Category Archives: 20-29 Stories

As caisson work continues, 741 North Wells scores its full permit for 168 apartments in River North

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No, they’re not trying to uproot the Hancock Center. They’re doing caisson work at 741 North Wells.

As caisson work digs in at 741 Northttps://www.vistaprop.com/properties/741-n-wells/h Wells in River North, the final piece of the permit puzzle has fallen into place, and Vista Property Group and Skender received the full permit to build 21 stories on Thursday.

741 North Wells will be a 178-unit apartment tower. It was designed by Antunovich Associates Architects, and according to their website, will offer a mix of 70 studios, 68 one-bedroom, and 40 two-bedroom units, with “a full complement of amenities including a rooftop terrace with pool, meeting facilities, exercise area, bicycle storage, and parking for roughly 50 vehicles.” There will also be about 9.400 square feet of street-level retail space.

Adjustable Concrete Construction is assisting Skender as the concrete contractor, while Stalworth Underground is out there drilling the caissons.

The City of Chicago issued permits for:
The full build on 8/25/2022
Caissons and foundation on 7/19/2002
The tower crane on 6/22/2022
Demo permits for 739 N Wells and 745 N Wells on 5/12/22

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Under the last tower crane standing at Big Deahl, 1475 North Kingsbury trends upward

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1475 North Kingsbury

The pretty, lighted tower crane at 853 West Blackhawk is gone, but one remains standing at 1475 North Kingsbury, where Power Construction continues erecting a FitzGerald-designed tower for Structured Development, White Oak Realty Partners, and Ponsky Capital Partners.

1475 North Kingsbury will be a 27-story building, with 327 rental apartments, atop a three-level parking podium. Amenities will include a rooftop pool with a view of the Chicago skyline.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Going up, and going, going, gone — 920 and 868 North Wells at North Union

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868 North Wells has been reduced to rubble, while 920 North Wells has produced up to the fifth-floor slab, at JDL Development’s sprawling North Union project.

Here are the pics from last week (they could well be on the sixth floor by now):

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

360 North Green digs in to Fulton Market

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A rendering of Sterling Bay’s 360 North Green

Back off.

That’s what you need to do sometimes. Let me explain.

Ever since Sterling Bay started tearing up the surface parking lot at Green and Kinzie Streets in the Fulton Market District, I’ve been trying to get up close enough to get a good view of what’s going on. But fences, my own personal lack of elevation, and a deep sense pf respect for the working man’s personal space hasn’t allowed for much spectatorship. So I backed off. And voila! An excellent view.

Sterling Bay and Power Construction are building 360 North Green here, a 24-story, 500,000-square-foot office tower designed by Gensler. Scheduled for completion in 2024, the building will include 5,400 square feet of retail space at ground level, parking for 92 cars on the second and third floors, a fourth-floor amenity suite including 5,000 square feet of outdoor space, a fitness studio, lounge, game room, and bar. Geez, I want to live here.

From Sterling Bay’s digital brochure, a rendering of the fourth-floor outdoor space. Wow.

Mostly from a distance, here are some caisson progress shots, as Power and Stalworth Underground get started on 360 North Green, taken August 17. Thank you, Halsted Street.

Progress update: The 808 Cleveland, topped out and soon-to-be sans tower crane

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The 808 Cleveland has topped out.

DAC Developments’ The 808 Cleveland (808 North Cleveland Ave) topped out last month, putting another Chicago tower crane in danger of coming down in August.

The 22-story, 200-unit apartment tower by Pappageorge Haymes Partners is almost as glassy as it is tall, with just five levels of glazing remaining to be installed. That’s Focus‘s handiwork on the build.

The project team plans to have The 808 open for renters in Spring 2023, while also leasing about 28,000 square feet of retail and office space.

The following gallery was taken August 17, with a few photos from July 29 thrown in for good measure. Because I couldn’t bear to leave out a couple I took from Division Street and Halsted.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

166 North Aberdeen hits the Construction Trifecta: It’s topped out, glassy, and renamed. Hello One Six Six

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One Six Six Chicago in the West Loop

166 North Aberdeen used to be on the rise, glassless, and 166 North Aberdeen. You can forget all of that.

One Six Six is now topped out, and the first couple levels above the podium are glazed. Those are all big milestones for the 21-story, 224-unit apartment tower from MCZ Development and Greystar. (The tower topped out two weeks or so ago.) Congratulations are in order for the construction team of Lendlease (GC) and Pepper Construction (concrete) and design architect Solomon Cordwell Buenz.

How that topping out has been achieved, crews need to get the rest of the exterior glazed and the interior ready for One Six Six’s anticipated Fall Opening.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

920 North Wells rises above street level as demolition continues for North Union next door

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The North Union megadevelopment from JDL Development is now evidenced in two locations. 920 North Wells, the first building to get started, has risen above street level. At 868 North Wells one block to the south, demolition is underway to clear space for another residential tower. 868 will be a 25-story building with 428 units and 12,000 square feet of retail space.

The most fun thing about this is you get two galleries; one for 920 construction by Power Construction, and one for 868 demolition by Atlas Industries. It’s like getting extra free stuff with the free stuff you already got.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

160 North Elizabeth renders Chicago’s August tower crane survey obsolete

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The topped-out 160 North Elizabeth

“Hey, that’s topped out” I said out loud (I talk to myself constantly when I walk around town) as I neared 160 North Elizabeth in the Fulton Market District. And it usually doesn’t take long for a topped-out tower to drop the tower crane. Sure enough, one day after setting our crane count at 20, came word that we’d already dropped into the teens. Ah, progress.

160 North Elizabeth seemed to go up in a hurry. This is progress by Clark Construction as of Friday, July 29, with the tower crane still intact:

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

160 North Elizabeth brings the pane

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160 North Elizabeth on May 28. Don’t know if it had glass on it yet, but I love me some night photos.

Let’s recap some particulars on 160 North Elizabeth before we get to the pics.
Moceri + Roszak is the developer.
Thomas Roszak Architecture is the design architect
Clark Construction is the general contractor
Adjustable Concrete Construction is the concrete contractor
It will be a 27-story, 375-unit apartment tower
There will be 144 parking spaces across the first three levels

A demolition permit was issued 11/05/2021 to make space
A pile and foundation permit was issued 11/24/2021
A permit to build through the third floor was also issued on 11/24/2021
A tower crane permit was issued 11/30/2021
A full permit for 27 stories was issued 02/04/2022
A hoist permit was issued 02/09/2022

And now, lots of photos of a little bit of glass. But it’s not just any glass; it’s the first glass.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

920 North Wells scores North Union’s first tower crane permit as caissons wrap up

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It took <check’s sun dial> less than two weeks for Power Construction and Stalworth Underground to get caissons drilled at 920 North Wells. I’ve left dirty dishes in the sink for longer than that. Regularly. But there’s no time to be wasted on JDL Development’s latest endeavor, the North Union mega project, so it’s out with caisson equipment, and in with the earth movers. They’ve got a foundation to dig out, not just for the building, but also for the tower crane, and Manitowoc MD485 to be precise, which received a foundation permit of its own on Tuesday, May 17.

Since I once again fell asleep on the job, the following gallery includes photos of caisson work taken May 12, and post-caisson work taken May 19.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.