Author Archives: danieldschell

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.

Caissons are about to come rolling along into 400 Lake Shore

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Building rebar cages at 400 Lake Shore

I’ve been posting a lot about 400 Lake Shore. I know it. No, I’m not in the pocket of the developer or the contractors. (I’m available though.) This is just the next big thing in Chicago, I have some free time available, and the Divvy ride from Montrose down to Navy Pier is really, really good exercise. So indulge me.

Here’s a thing I know for certain: caisson work is about to begin in earnest at 400 Lake Shore. Equipment that started pouring onto the site Wednesday tells us Keller North America is about to dig deep. If you’re reading this today (Thursday the 7th) it was expected that the first caisson would start drilling today.

Here’s something I don’t know for certain: one tower crane? Two tower cranes? Chicago’s first tower crane permit of 2024 was issued January 11, for this construction site. And now, another tower crane has been issued for the site on March 5. Thing is, this new permit is identical to the first one. So I can’t clarify if it’s an erroneous duplicate of that first one, or if we can expect two tower cranes to erect this tower. Someone out there knows the answer; let’s hope they read my stuff.

More pics!

Breakin’ rocks
Installing an outer fence

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220 North Ada has the permits and blank canvas to get started

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220 North Ada, at Ada & Fulton Streets, is cleared and ready for takeoff.

The development team of Shapack Partners, CRG, and KMW Communities is erecting a 29-story, 308-unit apartment tower at he west edge of the West Loop. Included in those 308 apartments will be 62 affordable units. The tower will also include parking stalls for 115 cars, racks for 58 bicycles, and more than 12,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

220 North Ada is a design by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. It replaces a single-story brick commercial building that was a recent home of Reve Burger (I didn’t get a chance to try it.) That structure has been demolished, leaving a clean slate for caisson work to begin. According to the link above from CRG, that work should begin this month. Clayco is the general contractor, with Adjustable Concrete Construction (they seem to be everywhere these days) serving as the concrete contractor. The goal is to have 220 North Ada open for residents in the first quarter of 2026.

On the fifth of this month, Clayco scored Chicago’s second tower crane permit of 2024. It’s the fourth permit issued so far for 220 North Ada:

Demolition (224 N. Ada) – issued 05/16/2023
Caissons – issued 11/22/2023
Foundation/superstructure – issued 02/13/2024
Tower crane – issued 03/05/2024

Rendering of 220 North Ada from CRG.
The former 224 N Ada.
This parking lot is part of the new construction now.
SW corner of Ada & Fulton.

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Fear not. 633 South LaSalle is back in action

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633 South LaSalle under bright sunny skies.

If you compare today’s photo gallery with those from our last visit to 633 South LaSalle, you may be a tad taken aback by the elevation change. You’d be forgiven, as this one seemed to go on a brief sabbatical over the winter.

Chicago YIMBY has the story of some new financial arrangements that assure 633 South LaSalle will continue on to completion.

The Team:

Q Investment Partners – Developer
Melrose Ascension Capital – Developer
Clark Construction – General Contractor
Adjustable Concrete Construction – Concrete Contractor
FitzGerald – Architects
Berkelhamer – Architects

The Permits:

Tower crane – issued 03/24/2023
Caissons – issued 04/25/2023
Full building – issued 06/01/2023
Passenger elevators – issued 09/06/2023
Hoist – issued 09/08/2023

The Pics (taken 03/02/2024):

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919 West Fulton goes 3D

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Skender and Adjustable have added the 3rd dimension to 919 West Fulton,

It’s true that we first visited 919 West Fulton* just last week to check on progress. But when in Rome, you snap photos of Rome. Or something. I had to go by the site over the weekend, and saw significant work to get this future office building up to street level. That’s worth documenting. Besides, there aren’t that many tower-crane jobs happening in Chicago at the moment.

*Yep, that link from developer Fulton Street Companies refers to this project as *917* West Fulton. Everything else uses *919* for it. The permits don’t help; they’re all addressed to 217 N. Sangamon.

For now, I’m going with 919, even though siding with the developer is generally the better way to go. I just like the “nine” ending instead of “seven.” We’ll get it straightened out in good time. Or maybe this building will get a random moniker that makes moot the whole 917/919 controversy.

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(Ryan) Field Trip! Building Up Chicago visits Tearing Down Evanston

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Not my video. Not my helicopter.

That’s a great video from YouTuber MikeLoweReporter over Ryan Field in Evanston. I had to settle for a pair of comfortable walking shoes to make my way around the former home of the Northwestern University Wildcats.

I think this is the first big stadium demolition I’ve watched live since they dynamited Three Rivers Stadium back in 2001. Sorry, I don’t have video of that because all our phones did back then was make phone calls. And you had to leave them at home.

