LINCOLN PARK — Developments — and potential development — ruled the news in Lincoln Park and Old Town in 2014.
Here are some stories that had the neighborhood talking:
1. Children's Memorial Development Progress: In April, the City Council approved developer Dan McCaffery's plans to redevelop the 6-acre former hospital site, including two 21-story apartment towers. Shortly after, two neighborhood groups filed a lawsuit to block to project, and the matter was tied up in court the rest of the year.
2. Finkl Steel Demolition and Future: The 28-acre steel plant on the east side of the North Branch of the Chicago River near Cortland Avenue is set to be demolished, and an economic group began planning what to do with the site and neighboring Gutmann Tannery and A. Lakin & Sons properties. That could include a high-tech campus and a massive Finch's Beer Co. brewery somewhere along the industrial corridor.
3. Theater Scene Bets Big: The theater companies in both Lincoln Park and Old Town bet big on the future this year, announcing and building out major expansions. IO Theater moved to a new four-theater, 38,000-square-foot building at 1501 N. Kinsbury St. in August. Steppenwolf Theatre announced plans for a major expansion in October, including a 400-seat theater. The Second City announced plans to expand into the former AMC Loews Theater, more than doubling its footprint.
4. Obama College Prep Drama: A surprise announcement of a new selective-enrollment high school planned for the Near North neighborhood was met with backlash from neighborhood residents in April, as the city planned to build the school in the middle of Stanton Park. In May, the city backtracked on the location, and in September, dropped the president's name from the school entirely.
5. New City Rises: The 81/2-acre project that will include 380,000 square feet of retail, 199 apartment units, a movie theater, bowling alley and a Mariano's grocery store quickly rose along Clybourn Avenue this year. The transformative $260 million development is slated for a September 2015 grand opening.
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