The barrel vault on the roof of the DePaul School of Music.
A couple features of the new DePaul School of Music are standing out amidst the Lincoln Park construction site. One is the red steel forming the barrel vault atop the three-story facility. The other is glass panels on the north elevation. The black-tar wall is kinda cool, too.
Off in the distance stands one of Chicago’s newest tower cranes, at the Moxy Hotel site.
Tower crane parts are delivered the first week of May.
We knew there’d be a crane at the Moxy Hotel site in River North, but when the parts showed up, I asked someone on site and was told it really wasn’t a “tower crane.” But a piece of paper can make all the difference in the world, and as you can see, the City of Chicago’s building permit says it’s a tower crane:
ENGINEERED SUPPORT FOR A LEIBHERR 81 K.1 TEMPORARY SELF ERECTING TOWER CRANE SUPPORTED ON A BALLASTED BASE AND CRANE
Yeah, Liebherr is the correct spelling, but that’s not important. What matters is that this contraption with the weight stack that looks like the bench-press machine from high school goes in my official book as another tower crane for Chicago.
There were similar cranes to this one spotted during a visit to Phoenix this winter, but they were operated from the ground. Since the Moxy Hotel crane requires an operator to make the climb up to a cab, that gives it even more legitimacy. Count it.
A tweet from The Big Green W yesterday confirmed that the Hotel Zachary has reached a construction milestone.
https://twitter.com/thebiggreenw/status/864231518352355329
Then the Hotel Zachary Twitter account joined the fun as well, tweeting a photo of Hickory Street Capital’s Tom Ricketts (you might know him for his other gig as the guy who brought a World Series trophy to Wrigley Field) signing the final beam.
https://twitter.com/hotelzachary/status/864244896110137345
#FlyTheBigGreenW indeed. There’s still a lot of work to do to get the Hotel Zachary into full-functioning hospitality mode, so let’s not put the tower crane on the endangered list quite yet. The 175 rooms and countless eateries will open in 2018 in time for another season of Cubs baseball, plus all the concerts and entertainment Wrigley Field and the newly-opened Park At Wrigley can host.
Tuesday-morning view of the Hotel Zachary from a swift-moving L train. (I blame all my blurry photos on swift-moving L trains.)
Putting the Ill in Illume…The tower crane at Illume Chicago needs some repairs.
Expect a street closure Thursday in the 100-block of South Peoria Street, as a street crane sets up to make repairs on the tower crane holding court above Illume Chicago. Weather permitting, repairs shouldn’t last more than a day, and Peoria Street will be back in business Friday.
Looked out the window this morning, and there it was. Cook County Central Campus Health Center has a tower crane.
Before I took the time to post photos from Saturday of the tower crane stub at Cook County Central Campus Health Center, Clayco went ahead a put the darn thing up! That’ll teach me to procrastinate. (No, it won’t. It should though.) Not sure exactly which days saw work on the crane, but there it was outside the B.U.C. HQ window this morning, shining in the sunlight.
CCCCHC is now the 33rd active tower crane in Chicago.
The view from the B.U.C. HQ is still somewhat limited, until McDonald’s rises a few more floors.
If you live in a West Loop condo with a nice balcony (or a drone), you might just have a great view of construction from above the new McDonald’s Headquarters. For the rest of us, circling the block bounded by Randolph, Carpenter, Washington, and Aberdeen is the only way to get a good look at proceedings. So that’s what I did.
You can get a train’s-eye view of 412 North Wells right now by taking a relaxing Brown Line ride from the Merchandise Mart up to the Chicago Ave stop. Linn-Mathes is pushing the 9-story office building skyward, now that the residential tower next door, Hubbard221, is nearly topped out. (Is that 22 stories I count?)
Hubbard221 is the 193-unit apartment tower from developer Centrum Partners and designer Hirsch Associates Architects, the team that just saw a tower crane rise on their Wicker Park Connection property. As for this tower crane, it now has double duty to pull, as it tops off the taller tower while beginning to stretch the smaller structure vertically.
Chicago, say hello to my new favorite construction crew member.
Tuesday was a big day in the life of The Ardus. A crew from Michels Corporation began drilling caissons at 676 North LaSalle Street in River North, even as the existing building next door continues its gutting and transformation. Booth Hanson has designed 149 apartments to be built into the new and existing structures for Cedar Street Companies. One of those companies, Method Construction, is the general contractor.
Also yesterday, The Ardus received its full building permit from the City of Chicago.
The full building permit arrived in the mail yesterday.
The Caissons
The Renovation
Springtime at Mary Bartleme Park. With tower crane and Sears Tower.
It’s been exactly one month since Norcon grew a tower crane at its Illume Chicago site in West Loop. Now, that crane is contributing to the foundation being shored up for the new condominiums from LG Development.
Located at 111 South Peoria Street, Illume Chicago will be ten stories containing 79 condos, with parking in the basement and first floor, designed by Pappageorge Haymes Architects.
Six stories of new TOD at 1550 North Wieland Street in Old Town.
When we last paid a visit to the 200-block of West North Avenue in Old Town last fall, a couple venerable old buildings at 227 and 233 West North were being demolished to make room for a new Transit Oriented Development from JAB Real Estate. That new TOD has now topped out.
Located at 1550 North Wieland Street per the city’s building permit, the new six-story, 60-unit building is designed by Space Architects + Planners, and will include parking for 20 cars and 60 bicycles. There will also be ground-level retail. Maris Construction (CA Washington) is the general contractor.
