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 underway at 145 South Wells

Posted on May 21, 2018 by danieldschell

Caissons are going into the ground where this lame old parking deck once stood, at 145 South Wells.

The Loop’s next tower crane is right around the corner, as foundation work has begun at 145 South Wells. Case Foundation, whose rigs we spotted on site a week or so ago, have started drilling caissons to support the 20-story office building from Moceri + Roszak.

145 South Wells replaces a modest four-story parking garage in The Loop, and will replace it with a measly 24 parking spots. That’s a pretty good trade-off.

210 North Carpenter drops its tower crane

Posted on May 21, 2018 by danieldschell

A train goes by as a crane goes bye-bye at 210 North Carpenter.

“Why is that big tall street crane in my shot?” I said to myself as I aimed the camera over the Chicago River into the West Loop. I knew I was looking at tower cranes from the Hoxton Chicago hotel and 210 North Carpenter, but couldn’t figure out what construction site I had missed that would have such a big crane. Then I zoomed in. Noticed the people up on top of the more distant crane. And realized 210 North Carpenter was, in fact, on its way down.

See? Those are people up there, removing the counterweights from the counterjib.

I had just been in the West Loop earlier in the day, and that street crane wasn’t erected yet. So this came as a surprise. Plus, it meant I had to walk all the way back over there to check things out. Central Contractors Service was on site with GC Leopardo Companies and concrete contractor Adjustable Forms starting to dismantle Manitowoc MD485 (don’t be impressed; I copied that info from the permit.) Leopardo is now one step closer to finishing their new headquarters.

***Whilst in the area of the West Loop Saturday, I stopped at the new McDonald’s HQ and had a go at those new Australian bacon-cheese fries everyone’s been talking about. I suggest you try them.

Lendlease drops the tower crane at 1101 South Wabash

Posted on May 21, 2018 by danieldschell

The tower crane sinks below the top of the 2 Hiltons in the South Loop. You know that means doom.

The Hilton Homewood Suites and Hilton Garden Inn aren’t finished yet, but the tower crane is. We got word last week that the tower crane would be removed any day now, and sure enough, crews from Central Contractors Service, Lendlease, and Pepper Construction (as the concrete contractor, it’s technically their crane) were out there Sunday, taking sections down and hauling them off the site.

There remains quite a bit of work to do to make this tower a hotel. Or two. But now the heavy lifting will be up to the skip hoist.

Renelle on the River drops its tower crane

Posted on May 21, 2018 by danieldschell

Is a tower crane still a tower crane if only the cab remains on the tower? I think not.

It was only November when Renelle on the River made news by erecting Chicago’s 60th tower crane of 2017. It took McHugh Construction and that tower crane just six months to erect the 18-story bKL Architecture design that will soon contain 50 of the city’s newest, nicest condominiums. last week, it came down.

Don’t worry though, there’s still a lot of work to be done here. Only one level of curtain wall has been installed so far, so we’ll have that to watch before all that’s left to do is interior work on those 50 condos.

You can remove a whole mess ‘o tower cranes from the official survey

Posted on May 20, 2018 by danieldschell

Chicago had three tower cranes in various stages of removal over the weekend, while one–at UIC’s Harrison Hall–was already gone completely.

The luffing crane at 1101 South Wabash has done all it can do for the two new Hilton Hotels.

In the South Loop, the crane Lendlease is using to build the Homewood Hilton Suites/Hilton Garden Inn combo at 1101 South Wabash has just sunk below the top of the tower.

A look at Saturday’s Renelle on the River tower-crane removal exercises.

In River North, McHugh Construction took down the tower crane that erected Renelle on the River in a big dang hurry.

Yep, that’s a human atop the tower crane jib at 210 North Carpenter, as it’s removed from the site.

And in the West Loop, Leopardo Companies moved one step closer to completing their new headquarters by taking down the tower crane at 210 North Carpenter.

Harrison Hall’s tower crane at UIC was already down before the weekend began.

There you have it. Four of the tower cranes listed on our May 2018 Survey that are now gone from the skyline.

Essex on the Park approaches 40 stories in the South Loop

Posted on May 16, 2018 by danieldschell

Essex on the Park rises above the South Loop.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: If you want a magnificent mile, you might be too far north.

While tourists are shopping, walk down to Grant Park and take a look west at how the skyline is changing in the South Loop, as skyscraper after skyscraper goes up. And on a sunny day, there are none better to gaze upon than Essex on the Park.

It appears Power Construction is on or near the 36th floor, while the curtain wall has risen a full 20 stories above that wonderful 7th-floor winter garden.

: Essex on the Park rises above the South Loop.

: From 18th Street.

Touch ‘em all, Jeanne: Studio Gang knocks another one out of the…well, you know…

Posted on May 15, 2018 by danieldschell

From the Solstice on the Park website, this is the view from high up in the tower, facing north. It is beyond stunning.

Last week’s visit to Hyde Park to check out the new tower crane at 5252 South Cornell provided another chance to check on progress at Solstice On The Park, the 27-story, 250-unit apartment tower designed by Jeanne Gang at Studio Gang. I’m a sucker for this building, especially on sunny days with blue skies as a backdrop. I wasn’t disappointed. The angles, the glass, the lines. It all works.

General contractor Linn-Mathes looks to be putting the finishing touches on the tower. The view shown above is still available for rent, just so you know.

Okay……now the tower crane at Hyatt House is ready….

Posted on May 15, 2018 by danieldschell

Hyatt House West Loop tower crane assembly

The tower crane at Hyatt House West Loop, as it neared completion Thursday.

Perhaps I jumped the gun by including the tower crane at Hyatt House West Loop as an “in-service” crane in last week’s post. There may have been a glitch in set-up, as the cab was set atop the tower on Tuesday, but by evening it had been removed. No worries though, as Thursday saw completion.

It’s not often I visit a construction site twice just to see the tower crane go up, but I did for this one. So enjoy two galleries comprised of way more photos than you’ll ever need of tower crane assembly at Hyatt House West Loop.

Tuesday:

: Tuesday morning, and all seems well…

: Tuesday evening. Uh oh.

Thursday:

: This drone helped.

110 North Wacker gets its foundations on

Posted on May 15, 2018 by danieldschell

Foundation work is underway at 110 North Wacker, as Case Foundation gets busy in The Loop.

The rubble of the old Morton Salt Building (or the GGP Building–Don’t @ me) is long gone, and now Case Foundation is on the job, doing the dirty work to get 110 North Wacker started.

A permit was issued by the City of Chicago on April 9, allowing work to be done on the two below-grade levels, on up to the 4th floor. We’re hoping for a tower crane permit sooner rather than later to get this one up to its ultimate 54-story height, but that might take some time. But don’t worry; there’s already plenty to see. Get yourself a comfy lawn chair and go hang out on the Washington Street Bridge and watch the show.

Foundation work is in full swing at the Columbia College Student Center

Posted on May 14, 2018 by danieldschell

The Columbia College Student Center at 8th Street and Wabash Avenue in the South Loop is a reality, as crews from Pepper Construction continue to work on the foundation. The Gensler design, when finished will provide 114,000 square feet of space for students over five levels.