Author Archives: danieldschell

Unknown's avatar

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.

Subtraction before addition for Sydney’s Greenland Centre

Posted on by
Reply
Greenland Centre Sydney

This is the end of the beginning of a new 66-story residential tower, Greenland Centre Sydney.

You all know me by now. I brake for tower cranes. Not only do I still get giddy when I see them, but now and then, they leave me staring in disbelief. These are two such cranes.

In Sydney’s Central Business District, Greenland Centre Sydney is starting with demolition, but not total destruction. The 26-story former HQ building for Sydney Water on Bathurst Street was stripped of everything but the iron frame, which now stands alone — along with those two tower cranes — in the sky. Demolition wrapped up in July, and Probuild began the process of turning that steel cage into a 66-story residential tower, making it the tallest residential tower in Sydney at about 770 feet.

A project by China-based developer Greenland Group, and designed by BVN with executive architect Woods Bagot, Greenland Centre will contain nearly 500 one-, two-, and three-bedroom luxury apartments. Construction is expected to take another two+ years, with opening slated for 2020. But admit it; you’d kinda like to see it remain a bare-steel frame.

Multiplex dazzles with a Tower Crane Light Show on Surfers Paradise Beach

Posted on by
Reply
Jewel Gold Coast Queensland Australia

Tower cranes light up the night atop Jewel Gold Coast on Surfers Paradise Beach.

As you may have heard, my wife and I spent a couple weeks in Australia. Now that we’re back home in Chicago’s weather instead, it’s time to get myself organized and figure out what to do with the hundreds and hundreds of photos I took. By my last count, I have about 75 files (more than 30 just in Melbourne!) of pictures for different construction sites and buildings. (Yes, two of those files are “Sydney Opera House” and “Sydney Harbour Bridge.” You can’t help it when you’re there.)

I don’t know how many of those files will be shared here on the blog — I’ve only posted about two of them so far, both in Melbourne — but right now the odds are about 50/50 that I post either all of them, or none of them. The big questions are, which sites are most entertaining to see? and in what order do I post?

I was going to try to build up some sort of crescendo, start you out slow, then hit you with the coolest, most sensational posts. But no, I’ve decided to get right to the good stuff.

Along Surfers Paradise Beach in the coastal city of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, Multiplex is erecting the three-tower Jewel Gold Coast. Chicago has had its own Tower of Jewel project recently, the just-completed Sinclair apartment building at Clark and Division, which also happens to be in Gold Coast, this one being north of the equator. Jewel Gold Coast is a little different. And brighter at night.

Jewel Gold Coast is a joint project from developers Wanda Group and RDG. Both firms are from China. And yes, Wanda Group is part of the development team for Vista Tower in Chicago, which, like Jewel Gold Coast, will include a Wanda Vista Hotel. The design is by DBI Design, which has an office in Gold Coast, hence I would like to work there. (Gold Coast is a spectacular beach city. Go visit.) There will be 171 hotel rooms, 512 apartments, and 816 parking spots, with lots of commercial space thrown in for good measure. And good tourists. According to the Gold Coast Bulletin, the three towers will be 36, 41, and 47 stories high, respectively.

As I’ve mentioned, Multiplex, busy throughout Australia, is the builder. And the lighter of tower cranes. Four of Multiplex’s five cranes (they all have names; I’ll get to that another day) are lit up at night, like light sabers guarding the coastline. And those are what I’ve chosen to show you first, from our walk along the beach on the final night of our Australia trip. Enjoy. Sorry I didn’t have a tripod for these.

 

Aurora Melbourne Central will light up the sky with a 92-story mixed-use tower

Posted on by
3
Aurora Melbourne Central

Aurora Melbourne Central rises at 250 La Trobe Street in Melbourne’s CBD.

Seeing an aurora in the sky is always a special experience.

Seeing Aurora Melbourne Central in the Melbourne, Victoria sky will mean mixed-use architecture has climbed to new heights.

