"The New Downtown"

the suntimes has this new section "The new Downtown" link to sun times -new downtown section Daley: More museums, theater, jazz August 25, 2005 BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter Advertisement Downtown Chicago has come alive in the 16 years since Mayor Daley took office. It's become a vibrant and eclectic neighborhood. No longer does everyone stampede out of their offices at 5 p.m. and hustle to trains and buses or expressways to head home. Many of them live downtown in converted office buildings. And even those who don't are drawn to concerts at Millennium Park and to the emerging theater district. They're joined by college students, who breathe around-the-clock life into their new neighborhood. Hundreds of them now live together under one roof in a super-dorm in the South Loop. Asked to highlight his downtown achievements, Daley says: "The mixing of business and retail and also residential -- that they can all co-exist together. And the beauty of downtown." (AP) The mayor has presided over explosive residential growth in the South Loop as well as State Street. There's also the $200 million reconstruction of Wacker Drive that includes plans for a riverwalk, and the Museum Campus on the lakefront. Some plans, though, have stalled. There's still no downtown casino. The theater district is dark at times. A plan to replace fast-food franchises with neighborhood retailers fizzled. And Block 37, in the heart of downtown, remains an embarrassing hole in the ground, even if there is finally a plan to fill it. Still, "compared to other cities," Chicago's downtown is alive and well, Daley says. "The problem is always keeping it alive 24 hours, seven days a week. "Cultural activities are extremely important. Museums, Millennium Park, theaters as well as jazz and blues clubs, which I'd like to have more of in the downtown area." Three years ago, City Hall unveiled a 20-year plan for downtown, calling for $11 billion in transit improvements, including a new busway and subway underneath Clinton Street linked to a futuristic West Loop transportation center. There was also talk of shoreline islands and new parks and even creating a deck of grass and trees at the Kennedy over Hubbard's Cave. But Daley didn't mention that ambitious blueprint when asked what remains to be done in a downtown expected to accommodate 150,000 residents and 272,000 jobs over the next 20 years. Instead, he talked about things that are more mundane, inexpensive and, thus, easier to do. "Retrofitting some of the older buildings into residential buildings," the mayor offered. "New types of businesses coming into the downtown area. More students, artists and families moving into the downtown area." ---------------------------------------------------- From the Picasso to the Bean When the Picasso was unveiled on Aug. 15, 1967, downtown Chicago was largely a place where people worked and shopped, then fled at night. Today, as final work is done on the city's new signature work of art, The Bean, downtown has grown up -- and out -- and become a place to live, too.>