Construction Progress: Chicago Blackhawks Training Center

Posted on December 30, 2016 by danieldschell

The Chicago Blackhawks Community Training Center on the city’s west side.

On the grounds of now-demolished Malcom X College (which just happens to be across the street from the brand-new Malcolm X College), the Chicago Blackhawks Community Training Center is being constructed at 1801 West Jackson Boulevard. McHugh Construction has pulled off quite the power play, linking steel together to form the facility’s frame, and even getting the roof in place. The One Goal? Have the center open in December 2017.

HOK designed the dual-rink, 125,000-square-foot icehouse.

: The Blackhawks flags fly at Ogden and Van Buren.

: You can see where the boards will curve at the north end of the east rink.

: Bleacher seating takes shape.

: Working on the seating areas.

The Western saddles up and rides into Wicker Park

Posted on December 29, 2016 by danieldschell

Not to be confused with just any western, the movie above is The Western.

A new project from developer Vequity at 1920 North Milwaukee in Wicker Park, The Western is situated smack-dab under the Western Avenue Blue Line platform. The seven-story building, designed by Brininstool + Lynch, will contain 44 luxury apartments and 6,000 square feet of retail space.

Easily the most interesting feature of The Western will be this nugget from the full building permit, filed by the city December 15:

“…INSTALLATION OF 3,775 SF GREEN ROOF AND BOCCE BALL COURT AT ROOF.”

That means, very soon, a couple bros with beers in hand will be able to utter the sentence “Let’s go to the rooftop for some bocce, because THAT”S HOW WE ROLL!”

Yeah. Anyway, Vequity is not only the developer, but also the general contractor on The Western. And as you can see, they’re making good progress.

: The lot, before The Western moseyed along.

: The Foundation Permit. Giddy up.

: The Full Permit.

Centrum Bucktown looming large above the Bloomingdale Trail

Posted on December 29, 2016 by danieldschell

Centrum Bucktown rises at the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and The 606.

Centrum Bucktown is an under-construction development at 1767 North Milwaukee Avenue that will have 606 residential units, with 606 parking spaces and 606 square feet of retail space.

None of that is true, of course. But 606 is a key number in the development of Centrum Bucktown, as it sits right along side the Bloomingdale — or “606” — Trail. What the joint effort from Centrum Partners and Hirsch Associates (with an assist from Forum Studio) will have is 100 units in its six stories, plus retail space for a new Aldi store, replacing the one demolished for the project.

ARCO/Murray is the general contractor.

Construction Progress: The Hotel Zachary meets the street in Lake View

Posted on December 24, 2016 by danieldschell

The Hotel Zachary is rising from the sandlot across Clark Street from Wrigley Field.

Remember all that sand at 3630 North Clark Street in Lake View? History. Banished form existence like the whole billy-goat curse thing. And now, rising up from the depths of what used to be the Lake Michigan Lakefront, is the Hotel Zachary. From developer Hickory Street Capital, which helped bring you the 2016 World Series Championship, among other goings-on in and around Wrigley Field, the Hotel Zachary (no word yet on my proposal to change the name to “The Russell On Addison“) will have 175 rooms and a whole bunch of top-notch dining choices, from fast-food to fancy.

I took a walk around the site this week, and found Walsh Construction just beginning to peek above sidewalk-level. Wanna see the pics? Of course you do.

Cubs continue to get their office in order

Posted on December 23, 2016 by danieldschell

THE CUBS WON THE WORLD SERIES!

Also, construction continues on the “triangle lot” site at Wrigley Field for what will be the new office building of the Chicago Cubs, the Major League Baseball team that won the 2016 World Series.

FACT: Every team in every major sport has waited longer for a championship season than the Chicago Cubs.

The six-story office building already houses the new 30,000-square-foot clubhouse, which provides the modern amenities and creature comforts the team clearly needed to push them to the 2016 World Series Championship.

And now, a photo gallery of construction progress, featuring 17 pictures. 17. Kris Bryant, #17 of the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs, and reigning National League Most Valuable Player.

Coincidence? Probably not.

: Winter rendering of the office building and plaza from Hickory Street Capital.

: Summer rendering of the office building and plaza from Hickory Street Capital.

Construction Progress: Plumbers Local 130 Training Center

Posted on December 22, 2016 by danieldschell

Work continues on the new Plumbers Local 130 Training Center at 1400 West Washington Boulevard in the West Loop. Ground was broken on the Gensler-designed training facility back in June; W.E. O’Neil has been hard at work ever since. The state-of-the-art, 50,000-square-foot project should be complete and ready to start training new plumbers next summer.

LG Development writing a new story for the West Loop

Posted on December 19, 2016 by danieldschell

https://twitter.com/LGDevelopment/status/808687914926411777

If it seems there’s construction on every block of the West Loop, it’s probably because there’s construction on every block of the West Loop. But it’s not all fancy corporate HQs and boutique hotels.

At 177 North Morgan Street* (that’s the address according to the building permit. As you can see in the tweet above, LG Development refers to the property as 185 North Morgan.), LG Development is erecting a single-story retail building at the foot of the Morgan Street CTA L station.

Composition of DePaul School of Music continues in Lincoln Park

Posted on December 15, 2016 by danieldschell

McGaw Hall is a distant memory, and the new DePaul School of Music is getting closer to completion. (I used up all my music puns in a previous post, so just know Bulley + Andrews is still hard at work building the 3-story, 185,000-square-foot facility.)

Punch Bowl Social picks up a spare, right up their alley

Posted on December 14, 2016 by danieldschell

The restored facade of ~~Brooklyn Bowl~~ Punch Bowl Social in the West Loop.

All the work that went into preserving the historic facade at West Fulton and North Peoria in the West Loop’s Fulton market District isn’t for Brooklyn Bowl, as it turns out. The space, which looks nearly complete, will now be occupied by Punch Bowl Social.

That’s the news we got from Eater Chicago last week. A quick walk around the facility this week shows a venue that looks close to being open; the Punch Bowl Social website says to expect it in 2017. And remember, 2017 is less than three weeks away.