The future is company towns! Everything old is new again.

https://www.experiencethedistrict.com/

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It looks like streets of woodfield.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Isn't the place in Burr Ridge at County Line and the Stevenson sort of an early version of this? They have residences mixed in, but maybe not in the same buildings.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

They welcomed Topgolf as their firth tenant! (thwack)

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They did this sort of thing in Glenview. Happening in Vernon Hills, across from and now at Hawthorne. Mixed use development rather than destination malls. Survival.

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Glenview was a repurposing of the old naval air station, and I think they did a pretty good job with it (even though it feels vaguely creepy and backlot-y here and there). I don't know what the Schaumburg one used to be, but trying to do New Urbanism without even having a train station doesn't seem like it would work. The whole idea of Schaumburg as a suburb was that it was designed for cars and built along expressways rather than railroads. I think it's a uniquely difficult place to reverse-engineer for walkability.

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This type of development is the trend in a lot of places.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

The shopping mall as destination is well on its way out the door. This is certainly similar to TODs...just without the trains. Repurposing mall properties into residential/commercial/dining/office space is worth a shot.

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The renderings look exactly like Neo-Randhurst. I wish them well.

I spent a lot of time at Hawthorn in the past, but I realize that most malls are on the way out. There will always be a place for Woodfield, but everything else? We have to come up with something else. I hope we can have public spaces again.

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This started 20+ years ago. As malls die, trying to create the "main street" feel. In some cases it's existing malls trying to adapt, others it's all built from new instead of building more malls/big box stuff.

It's been 20 years since Deer Park opened, which is the first of the main-streety malls that I remember. It hurt Hawthorn a little but really did a number on Randhurst, which emptied out in a hurry until they finally put it out of its misery in 2008. I thought Deer Park was pretty cool when it opened. They had a Panera and a Barnes & Noble; what was not to love? The thought of living, working, and shopping on its campus, though, I think that would get a little stifling.

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I always thought deer park was an overly ambitious build out, sort of in the sticks.

I like these islands of compact downtown community. It's great for empty nesters, young couples and singles who can't quite afford the real "Main Street" communities with the metra stops.

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Power Centers are now in vogue.

Smaller venues anchored by a large grocery store.

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I don't think it's that far out in the sticks now. I'm just barely old enough to remember when Rand north of Dundee was kind of where Here There Be Monsters territory began, but I'd say Deer Park is firmly within suburbia now, albeit the roomier Lake County variant. And now there's a Woodman's in freakin' Volo. Go figure.

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Goddamnit that woodmans is in lakemoor. Give us some credit man.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

The intersection of Rand and 120 with the McDonald's gas station and the Fratello's is Volo. I thought Lakemoor doesn't start till you go west on 120. I don't know, I rarely went home that way.

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IT'S LAKEMOOR!
but yeah fratellos and the mcd is Volo. But lakemoor got the speed cam revenue at that light.
Fun fact, woodmans was gonna pull out of the project unless lakemoor deep sixed the light.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

PHIL WOODMAN HERE AND WE'VE GOT SOOOOOO MANY GOVERNMENT CONCESSIONS! AY CARUMBA YOU CAN FEED THE WHOLE FAMILY WITH THESE TAX BREAKS

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAoh_yt ... isqPYs2H70
He was way ahead of everyone else but 35 years later he could finally get his wish.

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Mulli is Howard Stern in his prime compared to Haugh.

If you don't know about Mojo Nixon then your store could use some fixin'

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Ok you seem like the type to know this. Are you familiar with the old ads for This Is It Furniture (where you always get a free onion)?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014