Author Archives: danieldschell

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About danieldschell

I'm Daniel Schell, Chicagoan, Twitter fiend, and picture taker. I like sunsets, travel, and long walks through construction sites. If you build it, I will come.

Onni Group’s Christmas Crane returns to light up Chicago

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Onni Group, developer and general contractor on the Atrium Village redevelopment in the Near North, is lighting up the Christmastime skies over Chicago for the second year in a row. The shiny blue neon adorning the tower crane above Atrium Village is a dead ringer for the tower crane Onni lit up last Christmas at The Hudson.

Atrium Village Christmas Crane

The Christmas Crane, and a view of progress at Atrium Village, from Twitter user @joecarpita

In the meantime, the pretty crane still has a job to do, and that’s piling parts on top of pieces to bring this 31-story tower to fruition. Pictures of progress, and a few more angles of the neon crane, follow:

Atrium Village Christmas crane

River Point is open!

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River Point Plaza

Looking north through River Point Plaza, with the Kinzie Street railroad bridge standing at attention on the right.

River Point, the 52-story office tower from Hines, is now open. That’s likely uncontrollably exciting to those of you who have or will have your new office at 444 West Lake Street in the West Loop, but it’s quite a spectacle for the rest of us, too.

I haven’t been inside yet (insert hopeful emoji here), but I took a stroll through River Point Plaza Thursday evening. The one-and-a-half-acre park, designed by landscape architect The Office of James Burnett, sits above the fork in the Chicago River, offering views to the east past the Merchandise Mart, and to the north toward the Kinzie Street railroad bridge. During construction of River Point, Hines promised us a spectacular public park at the foot of the tower. What Hines delivered is, in fact, a spectacular park at the foot of the tower. But don’t take my word for it. Take my photos that follow instead, then get yourselves over and see for yourself.

Kudos to everyone involved in the River Point project, including design architect Pickard Chilton, civil engineer Magnusson Klemencic Associates, and contractors Lendlease and Clark Construction. Magnificent work, all around!

Condo construction, Fajardo, Puerto Rico (no, I’m not really here looking for construction)

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Fajardo Puerto Rico

Gut rehab of the condo across the street from our balcony. Though it’s hard to tell from a still photo. Take that red work truck as proof.

They’re doing some work on the condominium across the street from our room here in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. It’s not as loud or dusty as skyscraper construction, but it’s construction, so now I can write this trip off as a blog expense.

We haven’t seen all of Puerto Rico, but what we have seen makes us want to come back and see the rest. You should get down here.

Super moon

The Super Moon rises above the Atlantic over Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

Fajardo Puerto Rico

Yep, that’s a crane waaaaaaay over there across the water.

The Cubs get a tower crane with 11 Ws

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Hotel Zachary Tower crane

The moon and the tower crane shine bright next to Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs play baseball. They just won the World Series. Have you heard about that?

That’s right, it’s a towwwwwwwwwwwer crane. Because when you win the last three series of your season – 3 wins, then 4, then 4 more games – and finish 2016 as The World Series Champions, you use 11 Ws wherever you want to use them.

It’s not the Cubs Hotel, but the Hotel Zachary being built at 3630 North Clark Street in Lake View. It’s right across the street from Wrigley Field (perhaps you’ve seen something about that ballpark in the news recently) and its developer is Hickory Street Capital, an entity of the Ricketts family, who own the Chicago Cubs. So you see, it’s all connected. I think The Hotel Russell on Addison would be a better name, but I haven’t been asked for my input.

Anyway, the tower crane went up at some point during the Playoffs. I was too stressed by the Cubs not sweeping their 11 wins to notice much construction-wise around Wrigley. If you’ll recall, the Hotel Zachary will be a 7-story, mixed-use facility with 175 guest rooms (known as “keys” in some spaces), retail space, and several restaurants.

Remarkably, crews were still digging sand from the site on Monday. A quick survey of Walsh Construction workers (two of them) confirmed there is a surprising quantity of the stuff. Did Lake Michigan really extend as far west as Clark Street back in the day?

IMPORTANT REMINDER: EVERY TEAM IN EVERY MAJOR SPORT HAS WAITED LONGER FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP THAN THE CHICAGO CUBS!

 

Old 7-story brick building in Lincoln Park to be demolished for 7-story brick building

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700 West Fullerton

Scaffolding has been erected on the east facade of the Nellie A. Black Pavilion.

On the final day of October, the City of Chicago issued a demolition permit for the Nellie A. Black Memorial Pavilion, at 700 West Fullerton Parkway in Lincoln Park. Built in the 1932, it made Preservation Chicago’s “Chicago 7” list in 2016, along with its neighbor across the street, the Martha Wilson Memorial Pavilion. That building is already rubble, along with most of the old Children’s Memorial Hospital.

Crains' render 700 West Fullerton

The rendering from Crain’s Chicago’s story of the new Belmont Village Senior Living building. Look familiar?

Crain’s Chicago posted back in June that Chicago-based Harrison Street Capital and Houston-based Belmont Village Senior Living bought the building, with the intent of constructing a senior-living facility on the site. The rendering Crain’s included in the story, seen to the right, looks remarkably similar to the Nellie Black Pavilion. I could be oversimplifying things, but maybe that 80-year-old edifice could have been re-purposed for the senior living project? Eh, what do I know.

Monday, workers were constructing scaffolding on the facade. Expect dust and pallets of used bricks to follow shortly. American Demolition will do the dirty work.

Elevate Lincoln Park raises a tower crane

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Having ceremoniously broken ground on the first of the month, Elevate Lincoln Park has begun celebrating yet another milestone; a tower crane is being assembled on the site of the future rental development. It’s a shiny yellow one too, the best kind. And you’ll be able to see it next to the elevated tracks when riding the Red, Brown, and Purple Line trains. It more than makes up for not getting to watch people play tennis atop the old Lincoln Centre condos, right? Wait. Did anyone ever play tennis up there?

Moot point. What’s important here is this: Elevate Lincoln Park, a Baker Development project, will feature 191 apartments, three levels of parking, and ground-floor commercial space, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz.

Glass is in session at 640 North Wells

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640 North Wells

The curtain goes up at 640 North Wells in River North.

In The War On Wells, 640 North Wells lost the first-glass prize to The Gallery On Wells across the street. But not to worry. 640 rallied, and came back with a curtain wall of its own, one that gleams on sunny days. For now, two rows of glass have moved into the tower. Soon, all 23 stories and 251 units will glisten in the sunlight, as JDL Development moves toward a Summer 2017 opening.

Was soil sampling at 180 West Randolph hotel preparation?

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Is it time to make more beds in The Loop?

Back in August, a soil sampling rig burrowed into the asphalt parking lot at 180 West Randolph. Not one to speculate, I still rampantly speculated that something could well be in the near future for the site.

This morning, Crain’s Chicago is reporting that the lot has been sold to Quadram Global, already known in Chicago for the Godfrey Hotel and Essex Inn. This guarantees the possibility that maybe a new hotel might be tentatively planned for The Loop (was that undefinitive enough?) directly across the street from the Kimpton Hotel Allegro. Time will surely tell.