Related Midwest hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at 400 Lake Shore on Monday. Because I care deeply about you, the viewer, I braved the stifling heat and accepted an invitation to attend. Three words: Totally. Worth. It.

Not only did I get to sign a beam that will be placed inside the cofferdam, our hosts also allowed us to walk over to the edge and peer down into it. And if you follow me on Twitter (you should) you know how badly I’ve been aching to see down into that thing. It also gave me the opportunity to talk to a few members of the construction crews, and I learned some things.

Remember when I watched them start cutting the top “ring” of that cofferdam? Well, they aren’t even close to being done. There are three more rings to go. They’re removing four of those sections in total. The top of the concrete core you see in the photo above marks the underside of the lowest floor level. That means there’s a lot of excavation work to be done, but not nearly as much backfilling of the abyss as I thought. Because so much of it won’t be an abyss anymore, once those four sections are cut away.

A huge thank you to Related Midwest and Taylor Johnson for allowing me to join in the celebration Monday, and to everyone involved in prepping the site for us to wander around a little. (They paved a little concrete path for us!) And the tent! Thank you for the tent!)
As I told Nosa Ehimwenman of BOWA Construction and Curt Bailey of Related, I’m the one up there on the Lake Shore Drive sidewalk once a week, watching, and I’ll be back soon.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.