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Grandville Castle Apartments


mgreven

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7 hours ago, jthrasher said:

 That doesn't mean it's not an eyesore.  With that logic, let's just build lots of hideous buildings around the area.  As long as nobody can see then from their houses, it's all fine. :tw_confused:     One of the first things people will see when driving to GR from Chicago or from anywhere via 196 will be a giant cheesy castle.  That's a great first impression.   As a designer and lover of GOOD architecture, I'm livid.   

I think sometimes we care a little too much what visitors think. We already have more people moving there than we have housing for, and I hear the wedding business of couples from Chicago holding events here is booming. I think the positive impression of this area is exceeding what can be met, actually. 

If I let ugly architecture in the area get to me, I think I would go insane (because there's plenty of it). 

I still however think that new hotel on the Beltline is atrocious. :) Way worse than this castle looks. But I go weeks, months without thinking about it until I drive by it again. 

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12 hours ago, jthrasher said:

 That doesn't mean it's not an eyesore.  With that logic, let's just build lots of hideous buildings around the area.  As long as nobody can see then from their houses, it's all fine. :tw_confused:     One of the first things people will see when driving to GR from Chicago or from anywhere via 196 will be a giant cheesy castle.  That's a great first impression.   As a designer and lover of GOOD architecture, I'm livid.   

Oh please.  The "first impression" GR people see when driving into Chicago are steel mills.

Actually, the best way to view this project is from a distance (not exactly a compliment, but it's true).  I don't think it'll look bad from 196.

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On 4/12/2017 at 9:06 AM, jthrasher said:

This whole thing pisses me off on so many levels.  I seriously can not believe this was approved.  Was there ever an opportunity for local residents to see the plans and voice concerns or opinions?  Who are the city officials in charge of approving these things?   It's going to be a giant eyesore for decades.  

Oh, boohoo.  Cry me a river.  It's a giant castle with dormers and turrets and battlements.  I salute this project for not being a faceless, expressionless cube of a building covered in glorified tin foil. Which is about 95% of what gets built.  I'm looking at you, Arena Place.  And Gallery on Fulton.  And Karl Chew's new project next door.  And that ghastly 616 project on Michigan.  And everything else built in the last two years on Michigan.  The LIHTC technicolor clown show on Hall and Madison.  Those are embarrassments--low grade warehouses with windows.

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55 minutes ago, x99 said:

Oh, boohoo.  Cry me a river.  It's a giant castle with dormers and turrets and battlements.  I salute this project for not being a faceless, expressionless cube of a building covered in glorified tin foil. Which is about 95% of what gets built.  I'm looking at you, Arena Place.  And Gallery on Fulton.  And Karl Chew's new project next door.  And that ghastly 616 project on Michigan.  And everything else built in the last two years on Michigan.  The LIHTC technicolor clown show on Hall and Madison.  Those are embarrassments--low grade warehouses with windows.

Oh please!!! you've got to be kidding me.  You apparently wouldn't know good looking architecture if it smacked you in the face.  If the castle was actually built like a real castle and not a giant square building with fake looking turrets and windows to make it appear castle like, I might agree with you but all this is is EXACTLY what you say you're against.  All it is is a giant square building with faux looking castle like features.  Not to mention when it's finished it will look like it was built yesterday and not 100 years ago.   

ICON on bond was one of the ugliest looking new builds in recent years.  There have been many others but at least they fit in and aren't super cheesy like this faux castle. 

4 hours ago, RegalTDP said:

Oh please.  The "first impression" GR people see when driving into Chicago are steel mills.

Actually, the best way to view this project is from a distance (not exactly a compliment, but it's true).  I don't think it'll look bad from 196.

the steel mills aren't even in Illinois so if that's people's first impression of Chicago, they need geography lessons.  The beautiful skyline of Chicago is most people's first impression of that city cause you can see it from miles away.  So even IF you see the steel mills, you see the skyline as well. 

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6 hours ago, RegalTDP said:

Oh please.  The "first impression" GR people see when driving into Chicago are steel mills

I saw the steel mills the first time from a greyhound bus on an eighth grade field trip to Chicago.  This was back when they still had open hearth furnaces with flames shooting out the top.  It’s a very powerful memory; never saw anything like it before.  When I think of Chicago now I still think of those mills as much as I think about the skyline or the museums or any other memory, and I always look forward to seeing them again when I drive by.  

I can’t imagine someone feeling the same after seeing the faux castle the first time unless maybe there’s going to be flames shooting out of the turrets.

58f005a333dc0_steelmill.jpg.d6798793a0818b7b070de321f982c12c.jpg

Chicago Mills in the background

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2 hours ago, jthrasher said:

the steel mills aren't even in Illinois so if that's people's first impression of Chicago, they need geography lessons.  The beautiful skyline of Chicago is most people's first impression of that city cause you can see it from miles away.  So even IF you see the steel mills, you see the skyline as well. 

Um, Indiana's Lake and Porter Counties are part of the Chicago MSA (just as Grandville is part of the Grand Rapids MSA) so you can't have it both ways.  That's your geography lesson.

