Why I Oughta...

If you walk down York Street by the train tracks today in the Elmhurst City Centre, this is what you'll see:  a boarded up building on the west side. There's a transformation of sorts taking place there.   Check out this post that shows how they're creating a unified exterior over those 3/4 previous store fronts .    What was once a combination of a super-weird nail salon, Meeder Industries, Polay's Interiors and a kid's clothing store is now going to be just two spaces:   Suite 100 and 101 . Last I heard, there were rumors of a Rosebud restaurant coming to the space.  Have no idea if that is real or not.  They have an outpost in Naperville's downtown, so it isn't totally unrealistic to think that they'd come to Elmhurst.  We do, however, have A LOT of Italian places up and down the restaurant spectrum.  From full-service/higher end places like Pazzi di Pizza and Francesca's to fast casual places like Mimmo's and dozens of pizza joints fro

From the Elmhurst History Museum Facebook Page comes this photo above of the Elmhurst City Centre in the early spring of 1975.  Besides the cars, there's a bunch of details that come to life when you look closely.  First...there appears to be a signal just north of the tracks.  See those three cars sitting north of the Union Pacific West train tracks while the yellow car crosses First Street?  That just feels like an accident waiting to happen.   Also, see the lack of gates/crossing gates on the north side of the tracks and by the sidewalks?  'Just go ahead...walk across!' On the right looks to be Stones Shoes where you could buy 'Nunn Bush Shoes' where the LW Reedy Real Estate office is on the corner.  And two signs north, the red sign on the east side of York Street reads "Chop Suey" where I think the York Furrier location is today. Also, check out the banner hanging across the street up where the Plass Appliance building is (was!) today.  Kind of

Just two months after the closing of MWD Photography ( blog post covering the closing ) on the east side of York Road in the core of the Elmhurst City Centre and just about two months after the closing of a *kinda* similar business in the Elmhurst Olive Oil Co just north on York Road , it looks like we're on the verge of getting a new retailer in the City Centre. And it is called Fuego Loco Sauce Merchant.  And looking at the windows, there's two telling signs:  one of them is that they're going to sell hot sauces of varying degrees (pun intended) and the other is that this place is an extension of the Salseria Grill and Cantina that is just a few doors south . We'll see what happens here.  I think it is great to see more retail.  Not service and not just restaurants, so I have my fingers crossed that they'll succeed.  I'm guessing that they'll be trying to sell out of their store, but also in today's economy, I'd think that they'll be se

Elmhurst 3rd Ward Alderman Danne Polomsky posted this update above to her public Facebook page that links to this document that was delivered last week  by the City Manager that shows a series of development updates around town.    I'm not sure if this was just delivered to the Board, but it is a good document for all residents. But, in addition to the info here, it is notable to discuss the nature of how this was shared.  This is a great example of a public servant sharing info and being transparent with her constituents.  I'm sure that this document could have been 'found' by someone searching the archives on the City's site somewhere, but Alderman Polomsky has made open communication with residents a top priority.  It was part of her pledge as a candidate that she's worked to deliver on during her term.  And this (and just the fact that she's active on social media!) is further proof that she's living up to that promise. Importantly, this is a f

I posted a few days ago about the a 5 unit retail plaza being marketed on North York Road , but during that same session in Roberto's where I was thumbing through the local rag, I also found this ad for "The York Building". Back last August, I posted about the new building that was being advertised in the windows of the old Plass Appliance building here on the blog .  And then just last month, I took a photo of the Plass building being torn down/apart .  Right now, it is just a big hole in the ground with rubble on the site. But, this ad sheds a lot of light on what is to come.  Namely...residential, office and retail. First, the residential:  They're only going to be building 4 units.  All of them are basically penthouses and will be 3000 square feet.  They'll all have 'large outdoor space', which from the look of the rendering will be terraces of some sort.  Those are some big condos, right?  3000 square feet? Luxury living! They're also pu

I spotted this commercial real estate ad in the local newspaper when I was sitting at Roberto's takeout waiting for our pie to finish up.  Seems interesting that they're listing this '5 unit retail/office building' that is right on York Street between 3rd and North Ave as being 'across the street from $55M York/Hahn TIF project now being built featuring 192 luxury apts and 12000 sf of new retail.' They go on to say that the new development will provide 'customer base for existing tenants moving forward' and that 'new tenants will gravitate here as well'.   20 car on-site parking.  Can be yours for just $625,000.00. For the right person, betting on the upside of the new apartment complex being built , there might be a great opportunity!

