Time is running out to see Flyboy, as 1136 South Wabash gets off the ground in the South Loop.
Caissons are done, the tower crane is in place, and 1136 South Wabash is looking more like a 3-dimensional construction site these days. CA Ventures’ 26-story residential tower will bring 320 apartments to the South Loop, with retail on the first floor, and 143 parking spaces. SCB did the design; Lendlease is on the build.
A gorgeous rendering of One Grant Park from Rafael Viñoly Architects.
When it rains, it pours. Cement into caissons, that is.
Add One Grant Park to the list of skyscrapers getting busy in Chicago. Permitted for foundation work back in October, the empty lot bounded by Michigan Avenue, Roosevelt Road, and Indiana Avenue finally saw some action in December, when crews started site prep. Now, the familiar blue and gold of Case Foundation is on the scene, drilling holes into the South Loop soil to support the 76-story, 792-unit Rafael Viñoly Architects design.
That foundation permit includes twelve (!) levels of parking, so we could see a lot of time and concrete trucks pass between now and the full building permit. But it’s all good; we can kill time running back and forth between One Grant Park and another McHugh Construction supertall in progress, Vista Tower.
Even when they’re on the ground, tower cranes are cool.
West Crane will always be able to sneer at East Crane with a knowing, I-Was-Born-First smirk. But only by a couple of days. No sooner had construction crews rooted the first crane into the ground, the second one found a rebar bed of its own.
As one does when it’s about 10 degrees outside, dedicated skyscraper nerds (skyscraperds?) hung around Thursday afternoon to watch West Tower reach sky-cab status. Meanwhile, Eastie’s resting comfortably in place, waiting for concrete to be poured into its foundation.
There’s also the matter of the large hole in the middle of the site, that everyone but me seemed to be allowed to climb into. Unfair.
It’s demo time! Goodbye parking garage and swimming pool, hello 475 apartments.
As Crain’s Chicago Business reported on Tuesday, Essex Inn at 800 South Michigan Avenue has secured the funding necessary to upgrade the hotel, and add a new a 56-story apartment tower as its new next-door neighbor.
The Demolition Permit.
And no sooner had the ink on the check dried, crews were out on Michigan Avenue, setting up barriers and scaffolding for the temporary sidewalk that will keep pedestrians safe during demolition of the 5-story garage next to the hotel, while also making sure bloggers and skyscraper nerds can’t get too close to the goings-on.
None other than Heneghan Wrecking (we need t-shirts with Heneghan Again on them) will be making space for the new tower, with a demolition permit having been filed way back on October 27.
The Chicago Plan Commission approved the development back in May of 2016, and I quote:
The Applicant intends to create two subareas within the overall 28,744 square foot site. Subarea A, located at 800 South Michigan Avenue consists of an existing 160’ hotel building and will be rehabbed to include a maximum of 290 hotel keys. Subarea B, located at approximately 812 South Michigan Avenue, will be redeveloped with an approximately 620’ residential building including a maximum of 476 dwelling units, 100 hotel keys as well as 100 parking spaces and commercial space.
Essex on The Park, the name of the Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture-designed tower according to Crain’s, should be complete in 2018, and coincide with completion of the hotel renovation.
This rendering, from the Crain’s story, is from Hartshorne Plunkard Architects. Too pretty not to include.
I see you over there.
What is it, Spring already?
Tower crane seedlings are sprouting all over Chicago, proving there’s no season like Construction Season. You may have read a thing or two about the pair of cranes being erected at Vista Tower, but those aren’t the only ones in town. 1411 South Michigan planted its own tower crane stub Thursday in the South Loop, marking the next big step in the development process for Russland Capital Group’s 15-story, 199-apartment tower. Lendlease is on the build, responsible for getting the design from Boarman Kroos Vogel Group completed in time for opening late this year.
3 World Trade Center, New York City.
3 World Trade Center will be an 80-story office tower at 175 Greenwich Street. Two-and-a-half million square feet of office space, plus 150,000 square feet of retail space — over 5 floors — it’s expected to open in 2018. The design is by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners of London. The developer is Silverstein Properties.
For more on 3 World Trade Center, please follow these links:
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
851 West Grand in River West, up to floor #3 of 6.
The 851 West logo.
Over in River West, construction crews are busy erecting 851 West, a six-story apartment building at 851 West Grand Avenue from developer Monroe Residential Partners. Designed by FitzGerald Associates Architects, 851 West will bring 36 “boutique apartments” with 18 parking spaces across West Grand Avenue from the newly-opened Kenect Apartments.
The City of Chicago filed the construction permit back in June, and Summit Design + Build has been on the job ever since, with work having now reached the third floor.
There are lots of great construction photos over on 851 West’s Facebook page.
The big blue Stalworth caisson rig drills caissons for Illume Chicago.
Buildings are heavy. Buildings need support. Which explains the presence of the big blue Stalworth machine at 111 South Peoria Street in the West Loop, site of the now-underway Illume Chicago. That’s the beast responsible for drilling caissons into the earth for the future 10-story, 79-condominium project from LG Development and Pappageorge Haymes Partners to rest upon. And rest it will — everyone will — once things quiet down a little bit. Caisson work is loud.
That tower crane obscured by all the caisson equipment doesn’t belong to the McDonald’s HQ site. But soon, there will be two of them here.
By now you know, tower cranes are a favorite of mine. Two tower cranes? I can barely contain my bliss. We’ve seen them here in Chicago within the past 12 months at The Sinclair, the Simpson-Querrey Biomedical Research Center, and most recently, at Vista Tower. And coming soon, McDonald’s HQ. (HQ stand for headquarters, not headquarter-pounders)
On December 15, the City of Chicago filed permits for the two cranes at 110 North Carpenter Street in the West Loop, and look what they did! They’ve already named them West Crane and East Crane! Which really takes the pressure to come up with clever crane monikers off me.
They’re still busy with caisson work at the new Home of the Golden Arches, so don’t expect cranes to sprout right away. But they’ll be here soon enough. Now, if that completes your order, please pull up to the next window.
East Crane.
West Crane.
165 North Aberdeen from the Morgan Street CTA platform.
There’s a new twist on the mixed-use project in the West Loop from MCZ Development. Nothing earth-shattering, like having to move any more caissons in order to properly support a tower crane. No, this change is about the address, which formerly had been 171 North Aberdeen Street (that’s what the City of Chicago lists on the permits) but MCZ’s own website now shows the project as 165 North Aberdeen.
What hasn’t changed is that Novak Construction continues to make progress on the Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture-designed building, reaching the sixth floor of what will be 11 levels when complete. Expect 90 residential units, with 40,000 square feet of office space and 15,000 square feet of retail space as well. Throw in about 130 parking spots for good measure.
Building Up Chicago 