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.

I’ve seen it now with my own eyes: Morton Salt/GGP is gone

Posted on April 2, 2018 by danieldschell

Proof that the sun will still shine, even after a building is demolished.

Sure, there are tons of rubble to be removed. And still a lot of excavation to be done. But as for the building itself, the former Morton Salt Building, and more recently the GGP HQ, is history. Better get out there while you can and enjoy the unobstructed views of the Boeing Building, the Civic Opera House, and more, before work on the new 110 North Wacker starts going skyward. (It’ll be a while, though.)

: Not as sunny…

It’s Foundation Time at 5252 South Cornell in Hyde Park

Posted on April 2, 2018 by danieldschell

There are bright yellow Case Foundation rigs at the corner of 53rd Street and Cornell Avenue in Hyde Park, and you know that must mean foundation work is about to begin at 5252 South Cornell. Curbed Chicago had all the info you need to know about this 26-story tower getting started back in March. But we’ve gleaned from the foundation permit that we can expect 246 apartments atop a four-level parking podium.

Linn-Mathes, the general contractor on 5252 South Cornell, is putting the finishing touches on Solstice on the Park just three blocks to the south of this latest project, so that should be a nice, easy transition for construction crews.

: The Tower Crane permit, issued March 29, 2018.

: The construction permit, issued March 19, 2018.

Solstice on the Park nears the finish line

Posted on March 31, 2018 by danieldschell

As this Metra Electric train pulls into the station, so too Solstice on the Park is soon to arrive.

A Spring opening appears imminent for Solstice on the Park, the Studio Gang-designed residential tower in Hyde Park. And since that was the plan all along, the timing is perfect.

The foundation permit for Solstice on the Park was issued back in October of 2016, allowing Linn-Mathes to start building atop what was previously a surface parking lot, with one level of parking underground. That lot is but a distant memory now.

Developer Antheus Capital has about 250 apartments available within the tower. The B.U.C. is eyeing up one of those three-bedroom, south-facing units, with views of Lake Michigan and Jackson Park. We figure we’ll turn one of those bedrooms into an office, just as soon as we do a thorough check through the sofa cushions and honor-box snack station for spare change.

And now, a whole mess of photos of the finished-looking Solstice on the Park residential tower. Congratulations, Hyde Park. This one’s a gem!

Caisson work has begun at the Columbia College Student Center

Posted on March 31, 2018 by danieldschell

Columbia College Student Center March 2018

This rendering from Gensler shows the sweet 5-story Columbia College Student Center just getting started in the South Loop.

We can confirm there won’t be a tower crane, but that won’t make the glass-encased Columbia College Student Center any less fun to watch. Case Foundation is out at the corner of Wabash and 8th in the South Loop as we speak, drilling caissons into the soil, and that work never requires a tower crane anyway.

57 rock caissons are precisely what Case is on the case for, according to a post from them back in February. After that, Pepper Construction starts sending the five-story, Gensler-designed facility vertical. Columbia College plans to have their new center open before 2018 closes.

56 West Huron will do just fine without a tower crane, thank you very much

Posted on March 28, 2018 by danieldschell

56 West Huron rises in River North, sans tower crane.

I normally assume a 13-story residential tower will require the use of a tower crane. Eight stories is where I picture an imaginary line when a crane decision has to be made. So I expected months ago to see a permit come through for a tower crane foundation at 56 West Huron in River North. I’m still waiting; Gilbane Building Company, however, is not. They’re making great progress with a humble, albeit pretty & yellow, rolling crane.

56 West Huron is a project from Kiferbaum Development Group. Designed by Studio Dwell, the tower will include 10 full-floor condominiums, plus one duplex penthouse unit topping them off. Completion is anticipated in Fall 2018.

The following gallery includes progress photos taken this month, as well as in February, with the march photos first. Do not be confused; this tower is not being disassembled.

: 56 West Huron rises in River North.

: Rendering of 56 West Huron by Nikolay Demchenko.

: Rendering of 56 West Huron by Nikolay Demchenko.

Stalking the Big Green W at Wolf Point East

Posted on March 28, 2018 by danieldschell

Wolf Point East construction is great theater.

To be clear, I’m not the only one out at Wolf Point East staring down into the construction pit. And some (looking at you, Sun-Times) have just as much fun watching the watchers as they do watching the work.

So it’s just about time for another round of photos, as Walsh Construction continues working below grade on the future 60-story tower along the Chicago River.

All of the Morton Salt Building demolition pictures

Posted on March 27, 2018 by danieldschell

https://twitter.com/JoshatNRDC/status/978651006190931968

It’s gone now.

The former Morton Salt building, more recently the former home of GGP (General Growth Properties) at 110 North Wacker Drive, is a dirt lot now, as can be seen in the above photo shared by Twitter user @JoshatNRDC. (Great view of the new tower construction, Josh! I’ll bring the coffee if I can borrow your windows for a few hours a day.)

You can kinda sorta watch the demo work by Heneghan Wrecking along the way in the photo gallery that follows. Coming soon: a shiny new 54-story office tower from Howard Hughes Corporation and Riverside Investment & Development, designed by Goettsch Partners.

The Hoxton Chicago rises in the West Loop

Posted on March 26, 2018 by danieldschell

A few shots of Power Construction’s progress at the GREC Architects-designed Hoxton Chicago hotel at Lake and Green Streets in the West Loop.

Now topped out, The Van Buren Glasses up Greektown

Posted on March 26, 2018 by danieldschell

https://twitter.com/bKLarchitecture/status/976578207397924864

That was the tweet bKL Architecture used last week to announce the topping-out celebration at The Van Buren, the 12-story, 148-unit apartment tower they designed for Loukas Development in the Greektown section of the West Loop. As far as we know, there was no party thrown to commemorate the first level of glass being installed on the building, but that’s a big milestone too.

Construction Progress: UIC’s Harrison Hall

Posted on March 25, 2018 by danieldschell

Pepper Construction’s progress at UIC’s Harrison Hall.

I took a boatload of photos last week at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s new Harrison Hall construction site (there’s a live-stream!) Apparently, it’s been longer than I remembered since I’ve stopped by. Either that, or Pepper Construction is looking to break some sort of speed record.

Wanna see the pics? Cool. Here ya go.