I am hoping that this is a place where we can discuss the process of building in the Chicago area.

as thomwolfe said in his request:

...I guess I'm looking for a forum that helps people looking to build their dream home avoid/minimize the head/heartaches involved with this type of undertaking.

Things like:
Architect recommendations, City Regulations, Tips for building new construction in the city, Ways to find land in the city (maybe odd/small shaped lots that could be inexpensive), Recommendations of neighborhoods to raise a family (preferably up-and-coming)...

So this is the place to start giving ideas, recomendations, and advice.

I'm in the early stages of looking for land in Chicago to build a pre-fab on, and these are the interesting nuggets I've gleaned so far, in terms of Chicago building regulations:

* the standard Chicago lot is 25 x 125...in Pilsen, where we are looking to build, the lots are usually 25 x 100.

* you must do curb cuts to create one parking space per residence you build

* there is a list of empty/foreclosed lots that the city auctions two or three times a year...99.9 percent of the lots are in undesirable locales, but if you're open to trail-blazing a new neighborhood... the list is available at City Hall, and I think it is called City Owned DGS Properties

I'm gutting a loft in the south loop. We're using a terrific architect named Tom Brock. www.thomasbrock.com Very detailed guy. His style is modern but in a Wright kind of way, big on wood, and built-ins. I'm going a little sleaker, a little cleaner than is his taste but not an issue. He's in Wicker Park.

Had one horrible experience with our first architect, Gerhard Zinserling. Got a solution that didn't meet code. Architect #2 had to start from scratch. Long painful story...

We are finally nearing a point where construction is in the forseeable future so not a lot of advice there. Have heard painful things about the permitting process, monthly code changes, etc. so choose that architect wisely. I'd go with the detailed guy vs. the artist.