2008 Woodie Awards
Big plans for Fannie May site
Whitney Paige Green
Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: News
Media Credit: Heartland Real Estate BusinessThe former Fannie May candy factory site on Jackson Blvd. will soon house what will be known as the "West Loop Promenade," complete with condos, retail stores, a gym, and even a movie theater.
There were two buildings that sat on Jackson Blvd. between Taylor and Roosevelt for 70 years. They housed a Fannie May candy factory. Shut down in 2004, the 15-acre Fannie May site at 1137 W. Jackson was immediately recognized as having great investment potential as a retail project. Developers also dreamt of the returns they might acquire in constructing a condominium high-rise building.
Leases have been signed, and plans are underway. What once was a quaint candy factory is going to become the "West Loop Promenade."
Real Estate investors are planning to erect two 21-story towers where the Fannie May plant once operated. Alderman Robert Fioretti (second ward) was initially reluctant to allow the development of high-rises in the West Loop area, but finally consented to the proposal after compromises in the original plans were made. The two towers together should hold 380 units.
Perhaps the most desired and anticipated of the possible installations at the Fannie May site is a new movie theater. As early as 2006, Sundance Cinemas LLC - Robert Redford's chain of movie theaters - was eyeing the West Loop property. Then last year Sundance Cinemas signed a lease to open a theater at 1137 W. Jackson.
The movie theater will be located in a nine-story commercial building, situated on the Van Buren side of the establishment. The theater will have between six and eight screens, and like other Sundance Cinemas, it will show independent films and documentaries.
X-Sport Fitness has also signed a lease with IBT, and will be located in the commercial building as well.
Now the developers are looking for other retailers and businesses to sign up for a place in the new project, preferably national fashion retailers and boutiques, a grocery store (local residents have expressed the desire for a Whole Foods), and couple of restaurants; there has also been interest expressed in having a deli, a coffee house, and a book store on site.
Martha Goldstein, Executive Director of the West Loop Community Organization, is very excited about the promising potential of the West Loop Promenade. "We're a new neighborhood to Chicago, so we're trying to become more of a destination, and we feel that this development will absolutely 'make it' for the neighborhood. It will encourage people to come to the West Loop…and it will definitely encourage more retail to come here, which we don't have a lot of right now and which we'd like to have more of."
Goldstein assures that there will be definitely be enough parking for residents, and there should be adequate parking for shoppers and movie-goers as well.
West Loop inhabitants are, for the most part, very pleased with the prospects of the West Loop Promenade. However some local residents, such as Amy Moore of "Doggie Do Right 911," are concerned about an already existent pollution problem becoming worse. People like Moore are hoping for a dog park and more waste containers to help keep the area clean as the neighborhood prepares for more visitors and residents.
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Leases have been signed, and plans are underway. What once was a quaint candy factory is going to become the "West Loop Promenade."
Real Estate investors are planning to erect two 21-story towers where the Fannie May plant once operated. Alderman Robert Fioretti (second ward) was initially reluctant to allow the development of high-rises in the West Loop area, but finally consented to the proposal after compromises in the original plans were made. The two towers together should hold 380 units.
Perhaps the most desired and anticipated of the possible installations at the Fannie May site is a new movie theater. As early as 2006, Sundance Cinemas LLC - Robert Redford's chain of movie theaters - was eyeing the West Loop property. Then last year Sundance Cinemas signed a lease to open a theater at 1137 W. Jackson.
The movie theater will be located in a nine-story commercial building, situated on the Van Buren side of the establishment. The theater will have between six and eight screens, and like other Sundance Cinemas, it will show independent films and documentaries.
X-Sport Fitness has also signed a lease with IBT, and will be located in the commercial building as well.
Now the developers are looking for other retailers and businesses to sign up for a place in the new project, preferably national fashion retailers and boutiques, a grocery store (local residents have expressed the desire for a Whole Foods), and couple of restaurants; there has also been interest expressed in having a deli, a coffee house, and a book store on site.
Martha Goldstein, Executive Director of the West Loop Community Organization, is very excited about the promising potential of the West Loop Promenade. "We're a new neighborhood to Chicago, so we're trying to become more of a destination, and we feel that this development will absolutely 'make it' for the neighborhood. It will encourage people to come to the West Loop…and it will definitely encourage more retail to come here, which we don't have a lot of right now and which we'd like to have more of."
Goldstein assures that there will be definitely be enough parking for residents, and there should be adequate parking for shoppers and movie-goers as well.
West Loop inhabitants are, for the most part, very pleased with the prospects of the West Loop Promenade. However some local residents, such as Amy Moore of "Doggie Do Right 911," are concerned about an already existent pollution problem becoming worse. People like Moore are hoping for a dog park and more waste containers to help keep the area clean as the neighborhood prepares for more visitors and residents.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Dennis Toeppen
posted 5/27/08 @ 12:17 AM CST
You are an idiot. It is between Aberdeen and Racine. You're off by nearly a mile. How could you get such an important tidbit, THE LOCATION, wrong??
Denise Toeppen
posted 5/27/08 @ 12:27 AM CST
Please, everybody, please ignore my husband. I'm so sorry about that. He has changed medicine recently and sometimes has difficulty judging what is appropriate to say or not. (Continued…)
Dennis Toeppen
posted 5/27/08 @ 12:45 AM CST
Shut up, you whore!
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