Crain's Chicago Business

Members-only Astor Club is opening a little slice of its exclusivity to the public. The subterranean Gold Coast club announced it will be opening Chef’s Table at the Astor Club, a seasonal 10-course tasting menu led by the club’s Michelin-starred executive chef Trevor Teich. The dining room, which will seat 10 people, is located inside the club and will open in August. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gm_2555j

Cindy Pritzker, Chicago's grande dame of philanthropy and civic engagement, instrumental in the flowering of Millennium Park and birth of the Harold Washington Library Center, died yesterday, according to a spokesman for the family. She was 101. Pritzker, the widow of Hyatt Hotels founder Jay Pritzker, recruited architect Frank Gehry to design the dazzling proscenium, or band shell, at Millennium Park, and pledged $15 million to get the project going. Earlier, as a member of the Chicago Public Library board and later its president, she wrestled with plans for a new central library — whether to remodel the Goldblatt's Building on State Street or build somewhere else from the ground up. Her influence extended to — and through — her family, to the next generation of Pritzkers. She was the mother of five and aunt to Gov. JB Pritzker and former U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. What became the Jay Pritzker Pavillion at Millennium Park flowed from a bond established between Pritzker and Gehry, who in 1989 had won the Pritzker Architectural Prize established by Pritzker and her husband nearly 50 years ago. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gKwdUEp8

The group trying to develop the former Michael Reese Hospital site south of McCormick Place has revealed details of its aspirational bid to get the Chicago Bears to build a new domed stadium on the 49-acre property, a pitch they contend is the best option to keep the team in the city as it struggles to win support for a new lakefront venue and mulls a move to Arlington Heights. Whether the Bears have any interest in it is still far from clear. Publicly unveiling its vision for the first time, a group led by Chicago-based Farpoint Development is touting the prospect of a mixed-use campus next to the stadium and a range of financial tools to help create it as chief selling points it hopes will win over leadership of the NFL franchise — while also providing a path to a public-private development that is more palatable for elected officials. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gCUJfpmr

Two days. Two cities. Two amazing Crain’s Power Breakfasts with incredible speakers, packed rooms and super relevant topics. In Chicago in Wednesday, Crain's Chicago Business gathered University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign President Tim Killeen; Northwestern University President Michael Schill and Chicago State University President Z Scott, JD in a wide-ranging conversation with Editor Ann Dwyer on the economic impact and challenges schools face. And then this morning (Thursday), Crain's Detroit Business held its Women Who Mean Business Power Breakfast leading with a fascinating conversation between our Amy Barczy and Gardner White Furniture & Mattress CEO Rachel T. Following that, an honest conversation with a powerful group of executives including Andrea Daniewski, Laura Ferich, Nicole Sherard-Freeman, and Alexis Wiley with our Sherri Welch. Many thanks to our presenting sponsor Old National Bank, which is supporting this important series in Chicago, Detroit and Grand Rapids. Great events that build and connect our business communities and extend our journalism. That’s what we do at Crain Communications.

A Frank Lloyd Wright house in Kankakee has sold for the first time in nearly half a century, and the buyer plans an extensive restoration. “It’s a dream come true for me,” said Kevin Sullivan, who bought the Harrison Avenue house for $449,000 on March 12. “Younger me fantasized a lot about what it would be like to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright house,” Sullivan said. Although his career is in information technology, he considered architecture when he was in school and studied Wright’s work. The sellers, the family of Jim and Eve Brown, had owned the house since 1976. They and Sullivan were all represented by Victoria Krause Schutte of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gFimtS3D

Generative AI has the power to hurt and help white-collar workers, and a new Brookings Institution study shows the places that are most likely to be impacted. “Highly educated, high-paying, white-collar metro areas previously considered to be at relatively low risk of automation look to be the places that will be the most exposed to generative AI — meaning that they will both gain the most from the potential it unlocks as well as shoulder the greatest burdens of any worker displacement and disruption it causes,” Brookings Metro researchers say. What robots did to jobs on the assembly line, ChatGPT and its ilk are threatening to do to the cube farm, from government offices to software companies. And the Chicago area, which has long been a white-collar bastion, will feel the impact. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gqHVhgW6

After a decade of vacancy ups and downs — including a pandemic that changed how people shop — Chicago’s neighborhood retail corridors are hitting their stride. A new analysis from Stone Real Estate found that the shopping strips on Damen, Armitage and Southport avenues are thriving, with low vacancy rates and a vibrant mix of tenants. Those three areas, considered Chicago's primary boutique retail corridors, are often go-to spots for brands looking to set up shop in the city. Their fates could influence Chicago's ability to attract retailers. Southport maintained its 0% vacancy rate between Addison and Roscoe streets between 2023 and 2024, according to the report. On Armitage between Sheffield Avenue and Halsted Street, the vacancy rate dropped to 4.3% from 6.4%. And on Damen, the vacancy rate between Willow Street and North Avenue plummeted to 12.9% from 23.9%. “(Damen) was the one that was struggling,” said Will Winter, vice president of Stone Real Estate. “In one year alone, the vacancy got nearly cut in half. All the streets, to varying degrees, are doing very well right now.” Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g5cpphZs

In two conjoining houses on Armitage Avenue, the son of famed chef Charlie Trotter is launching a revival. It started about five years ago, when Dylan Trotter, now 33, began fixing up the Lincoln Park buildings at 816 W. Armitage Ave. that had stood mostly vacant since his dad’s storied restaurant closed in August 2013. Earlier this year, he teamed up with Michelin-starred Next and reopened the restaurant for a limited-run tasting menu that paid homage to his dad. Now, Dylan Trotter is preparing to launch a series of one-night-only dinners at the former Charlie Trotter’s restaurant. The dinners will be held every two weeks and feature some of Dylan Trotter’s “favorite Trotter alumni,” plus younger local chefs and wine-adjacent folks. He said there’s also interest from chefs across the country and around the world to come participate. The series is set to begin in early April. Dylan Trotter is feeling out whether a full reopening of Charlie Trotter’s might make sense, and what that might look like. He’s not ready to commit yet. For now, he’s figuring out how to put his own fingerprints on his dad’s legacy. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/d7wim2D5

Today at our Crain's Chicago Business 3rd annual Women of Influence event, we celebrated eight exceptional leaders. Natalie Brown; Rita Sola Cook; Lisa Duarte; Karen Freeman-Wilson ; Christy George; Julie Giese; Ashley Joyce ; and Suzanne Yoon. More than 450 people jammed the Radisson Blu to hear incredible stories of leadership, tenacity and mentorship. Many thanks to our sponsors: Wintrust Financial Corporation, Gies College of Business - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Benesch Law, and Rosecrance Behavioral Health. Amazing afternoon. ??

Today at our Crain's Chicago Business 3rd annual Women of Influence event, we celebrated eight exceptional leaders. Natalie Brown; Rita Sola Cook; Lisa Duarte; Karen Freeman-Wilson ; Christy George; Julie Giese; Ashley Joyce ; and Suzanne Yoon. More than 450 people jammed the Radisson Blu to hear incredible stories of leadership, tenacity and mentorship. Many thanks to our sponsors: Wintrust Financial Corporation, Gies College of Business - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Benesch Law, and Rosecrance Behavioral Health. Amazing afternoon. ??