You’ve probably heard by now, Northwestern is building a new Ryan Field on this site once demolition is complete. Because not everyone in Evanston is pleased with this development, there has been extensive media coverage of the proposal process over the past couple years. Do a quick Google search, and you’ll instantly head down the rabbit hole. Enjoy.

Alpine Demolition is on site with some pretty cool demo toys. The General Contractor for the stadium rebuild is a two-parter. Turner Construction and Walsh Construction have teamed up (football is, after all, a team sport) to form the “Central Street Consortium.” And that’s an official-enough name to have it emblazoned on the back of their branded construx gear.

And here are the pics (there’s a LOT of purple debris):

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After-Pour: A quiet Saturday at the old Chicago Spire site after 400 Lake Shore gets tons of concrete

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As you can see above, Nick was at the Big Mat Pour 2024 at 400 Lake Shore last week. I wasn’t, even though he told me himself that morning it was happening. Too cold for me. I’m delicate. (Yeah, I shoulda gone.)

But I was there two days later, on Saturday, when there was absolute silence. Silence. Not an unusual sound at the old Chicago Spire Site. But at least now we know that temporary stay in action will only last over a weekend.

Here, look how quiet it was. If you can “see” quiet:

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Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center has topped out new Lake View addition

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Looking up the CTA rail tracks toward Illinois Masonic’s tower crane.

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center is erecting a vertical expansion of the Center for Advanced Care at 900 West Nelson Street in Lake View, and it topped out earlier this month.

To date, GC Turner Construction has received permits for:
Foundations — Issued 01/12/2023
Core & Shell — Issued 01/19/2023
Tower crane foundation — Issued 04/12/2023
Tower crane — Issued 05/03/2023
Full building — Issued 06/20/2023
Hoist — Issued 08/20/2023

Photos taken Monday, February 26:

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First Visit: Northwestern Medicine Bronzeville Outpatient Center

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Rendering from Lamar Johnson Collaborative.

There’s a 237-stall parking garage with a tower crane stabbing through it, and now it’s on to the healthcare portion of Northwestern Medicine’s new facility at 4822 South Cottage Grove in the Grand Boulevard Community Area of Chicago.

The Bronzeville Outpatient Center will be a 120,000 square foot building containing an immediate care center, a cancer center with chemotherapy services, primary and specialty care services, and a pharmacy, among other features. Expected to treat over 50,000 patients each year, its anticipated opening is Fall 2025.

The rest of the construction team includes:
Lamar Johnson Collaborative — Design Architect
Power Construction — General Contractor
UJAMAA — General Contractor
Adjustable Concrete Construction — Concrete Contractor
As always, links to those team members will provide a wealth of information on the new development.

To date, Northwestern Medicine has received building permits for:
Foundations — Issued 03/30/2023
Tower Crane — Issued 09/21/2023
Full Building — Issued 01/30/2024

Photos from a short visit on Monday, Feb 26 (shout-out to the Power Pro I talked to briefly):

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UChicago Medicine plants the first of two tower crane seedlings for its new cancer care and research facility

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The first of two tower cranes at 5644 South Drexel for UChicago Medicine.

There’s one tower crane base, the first of two, in the ground at 57th and Drexel on the UChicago Medicine campus in Hyde Park. General Contractor Turner Construction, along with concrete contractor Adjustable Concrete Company, will use those cranes to build a new cancer care center for UChicago Medicine. (There’s a ton of info at that ground-breaking link. Read it. They’re doing important work at UChi Med.)

Designed by CannonDesign (more great project info at that link), the facility, scheduled to open to patients in 2027, will be a seven-story, 875,000-square-foot building with 80 inpatient beds.

To date, UChicago Medicine has received permits for:
South tower crane — issued 12/28/23 (addressed as 5644 S. Drexel Ave)
North tower crane — issued 12/12/23
Foundation — issued 12/12/23
Groundbreaking ceremony tent — issued 09/08/23 (I don’t get to post about tent permits very often)
Three demolition permits were issued to clear space for the new facility on 11/07/23:
5627 S Maryland
5631 S Maryland
5635 S Maryland

Render from CannonDesign

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Hyde Park Labs (Harper Court Phase II) has topped out

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The tower crane that topped out Hyde Park Labs, Hyde Park, Chicago.

As reported by Urbanize Chicago earlier this month, Hyde Park Labs has topped out at 5207 South Harper in the Hyde Park Community Area (and neighborhood.) The 13-story, 302,000-square-foot facility includes a 125-space parking garage, plus nine levels of lab and office space. Its anticipated opening is in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Congrats on the topping out to:

Trammell Crow Company and Beacon Capital Partners, the developers.
Elkus Manfredi Architects, the design architect.
Power Construction, general contractor, with an assist from UJAMAA
Adjustable Concrete Construction, concrete contractor.

I hope you all went to the ground floor and got one of those fried catfish Po-boys and a frozen hurricane.

Photos from February 26 (photos of construction, not of the Po-boys):

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 using the form below.

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