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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.

Suburban Adventures: One Oak Brook Commons

One Oak Brook Commons in Oak Brook, Illinois

On what used to be the McDonald’s HQ (which now stands proudly in Chicago’s very own West Loop neighborhood) in Oak Brook, One Oak Brook Commons has risen out of the demolition rubble on its way to being the first phase of Oak Brook Commons.

One Oak Brook Commons will be a 17-story, 250-unit apartment tower next to what suburbanites know as the Oakbrook Center shopping mall. A design by Chicago firm Antunovich Associates, OOBC (the cool kids call it that) will also include a whopping 420 parking spaces. (It’s the suburbs; relax.) W.E. O’Neil is on the build.

Future phases of Oak Brook Commons will include condominiums, a hotel, “creative” office space, medical office space, and a public park. Yep, there’ll be activity on this site for quite some time.

I borrowed my nephew’s self-balancing electric skateboard and headed to the western burbs for a look-see, as proven by the following photo gallery:

Here are Hines’ words on Oak Brook Commons:

Hines is developing Oak Brook Commons, a premier mixed-use community of retail, residential, office and hospitality centered around a half-acre public park in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Located on the former McDonald’s world headquarters site, the development will be directly adjacent to Oakbrook Center shopping mall. Hines and Antunovich Associates have prepared a master plan for the site, and Hines will be responsible for developing the multifamily and office components of the project.

At completion, Oak Brook Commons will consist of 250 Class A residential rental units, 210,000 square feet of creative office, 80,000 square feet of medical office, 52 residential condos, a 250-key hotel, and five retail/restaurant pads.

And this is what Antunovich has to say:

One Oak Brook Commons will be a 17-story, Class-A high-rise building with 250 luxury apartment homes and 420 parking stalls within a secured private parking deck. The community is located at the epicenter of the 16.5-acre Oak Brook Commons mixed-use master plan also being developed by Antunovich Associates and Hines. The community will sit directly adjacent to a new public park named The Pitch.

The residences will average a gracious 1,055-square-feet and will offer upscale finishes and fixtures that will set a new standard for quality in suburban Chicago. The project will also offer an elevated resort-style amenity deck, featuring a heated pool, cabanas, outdoor kitchens and public lawn, as well as a high-end private fitness center, club room, library, expansive dog run, modern package facilities and significant bicycle storage.



Your donation will help offset transportation and equipment expenses, and is greatly appreciated.

Ravenswood & Lawrence scores more permits

Bye bye bank

I was only (mostly) kidding about daily updates on RaveLaw, but permits are milestones, and Ravenswood & Lawrence got two more of them Thursday.

The first permit will tear down the old Chase Bank building at the corner of Lawrence and Wolcott, and the other allows construction to begin for the second portion of the development. Precision Excavation will do the demolition honors.

The stage is set for Caisson Theater at 354 North Union

Caisson setup at Onni Group’s 354 North Union

The actors know their lines, the set is decorated, and the curtain is about to go up at 354 North Union. The Stalworth Underground Drill Team has been standing by patiently waiting for their moment to shine. That moment is now. Let the caissons begin!

Darn Near Done: 448 North LaSalle

Click on this link for 448 North LaSalle and enjoy the drone footage.

Midwest Property Group’s 12-story, 175,00-square-foot office building should start welcoming tenants in the fall. In the meantime, the exterior of the Lamar Johnson Collaborative-designed tower looks complete. Lendlease is the general contractor.

8000 North: A suburban adventure to Skokie

8000 North, 8000 N Lincoln Ave, Skokie, IL

My quest for suburban tower cranes begins with…….failure. Although I can brag about my first-ever Yellow Line ride.

There aren’t many tower cranes in Chicago, right? So I figure I’ll start heading out to the suburbs for a look. You know, go to them instead of expecting them to come to me. And I’ll start in Skokie, because I know there’s one there. W.E. O’Neil is using that crane to build 8000 North.

Good in theory. But I got there too late. The tower crane has come down. But remember, the loss of a tower crane means progress has been made. So shout-out to the team up in Skokie that’s gotten 8000 North this far:

Design architect Lucien Lagrange Studio

General Contractor W.E. O’Neil

Developer Murphy Development Group (as a public/private partnership with the Village of Skokie)

8000 North is a 12-story, 153-unit apartment development in the aforementioned Chicago suburb of Skokie. Murphy Development Group plans to welcome tenants to move in first quarter of 2022.

I may have missed the tower crane, but it looks like I got here before the first pane of glass has been installed.

Google Streetview did *not* miss the tower crane

 

The Rivere is a 30-story #firescraper coming to River North. Soon, we hope.

The Rivere will replace the CFD firehouse at 450 North Dearborn.

That’s right, I hashtagged #firescraper. I want that to become a thing.

This post was started back in February 2020. We really want this one to get started. How many buildings can be referred to as mixed-use because they’ll contain office space, retail space, parking, and a freakin’ firehouse!?

The Rivere will be 30 stories with 30,000 square feet of ground-level retail space and a firehouse. Developed by Friedman Properties. Designed by Goettsch Partners. Firehouse designed by DLR Group.

When the firehouse is demolished, as with all demolitions, water will be sprayed on the crumbling structure to limit dust. Who’s better at spraying water than the Chicago Fire Department? A match made in heaven, I tell ya.

A couple more photos of the firehouse for you, plus renderings of The Rivere from Goettsch Partners:

Progress Update: 1400 West Randolph

1400 West Randolph

Let’s walk across Ogden Avenue from 1454 West Randolph, which we saw last week, for a look at how work is progressing at 1400 West Randolph.

Same team involved on this one as well, but on a larger building: 26 stories and 278 units. Developed by Marquette Companies, designed by Brininstool + Lynch, and built by Power Construction.