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Dick’s addresses MTCA concerns 24-Dec-07 – Dick’s Last Resort has responded to concerns expressed by Marina Towers Condominium Association in October, over plans for its restaurant in the southwest corner of the lower concourse level. They have also agreed to make changes. Residential property manager David Gantt wrote to Marina City’s commercial property owner on October 12. The letter is not mentioned in the October or December MTCA newsletters, but a link to it appeared on the MTCA web site sometime in late November or December. The letter to LaSalle Hotel Properties detailed four concerns based on Dick’s presentation to the MTCA board of directors on September 19. The concerns, said to be from Marina City residents, are over noise, security, pollution, and architectural integrity. Gantt refers to a proposed outdoor dining area separated from an indoor dining area by windowed garage doors. He says the doors are not soundproof and “will permit amplified sound transmissions under the nearby bridges.” The sound is amplified, he explains, when it bounces against the concrete walls of Wacker Drive and under the State and Dearborn Street bridges. LaSalle COO Michael Barnello responded to this on October 25, saying Dick’s will weather-proof the doors, which will help buffer sound passing through them. Gantt also expresses concern about an entrance to the restaurant from Dearborn Street, and a second entrance from the lower concourse near the mailboxes. “We believe this would create an unsafe situation for residents in that the public would have unfettered access.”
Barnello says Dick’s will have security personnel monitor the main entrance and make the concourse doors “exit only” except for special occasions. Architecture writer Lynn Becker points out that before the renovation in the late 1990s, there was always a restaurant on the lower level, with an entrance from the lobby. Smith & Wollensky has a door east of the mailboxes, although it is not normally used. “If Dick’s had a similar door for the same purpose in the same location, but west of the mailboxes, I can’t see it objectionable if it were kept closed except for emergencies.” The entrance from Dearborn Street, says Becker, even if it was next to the main lobby entrance, “would still probably be the best way to minimize Dick’s customers from using the public lobby.” Becker says the security issues in Gantt’s letter are “a bit confusing, since if all the concerns were met, there would be no way, short of being shot up into the open dining area from the river, for Dick’s customers to enter the restaurant.” Gantt points out the proposed outdoor dining area is directly above garbage refuse areas on the marina level. “While we can do what we can to keep the garbage within the compactors, nothing will stop the stench emanating from the garbage during the summer months.” This is flatly denied by Barnello, who says Dick’s “will ensure that the outdoor dining area is both inviting and clean.” Dick’s plans include red brick on the main entrance from Dearborn street, as well as the side facing the river. They also plan to erect a tall, narrow sign on the street level at Dearborn. “The architectural community in Chicago will be shocked and greatly disappointed,” claims Gantt, “by the alterations to Bertrand Goldberg’s original design along Dearborn Street [and] the riverfront, and the tall phallic sign.” According to Barnello, Dick’s agrees the red brick is inconsistent with the building and is considering a more suitable surface. He says the Chicago Architectural Foundation has agreed to provide feedback once the design elements have been selected. As for the sign on Dearborn Street, Dick’s has reduced its size from 29 feet to 16 feet in length. Dick’s Last Resort will move to Marina City next April or May. The restaurant will be open every day from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. |