From the Facebook page of 3rd Ward Alderperson Dannee Polomsky comes this nice little nugget:  someone is applying for a liquor license for the old Cocomera location on York Street. I covered Cocomera's closing back in September of 2015 here on the blog .  Most recently, this holiday season, the space was used as a pop-up shop for the Elmhurst Art Museum . Here's the post from Elmhurst Alderman Dannee Polomsky:  (click it to make it bigger if you can't read this!) A quick Google search for [Elmhurst Craft Kitchen and Bar] turns up nothing new, so they haven't put up a site yet. This seems like great news for the City Centre and for the Downtown. Here's hoping that they'll be brewing their own, right? (UPDATE on 2/3/16:  I heard from someone that the the name "Elmhurst Craft Kitchen and Bar" might just be a placeholder and that they haven't quite settled on a name yet.  It *may* change.  Might not.  Also...heard from the same source that

Back in July, I took a photo of the demo on the site of the new massive apartment complex being built on the west side of York Street, just south of Panera.  The City of Elmhurst has been calling this the "Hahn Street Project" for years, but Morningstar, the developer, is calling it Elmhurst 255. That crane out front has been lifting sections of this development into place for the past few months and now it looks ( from the sketch in this pdf ) that at least this section of it has topped out.  Let's call it about half of the building is up.  The entire first floor, which will be retail and maybe parking(??), is up, but I think they're going to build a bit more out closer to the street/sidewalk area when it is done. 192 apartments.  Seems like a lot, right?  But, if it works, won't it be nice to have even more foot traffic for downtown?

 If you head over to Downtown Elmhurst today, you'll find this enormous hole in the ground at the site of the old Plass Appliance building on York Street.  It appears that the plan for the "York Building" - which includes condos upstairs and retail on the first floor is moving forward fast. With the Plass building down, it sure does make that building that holds Nu Crepes look better/more accessible, right?  Hopefully, the design of the new York Building will make that walkway/alley a bit more pedestrian friendly.  That...plus the new garage back there should mean more foot traffic.

All the way back in February, I posted some photos of Polay's moving out of the northwest corner of 1st and York right across the tracks in the Elmhurst City Centre.  Then last summer, the contractors at Meeder Industries moved up the block to be on the other side of the York Threatre.  And then that weird nail salon with the odd fountain setup closed up shop.  And nothing went in the stores. There's been rumors of a Rosebud Restaurant was going to go into all four locations (the old Polay's, the Just for Kids store, Meeder and the weird nail salon). But, then I spotted these plans on the windows of the stores.  It calls for some exterior changes to make the building have a more cohesive look - which is great.  And it looks like the landlord is taking it from four small spots into two larger ones. This is the second major construction project that is taking place on the west side of York in the City Center ( the other being the condo project going up at the old P

How festive, right?  That's a look down Jefferson Street in Downtown Naperville recently.  We went to get Gringo tacos at Front Street Cantina and I was struck by how well done the Christmas decorations were in Downtown Naperville. Contrast it with the state of affairs in the Elmhurst City Centre.   I posted about the situation earlier this week and I've noticed that they've gotten a lot of the downtown now lit up - which is nice. Seems that the Elmhurst City Centre can learn a little from Naperville.  Both good and bad.  They don't seem to have totally solved the parking issues - and Elmhurst; with the new garage, seems to be trying to get in front of it - but the robust shopping district in Naperville is PACKED with retail.  Not salons. I know, I know....because of Oak Brook Mall, the Elmhurst City Centre will always be in a tough spot.  We're probably too close to attract major retail chains because they won't want to have two stores so close.  But,

Just two days after I posted about the Elmhurst Olive Oil Company closing on York Street , comes this photo studio leaving York, too.  Same side of the street as the Olive Oil Co and just south of construction going on at the old Plass Appliance site. The one thing that sticks out about this place is the weird bunny stuff.  Around Easter-time, they always had bunny and baby/kid photos in the windows and kept bunnies in cages right in the front window.  It always struck me as a bit weird.  But, based on how many bunny photos they had up, lots of parents must have loved the idea. So long, MWD.  I hardly knew ya!

We lost another retail business on York Street in the Elmhurst City Centre. This time, Elmhurst Olive Oil Company has closed their doors and the landlord has a 'for lease' sign up. We covered this place back in 2011 here on the blog when they opened. They made it four years and couldn't make it through the holidays this year.  This place replaced "Let's Have a Party". I think we stopped in there once in the four years it was open.  Well...besides the times when we went to the City Centre for Trick-or-Treat'ing over the years.  And that, folks, is part of the problem.

