved a step closer to becoming an officially designated landmark. And Wrigley Field moved a step closer to getting a new configuration of the Budweiser bleachers and a huge (75 feet long by nearly eight feet high) LED sign.
I betcha you thought the Wrigley Building was already a landmark. Not so. It may have been that the Wrigley Company may not have wanted the restrictions landmark status brings. But the new owners of the building are “delighted to have the opportunity to be a steward of the property.”
At their meeting this afternoon the Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted to make a recommendation to the Chicago City Council that the Wrigley Building be designated a landmark. They also voted to recommend to the Chicago City Council the approval of Class L Property Tax Incentive for the property.
What I found most interesting in the presentation about the Wrigley Building and the proposed updating of its retail spaces is how a new retail corridor linking North Michigan Avenue and North State Street could be created by retail development along the river and through the Trump Tower to State Street.
The Commission also heard a report related to the designation of DuSable High School in Bronzeville as a landmark. More interesting than the official presentation were the public remarks of the ninety-three year old alum of DuSable, the historian Mr. Timuel Black.
After the Commission’s meeting adjourned the Permit Review Committee of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks met. The only item on the agenda relating to a public facility and not residential property concerned the proposed bleacher reconfiguration for a patio and the construction of the huge sign on a section of the right-field bleachers. This was the first item on the agenda but it was pushed back because there was no input from Alderman Tom Tunney which I thought was very odd. Someone contacted his office and about an hour later he appeared. He supported the changes but seems to want the Cubs to come up with a signage plan for the facility. There was disagreement on this item and it passed by only one vote.
I betcha you thought the Wrigley Building was already a landmark. Not so. It may have been that the Wrigley Company may not have wanted the restrictions landmark status brings. But the new owners of the building are “delighted to have the opportunity to be a steward of the property.”
At their meeting this afternoon the Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted to make a recommendation to the Chicago City Council that the Wrigley Building be designated a landmark. They also voted to recommend to the Chicago City Council the approval of Class L Property Tax Incentive for the property.
What I found most interesting in the presentation about the Wrigley Building and the proposed updating of its retail spaces is how a new retail corridor linking North Michigan Avenue and North State Street could be created by retail development along the river and through the Trump Tower to State Street.
The Commission also heard a report related to the designation of DuSable High School in Bronzeville as a landmark. More interesting than the official presentation were the public remarks of the ninety-three year old alum of DuSable, the historian Mr. Timuel Black.
After the Commission’s meeting adjourned the Permit Review Committee of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks met. The only item on the agenda relating to a public facility and not residential property concerned the proposed bleacher reconfiguration for a patio and the construction of the huge sign on a section of the right-field bleachers. This was the first item on the agenda but it was pushed back because there was no input from Alderman Tom Tunney which I thought was very odd. Someone contacted his office and about an hour later he appeared. He supported the changes but seems to want the Cubs to come up with a signage plan for the facility. There was disagreement on this item and it passed by only one vote.