Being billed as the tallest residential tower in Melbourne’s Central Business District, Aurora Melbourne Central will include office space on the first seven floors (where car parking will also be located) to go along with its nearly 1200 rental and serviced apartments.

UEM Sunrise, a developer from Malaysia, is making its first foray into Australia with Aurora Melbourne Central. It is a design by Elenberg Fraser. Probuild is the general contractor. Opening is scheduled for 2019.

The Eastbourne proves sometimes, even three tower cranes isn’t enough

Posted on by
Reply
The Eastbourne

Put up 3 tower cranes, even 9,000 miles away, and I’ll try to stop by.

It’s fitting that the The Eastbourne, a luxury residential de velopment coming to East Melbourne from Mirvac and Bates Smart, is being built right next to the Epworth Freemasons maternity unit on Victoria Parade, because The Eastbourne already has three, with a fourth on the way. Tower cranes, that is, not babies.

The Eastbourne will feature about 250 homes over 11 stories. The website states that 95% of them have been spoken for, so you better hurry.

I’ve included a couple Google Maps photos below of the Dallas Brooks Centre, which has been demolished to make room for The Eastbourne, scheduled to be move-in ready mid-2019.

 

Cranes From Planes: Sidney, New South Wales, Australia edition

Posted on by
1

It’s time for a new segment here at Building Up Chicago that we like to call “Cranes From Planes.” It’s something I’ve never tried before because I’ve never thought about it until today, when I noticed a few cranes and we landed, then taxied, at Sidney Airport. Come to think of it, it’s rare we land anywhere in daylight, so I usually don’t have the camera at the ready as we make our approach.

The good thing about Cranes From Planes is that 1) the photos are taken through airplane windows, which make it impossible to focus, rendering decent pictures impossible, so I don’t have worry about whether or not any of the photos turned out well (they didn’t); and 2) since I have no way of getting close enough to the cranes to know what project they’re on, I don’t have to do any research on them. I can just post the photos with “Look! Tower cranes!” as the only text.

So here you go. A few random tower cranes as seen from Seat 16A of Qantas flight 418 as we landed at Sydney Airport.

 

Staying occupied in a very busy Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Posted on by
Reply
Melbourne construction

They’re building, and building big, in Melbourne.

Let’s be honest. The reason I’m overwhelmed by construction in Melbourne is because I tried to be. I didn’t go looking for one specific job site, so I might research what was being built and pass the information along to the reader. No, I went looking for every job site. And I have no idea if I’ve even come close to finding them. I haven’t been out of the City Center. Haven’t even made it across the Yarra River. I know there’s work going on in the Southbank neighborhood.

So where does when start? Here’s how I started: Walk to every tower crane in sight, take photos, making especially sure to capture at least one sign or marking that let’s me know what I’m seeing. Then get back to the hotel, download everything, and start sorting. And sorting. Lots of sorting. So far, I have files on 30 different projects and buildings. By “buildings,” I mean those that have already been finished and are worth capturing for their coolness. 30. Does that mean there are 30 blog posts coming your way from Melbourne? No chance. Just like in Chicago, I’ve taken far too many photos than I’ll ever have time and/or the wherewithal to use here. Besides, we still have three more cities (Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast) to visit, and I hear all of them are mad with construction.

Rather than inundate you with the same flood of info I inundated myself with, I’ll choose the most interesting and picturesque of what I’ve seen. Plus a few random items thrown in for good measure.

Melbourne construction

Of the dozens of tower cranes I’ve seen in Melbourne, this is the only non-luffing crane so far.

I gotta jet, Chicago. Keep an eye out while I’m gone?

Posted on by
Reply

Okay friends, we’re getting on an airplane soon, and staying on it for 142 hours, or something ridiculous like that. I’m going to miss a lot, but won’t be left in the dark, if you’ll be the Eyes of the Blog for the rest of October or so.