And as much as I'd love to take issue with the wondrous aesthetic beauty of driving past the Calumet River & environs, I'll just echo GRDad and advise you not to worry so much.

Edited by RegalTDP
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3 hours ago, jthrasher said:

Oh please!!! you've got to be kidding me.  You apparently wouldn't know good looking architecture if it smacked you in the face.  If the castle was actually built like a real castle and not a giant square building with fake looking turrets and windows to make it appear castle like, I might agree with you but all this is is EXACTLY what you say you're against.  All it is is a giant square building with faux looking castle like features.  Not to mention when it's finished it will look like it was built yesterday and not 100 years ago.   

ICON on bond was one of the ugliest looking new builds in recent years.  There have been many others but at least they fit in and aren't super cheesy like this faux castle. 

the steel mills aren't even in Illinois so if that's people's first impression of Chicago, they need geography lessons.  The beautiful skyline of Chicago is most people's first impression of that city cause you can see it from miles away.  So even IF you see the steel mills, you see the skyline as well. 

If you think Icon on Bond is the ugliest looking project and that Hammond and Gary, Indiana don't leave an impression on people traveling to Chicago.... wow. :) c'mon man. Get real and quit acting like an asshat just to get people riled up. 

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34 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

If you think Icon on Bond is the ugliest looking project and that Hammond and Gary, Indiana don't leave an impression on people traveling to Chicago.... wow. :) c'mon man. Get real and quit acting like an asshat just to get people riled up. 

Resorting to name calling now eh?  How big of you. Especially from a mod.   I wish I would've known about the public meetings about this project because yeah, I would've riled people up.  Apparently this community doesn't care about hideous buildings that are doomed to become abandoned epic failures.  And obviously I'm not the only one who thinks this development is a joke based on some of the comments in this thread and conversations I've had with others both on and offline.   

Your whole Gary/Hammond comment only proves my point but I digress.

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35 minutes ago, GRDadof3 said:

If you think Icon on Bond is the ugliest looking project and that Hammond and Gary, Indiana don't leave an impression on people traveling to Chicago.... wow. :) c'mon man. Get real and quit acting like an asshat just to get people riled up. 

And my issue with Icon on Bond isn't so much that it's ugly but rather that its a waste of potential that location could've been.  

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So I noticed the red color (which does seem to be in the wrong location compared to the rendering). Does anyone know what they are going to do with the exterior? Are they going to paint it? Some sort of stucco material? From the rendering, it looks like it could be a combination of unpainted and painted concrete.

Just curious (and trying to get this back on topic. Stop the flame wars please).

Joe

 

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9 hours ago, TheSutterKing said:

I think when it's complete it will be cool, and maybe for aesthetics, vines would look cool running up the building.

Plus a development like this is great, because it is like a community where people can hang out around the pool and bond and enjoy life. This is a good thing. Relax and have faith.

I don't think it will be cool or uncool. It just is. :) I'm trying to think of how it affects my life in any way and I keep scratching my head until it starts bleeding. 

Actually, it's an apartment building in a run-down industrial area of a sub-par suburb. I can't think of anything better in the world that could've been built there. It's almost perfect. I also think that Icon on Bond, despite the lack of fenestration on the ground floor, is the right height, scale and design for that part of Monroe North. 

But moving on. 

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48 minutes ago, joeDowntown said:

So I noticed the red color (which does seem to be in the wrong location compared to the rendering). Does anyone know what they are going to do with the exterior? Are they going to paint it? Some sort of stucco material? From the rendering, it looks like it could be a combination of unpainted and painted concrete.

Just curious (and trying to get this back on topic. Stop the flame wars please).

Joe

 

Obviously I don't think the real final drawings have been released to the public. They've probably been tweaked so many times that the construction company is doing a lot on the fly. 

These might be the closest but obviously not in color. 

image.thumb.png.77558444c102f60765af0838

 

 

image.thumb.jpeg.097b5a1f5faf1590536c5ec

 

 

image.thumb.png.f6d09a2302a01674dbcb62f1

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1 hour ago, joeDowntown said:

So I noticed the red color (which does seem to be in the wrong location compared to the rendering).

I thought the same thing too and was immediately puzzled. Also, in the rendering, the two side structures seem to be connected in the middle by the red brick 'clock tower' thing. 

The other thing that makes me chuckle from the fancy font video is the 'lakefront access'.

Also, as I was taking these photos, I noticed a couple of small houses on Carla St SW with some sketchy characters leering at me from their lawn chairs. 

1 hour ago, joeDowntown said:

Just curious (and trying to get this back on topic. Stop the flame wars please).

  Thanks, Joe. 

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8 minutes ago, thebeerqueer said:

I thought the same thing too and was immediately puzzled. Also, in the rendering, the two side structures seem to be connected in the middle by the red brick 'clock tower' thing. 

The other thing that makes me chuckle from the fancy font video is the 'lakefront access'.

Also, as I was taking these photos, I noticed a couple of small houses on Carla St SW with some sketchy characters leering at me from their lawn chairs. 

  Thanks, Joe. 

Highway/industrial runoff pond access! Woooo!

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