Trouble for Catalpa Gardens developers

There is a man named Reza Toulabi who, if I am not mistaken, lives in a walled compound in my neighborhood and owns a restaurant and a good deal of property on Chicago's North Side. One of his parcels is a narrow strip along the west side of the Red Line between Catalpa and Bryn Mawr, on which, several years back, he decided to develop a mid-rise condominium complex -- Catalpa Gardens. Mr. Toulabi hired a well-respected architect who produced a design that was interesting from an aesthetic point of view, but I had some concerns about the project's size. After the proposal was approved, the original architect was removed from the project, and they made some changes to the design that, in my opinion, harmed its aesthetics. I became even more concerned. Then they started building it, and it is a big, concrete building -- and I know I shouldn't pass final judgment on a building still under construction, but it doesn't look as nice as first advertised.

Somewhere along the line, Mr. Toulabi teamed up with developers Charles Cornelius and William A. Lockhart on this project, and I'm not even sure what his role is anymore. A recent article in Crain's describes Cornelius and Lockhart as "equal partners" and doesn't even mention Toulabi -- probably a good thing for him given the subject of the article. Mr. Lockhart was arrested last month, accused of cocaine possession. The following week, Lockhart was sued by Cornelius for mismanaging the project. I don't take any pleasure in their troubles. If you find yourself on the 5500 block of N. Broadway and look up over the roof of the alderman's office, there you will see an unfinished Catalpa Gardens looming eleven stories over the street, and it's not going away. I hope it gets finished, and I hope it will someday be an asset to the neighborhood.

More changes near the Berwyn El stop

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Berwyn stop area losing a couple businesses. It looks like I might have a couple more to report. I hope this isn't the start of a trend. Saturday I went over to AJ's Grill (on the 5300 N. Block of Broadway) for a nice, cholesterol-laden lunch, but they were closed. I ended up taking out from Subway two doors away (a healthier choice, anyway), and as I was leaving, I saw several other disappointed AJ's patrons tugging on their door. There was no sign outside the eatery explaining the closure, so I can't say whether this is temporary, or if they've lost their lease. [7 MAY 2007] Update: I went back on April 28, and they were open for business.

South of Foster, the Brown's Chicken (formerly Chicken Delights, formerly Burger Delights, formerly Burger King) on the 5130 N. block of Broadway that had opened last year is gone. The building is designed for fast food, complete with a drive through, but it seems that no one is able to make it work at that location. I wouldn't miss it all that much if they tear it down. The drive through just encourages people to stay in their cars where, for instance, they'll never have a chance to browse the baked goods at Chiu Quon Bakery on nearby Argyle Street. Regardless of what happens to the Brown's property, its vacancy contributes to a dead zone on Broadway that starts near the Aon building on the 5030 N. block and extends north to the middle of the 5200 N. block.

On a brighter note, the former taqueria at 5424 N. Broadway has a new awning up. It looks like a French bistro is moving in. (Fans of a good taqueria can still get their fix at El Norte just a block and a half north.)

Metapost: Comments policy

Don't feed the trolls. Words of wisdom that go back to the good old days of the Usenet newsgroups.

Most of the time, I welcome visitors to this site. I don't go out of my way to encourage visitors, but if you care to read what I've written, that's OK with me. Whether you agree or disagree with me, go ahead and leave a comment if you are so inspired. I won't shy away from a reasoned argument. But I won't tolerate people using the comments section to abuse other commenters. Do that, and you'll find your comment deleted.

Grouse

Last week I was going down the back steps when I startled a strange-looking bird. It was a bit larger than a dove, and it was rounder and had short wings. It landed in the yard and began strutting around with its tail feathers turned up and fanned out like a turkey. Later, I looked it up and discovered that I had seen a ruffed grouse -- which, like turkeys, chickens, quails, and pheasants, is a member of the Galliform order of birds. Chicago is at the very south edge of their range, but as they normally inhabit forest, I think it's interesting that one found its way to my neighborhood.