And now, for another Streeterville high-rise in a tight lot, the Riu Plaza Hotel. The 28-story, 390-key hotel looks to have reached the 23rd or 24th level. That’s W.E. O’Neil putting in the work as the GC. The hotel is a design by Lucien LaGrange Studio. The Prime Group is the developer. Opening is slated for late 2024.
Photos from this week, and late March
Yes, caissons are done, but not foundation work, on the RIU Plaza Hotel site at 150 East Ontario in Streeterville. W.E. O’Neil and crew are driving piles into the soil to help support the weight of the 28-story, Lucien Lagrange-designed hotel.
Hey, you know what we should be seeing soon here? Yep. Tower crane permit.
The lot that sat empty at 150 East Ontario for what seemed like an eternity is finally seeing action. Big action.
The RIU Plaza Hotel construction has begun in Streeterville. The City of Chicago issued a permit for caissons and foundation on July 19 for a 28-story, 390-room hotel. W.E. O’Neil is the general contractor. Lucien Lagrange Studio is the design architect. And that’s a big yellow Keller North America rig drilling caissons.
We stopped by in late July to have a first look at site prep, then headed back over this week to see the caisson action. And action we got. Very happy to see work started on this site.
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Come at me if you want to, but there’s a new brand of NIMBYism out there these days: Instead of just complaining about a building blocking the view from your living room, you now get to complain about a new building blocking your view of something else, but not when you’re at home. No, this pertains to being out and about throughout the city. Or from that one particular spot you like to stand. This is next-level stuff.
Such seems to be the case with 300 North Michigan. Folks are upset that it will block the view of the Carbon and Carbide Building across the street. How about that. The rules are now such that you can’t build anything anywhere that will obstruct the view of anything anywhere. Looks like our next skyscraper will have to be built in DeKalb. (But I can’t see my corn field from the water tower now!)
Anyway, this is what 300 North Michigan looked like Monday, July 26. Using the markings on the skip, it looks like Linn-Mathes has reached the 40th floor, with the elevator core a couple stories higher, on their way to their ultimate 47-story height:
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DonateBecause when you start glazing a skyscraping, you don’t just stop.
300 North Michigan got the first of its curtain wall about a month ago, and it’s getting shinier by the day. It’s also growing more visible above some of its neighbors, with a great view of it from Fulton Street in the West Loop.
The rumors are true; there’s a fresh, shiny row of glass on 300 North Michigan in The Loop. Plus a little bit installed out back along MacChesney Court. Chalk up another Milestone Achieved for Sterling Bay, Magellan Development, bKL Architecture, and Linn-Mathes.
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A quick spin around 300 North Michigan as construction continues on the joint development effort from Sterling Bay and Magellan Development Group. Hotel rooms and apartments smack dab in the middle of the Cultural Mile and Magnificent Mile? Yes, please.
Below you’ll find photographic proof of progress. (The dude on the corner with the tape measure though? No, thanks. You’re job is safe from me.)
Foundation work had barely gotten underway last time (and first time) we visited The Study at University of Chicago in Woodlawn in February of last year. Just across the Midway Plaisance from the University’s Hyde Park campus, the new hotel from developer Hospitality 3 will provide 167 rooms, plus a restaurant, conference spaces, and a winter garden across its 13 stories.
The Study is designed by Holabird & Root. Completing the Ampersand Team is J.T. Magen & Company, the general contractor. Grand opening was expected in the first quarter of this year, so things are a bit behind schedule. But nothing has gone as planned for the last 13 months or so, so don’t sweat it.
Oh, the photos I’ve taken during this build.
I haven’t been inside yet (there’s a good chance I never will be) but what is no longer Wanda nor Vista is open.
The Residences at the St. Regis Chicago is all glassy and glorious over in Lakeshore East. The hotel portion is still a work in progress; that will bring nearly 200 guest rooms when open later this year. But the condos are move-in ready (and have been for awhile.) And, as luck would have it, I’m an experienced mover. (Wink wink. HMU.)
Congratulations to all involved, including architecture firms Studio Gang and bKL Architecture, developer Magellan Development Group, and General Contractor James McHugh Construction. You’ve done Chicago and its skyline proud.
I was tempted to fill a gallery with construction-progress shots from the last — wow, fur years. But you can find those on your own, if interested, but checking out the Vista Tower link. Instead, a whole bunch of photos from this past weekend, from a whole bunch of different vantage points.
300 North Michigan between the Magnificent and Cultural Miles of Chicago’s Michigan Avenue.
There aren’t many projects happening in Chicago that this blog considers “mixed-use.” Since everything includes retail these days, an office tower or residential building with ground-floor commercial space doesn’t split the vote.
300 North Michigan qualifies as mixed-use. The bKL Archtecture-designed tower will deliver 289 residential units and 280 hotel rooms across its 47 stories. A joint venture between Sterling Bay and Magellan Group, 300 North Michigan got its tower crane permit back in August 2020, and its foundation permit (with an assigned address of 88 E Wacker Pl) about three weeks prior. The full-build permit arrived in late September.
Linn-Mathes is the general contractor.
