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.

Another day, another new name. The Linea forms on the right.

Posted on October 11, 2016 by danieldschell

What hasn’t changed about Linea is that it looks wonderful in the morning sunlight.

Goodbye, Level Apartments. Hello, Linea.

As the Chicago Architecture Blog reported yesterday, the abodes formerly known as Level Apartments were renamed recently. The residential tower at 215 West Lake Street in The Loop has confused us with names before. Early renderings of the project showed the word “Elevate” on some photos, and that name was picked up by some outlets. Then came Level, complete with a website, and signage at the construction site itself. That signage is still present, but the old website name has been erased. Erased from existence, as Doc Brown would say.

And now we have Linea. Not to be confused with the best restaurant in the world, Alinea. (Or is it? There is expected to be several thousand feet of ground-floor retail space at Linea; could Alinea be taking some of that space? That’d be rad.)

Quick reminder: Linea will be 33 stories tall, with 265 apartments and 150 or so parking spaces. Thomas Roszak Architecture did the design; Clark Construction is on the build. Completion is expected in 2017.

: Old sign, with Level website.

: Same sign, with Level info gone.

640 North Wells stakes its claim as prettiest Chicago construction

Posted on October 11, 2016 by danieldschell

640 North Wells, rising in River North.

Exhibit on Superior held the title for awhile. But then they covered up all the construction materials with finishing work, so a new leader had to be chosen.

I give you 640 North Wells. All orange and blue. On a sunny day, you can’t beat it. Though the Marriott Marquis comes close.

Shut-out to Lendlease for the nice artwork.

: Next door is 167 West Erie, and it ain’t so bad itself.

: Gratuitous, albeit artsy, tower crane shot.

Centrum Hubbard digs itself a great big hole

Posted on October 11, 2016 by danieldschell

They’re digging down below grade for Centrum Hubbard.

The tower crane’s in place, and now Power Construction crews are really getting down to it. Literally. There’s a big hole in the earth from which the 23-story Centrum Hubbard residential tower will rise. On the other end of the lot, 412 North Wells….well, let’s just say its time will come.

Quick reminder on Centrum Hubbard: 23 stories, 193 apartments, 91 parking spots, and 6,000 square feet of retail space. The design is by Hirsch Associates; the developer is Centrum Partners.

: There’s been a bit of digging going on at 412 North Wells, too.

: Do you mind? Trying to take photos here.

Construction Update: The Simpson-Querrey Biomedical Research Center

Posted on October 10, 2016 by danieldschell

https://vimeo.com/182715928

At the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, construction continues on the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center. As the video above from Northwestern illustrates, work has been ongoing for over a year now. You know all about the two tower cranes on this job. What you should also know is the two-phase project will eventually provide 1.2-million square feet of research and support space next to the existing Lurie Medical Research Center at 303 East Superior Street.

Now that the digging, and more digging, and the last of the digging, are complete, those two tower cranes are starting to divvy up materials so Power Construction crews can get the 14-story tower of Phase One in the air. Designed by Perkins+Will, Phase Two will eventually bring 16 additional stories to the project, according to the SQBRC fact sheet.

Northwestern plans to have Phase One completed before the end of 2018. Here now, a few photos of progress.

: The old Prentice Women’s Hospital was demolished to make room for the research center.

: Early scraping of the ground, July 2015.

: Caisson work, December 2015.

625 West Adams, late-night edition

Posted on October 8, 2016 by danieldschell

625 West Adams, all aglow on West Loop Friday evening.

We’re getting to that time of year, when we have more free time after dark than we have during daylight hours. Fortunately for all of us, some construction looks darn cool after the sun goes down.

Join me for a quick walk around 625 West Adams in the West Loop, a Power Construction Production. 20 stories of offices when it’s complete; just a couple levels of lumber and supports right now. All aglow.

Tower crane. Water tank. American flag.

Posted on October 8, 2016 by danieldschell

No big whoop, but the other day, I noticed I could get a tower crane, a water tank, and the Stars and Stripes in one photo. Maybe not The Big Three, but *A* Big Three. And then about an hour later, it happened again. So I figured I’d let you see them. Besides, no one ever won a Pulitzer for a photo they didn’t share.

Permits in hand, no time’s being wasted at 1136 South Wabash

Posted on October 7, 2016 by danieldschell

A parking lot no more! Two days after the filing of permits, 1136 South Wabash is getting started.

This comes as no surprise.

Just two days after permits were filed for both the foundation and the full-build, crews are at work in the former parking lot at 1136 South Wabash Avenue in the South Loop. No reason to waste time now. They’ve likely been chomping at the bit for two months, ever since the tower crane permit was filed, with no place to put it. But now it’s safe to expect constant activity there by Lendlease, the general contractor on 1136 South Wabash, for the next 18-24 months. And the good news is, you can watch the fun happen from the Orange and Green Line trains at the Roosevelt station.

: This Flyboy is sure to soon disappear. Let’s hope Hebru Brantley can replace him somewhere.

Sedgwick Development begins work at confusing Chicago intersection

Posted on October 7, 2016 by danieldschell

301 West North Avenue is in the early staged of construction.

The corner of West North and North North Park, in Old Town. Come on, that’s a little awkward to say.

Regardless, Sedgwick Development (you know them from 1325 North Wells, if you’ve been keeping up with the blog) has begun the process of turning a surface parking lot at 301 West North Avenue into a 7-story residential building. As with the aforementioned North Wells project, Sedgwick is the architect, developer, and general contractor on 301 West North. It will include 69 dwelling units, ground-floor retail, and below-grade parking.

: The permit, on site.

: The permit, more user-friendly.

Soul City Church gets a permit to add on in the West Loop

Posted on October 7, 2016 by danieldschell

Soul City Church sits at the corner of Adams Street and Racine Avenue.

Soul City Church, at 1150 West Adams Street, is ready to undertake a major expansion of its facilities in the West Loop.

Wednesday, a permit was filed for Soul City to build a three-story addition in the empty lot next door to the east, as well as make renovations to the existing church. The construction will add a multi-level auditorium, church offices, lobbies, even a roof terrace for use by the Soul City congregation.

Neighbors of the West Loop was there when plans were presented back in June and has details of what’s to come now that the permit is filed, including Soul City’s plan to share use of its new addition with the neighboring community. Focus will serve as the general contractor.

: All renderings are from the Soul City Church website, iamforthelove.com

Construction Update: The Marriott Marquis Chicago at McCormick Place

Posted on October 6, 2016 by danieldschell

That’s the Marriott Marquis Chicago, way over there. Don’t worry; I’ll get you closer.

39 stories. 1,205 rooms. 25,000 square feet of ballroom space. 90,000 square feet of meeting space. Two pedestrian bridges. Lots of glass.

The Marriott Marquis Chicago will have it all when it opens in July of 2017. But for now, what it has are lots of photo ops. If you’re into that sort of thing.

I am.