If you head down York Street, you'll now notice this massive scaffolding setup in front of (and down the alley of) the old Plass Appliance store on the west side of the street. You can check out what the plan is for the site here on the blog .  It is a terraced-looking building that appears to have retail on the first floor and condos(??) up on the upper floors.   The Plass building is two stories and based on the rendering this new structure is going to be three stories.  It isn't just York Street that will be impacted.  Check out what the 'alley' looks like going west towards Nu Crepes. I posted a few days ago about the Nu Crepes sign, but after hearing all the chatter about their sign-issues, I can't help but wonder if this construction is going to make things A LOT worse for them. But...on the good side, I'm wondering if the opening of the new parking deck will help them with foot traffic? And, they're going to save the Plass sign, right ?

At the Elmhurst City Centre's Boo-tiful Saturday before Halloween, there were some folks giving out candy to kids and these 'coming soon' flyers to adults.  Looks like a new gym is coming to the City Centre and this one is going to be at 135 N. Addison Ave - which if you look at this LoopNet listing for space - is the new parking garage going up on Addison.   They have a site up for the Elmhurst studio here .   The odd thing is that I've heard about a different 'high end' gym/fitness place opening up on Addison, but on the west side of the street.  Check out this proposal to the City of Elmhurst for a Fitness Formula Club which is at 138 & 142 North Addison.  That's where the city parking lot is right now (I think!).   From the look of the proposal, it is a free-standing building and is HUGE.  Here's a screenshot of the front facade: I can't help but wonder...with places like FittRx and the newish Pilates place on York Street -

This is the second (I think) season for this Maxine pop-up store that is housed in the Shaved Ice place on the west side of York Street right in the heart of the Elmhurst City Centre.  Seems like a pretty good use of the space for the winter as the shaved ice store closes down after Labor Day.   Maxine is only open October, November and December. Maybe they should be called "Purses, Purses, Purses"?  (Like, Closets, Closets, Closets?)

This morning, on the walk to the train, I spotted the new window all set up for the Uptown Shop.   It moved from around the corner last month .  They don't appear to have their sign up just yet, but there's plenty of Halloween what-have-yous in the windows.  Get in there, folks.

I spotted the coverings on the windows of the Elmhurst Uptown Shop a few days ago on my walk home from the train and feared they were gone. Turns out...they're NOT closing. Just moving around the corner up on York Street to the old Leonard's mens clothing store which is just north of the toy store and jewelry shop on the east side of the street.   Here's a post from October of last year showing the closing of Leonard's .  Seems like a better location traffic-wise, but a worse location parking-wise, right?  I always seemed to be able to nab a spot in the police lot or out on first.  York is a total crapshoot.  Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you end up circling down Addison a few times. The Uptown Shop's site says they're having a big moving sale today and should open soon around the corner: WE ARE MOVING our Elmhurst store   The MOVING SALE will be HUGE   We are closed starting Monday the 14th to prepare.   Sale is open to the public Thursda

Last week, I wrote about how there's a new rendering of a new construction building on the old Plass Appliance store in the Elmhurst City Centre that portends a new four-story terraced structure with retail and street-level and condos on the upper floors. But that isn't the only thing that has been plastered on the windows of the old Plass store.  This new "Picture Yourself In Elmhurst" three-panel photo went up and is pretty cute.  It is a bunch of laborers who are installing street lights for the first time in town.  It evokes the same feeling of the lunch on top of skyscraper iconic photo for me. Here's a closer look at the white box on the right side that shows the reason for the billboard: Some of the #hashtags are interesting at the bottom.  #walkable #downtown #citycentre. Based on the email addresses, it plainly looks like the city's Economic Development group had the idea, but if look closely, it appears to be a nice little bit of inter

This morning, on my walk to the train, I spotted this rendering that is up on the windows of the old Plass store on York Street.  It shows a three-story mixed-use building and has an entry on the 'public walkway' to the north of the existing Plass building with an entrance for something called "York Condominiums". I covered the building back in February when they took the asbestos out of the first floor here on the blog . It looks to have a terraced elevation with the second and third floors receding backwards - which I think will help with the street presence.  I am, a bit bummed that they're going to be ripping down the Plass building - along with the sign.   Take a look at this post that shows the sign and the building . I know that government's role isn't to dictate to property owners what they can/should do with their property, but as the Elmhurst City Centre continues to evolve, I think we'll wish we had *more* of the old buildings that