Here are a few things to watch for:

  • There’s a tower-crane stub planted at The Van Buren. **The tower crane is going up today, I’m told! (Weather permitting, of course.)   And Hayden West Loop looks like it could get one at any time. Those are within a couple blocks of each other. They could be assembling tower cranes any day now.
  • A few other projects have permits, but no stubs. 3833 North Broadway and the Home2 Suites hotel at 110 West Huron are in the throes of foundation work. The Bentham, at 146 West Erie, has a permit, but demolition has just wrapped up, so we’ll have to wait a while for any signs of a crane there.
  • Wolf Point East foundation work is still ongoing, and spectacular to watch. Plus that trestle bridge. It’s going to get a tower crane permit soon, but I can watch for that remotely. Likewise, GEMS World Academy Upper School is in the midst of caisson work but it should be receiving a tower crane permit too.
  • Foundation work should start up very soon at 61 East Banks. That’s a 60-unit apartment building designed by Booth Hansen for Draper & Kramer. And it will require a tower crane in the future.
  • Renelle On The River could be in full-fledged construction mode soon, if it isn’t already. I haven’t been by in a good while. Site prep might be done. It too will get a tower crane eventually.
  • Demolition may have already started on 56 West Huron. Then site prep and construction will begin for…56 West Huron.
  • I should stop trying to guess when tower cranes are going to be taken down. But I will anyway: Eleven40 started coming down this week; No. 9 Walton *has* to come down some day soon; McDonald’s Headquarters has dropped one crane, and the second should be soon; The Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center has a permit for a derrick that will remove its 2 tower cranes, but the first one isn’t likely to come down until I’m back in town.

Of course, you can take voluminous photos of everything going on in Chicago’s construction boom and send them my way, if you’d like. It is, after all, about keeping everyone informed and entertained.

 

 

 

 

 

Essex On The Park is becoming Noticeable In The Skyline

Posted on by
Reply
Essex On The Park

See it over there? Essex On The Park is starting to show through the trees of Grant Park.

From the east side of Grant Park, looking west, you can see Essex On The Park beginning its slow creep into the Chicago skyline. That’s what going vertical can do for a 56-story tower.

The giant, shiny, 476-unit project by Hartshorne Plunkard Architects will add 476 apartments to the Michigan Avenue streetwall. Oxford Capital Group, Essex On The Park’s developer, plans to have the residences open for move-ins in 2019. Remember that this project also includes the upgrading of the Essex Inn next door, expanding its capacity to 281 guest rooms.

That short red stubby tower crane Power Construction is using to build the apartment tower is fast becoming one of Chicago’s most photogenic. Take a walk around Grant Park, by by changing your location, you can use different buildings as a backdrop. Or, walk through the South Loop to the west, on Wabash or State Street, and get clear blue skies behind the tower crane. I know, I sound obsessed, but try it. You’ll see.

 

465 North Park jumps the tower crane again as it keeps growing taller

Posted on by
Reply
465 North Park

Evidence of a tower-crane jump at 465 North Park.

*** AIA Chicago is sponsoring a tour of 465 North Park this afternoon. Get on this! Deets here

A couple weekends ago, Power Construction jumped the tower crane at 465 North Park, as work is ongoing on Jupiter Realty Company’s 47-story apartment tower.

It seems like only yesterday I drove from Uptown to the empty lot bounded by Illinois, North Water, and New Streets, with Park Drive on the west, planning to leave my car in the surface parking lot. Yep, that’s when I was first introduced to the Loews construction site. And now the north end of that same lot is filled in with 465 North Park.

When complete, the Pappageorge Haymes Partners-designed apartment tower will boast 444 rental units, 181 parking spaces, and nearly 12,000 square feet of retail space. Power’s been on the build here since getting a foundation permit back in July. Caisson work started that same week. A tower crane was planted, and official groundbreaking ceremonies were held, in September. The first week of October 2016 saw the tower crane assembled. And that brings us to where we are now, exactly one year into the life of 465 North Park’s tower crane.