Marriott Marquis Hotel: More Photos Than I Know What To Do With

Posted on July 14, 2016 by danieldschell

The Marriott Marquis Chicago, and the American Book Company building. Soon to be joined as one.

Down in the South Loop (you may call it this part of the South Loop the Prairie District if you like. McCormick Square? That jury’s still out), Clark Construction is working feverishly on the new Marriott Marquis Chicago hotel at 2121 South Prairie Avenue. Part of the expansion of McCormick Place by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (McPier), the new Marriott Marquis will be a 39-story tower boasting a whopping 1,206 hotel rooms.

Designed by Goettsch Partners (150 North Riverside! YAY!) the Marquis will also include 90,000 square feet of meeting space. As part of the project, renovations are being done to the American Book Company building next door at 330 East Cermak Road, which will then be connected to the new hotel.

It’s a huge construction site. And that, of course, means I take a billion photos. In fact, it’s more like a field trip than a visit every time I go down there.

Enjoy the gallery.

: This is the American Book Company building, with the Marriott Marquis rising next door.

: American Book Company building and the Marriott Marquis Chicago.

: Shiny new glass.

: Installing glass.

: I watched them work on glass for awhile. No doubt they think I’m nuts. But I’m not the one hanging off a building.

: Equipment being used for glass installation.

: The view from across Cermak Road.

: The crane lifting glass panels.

: From in front of McCormick Place, on the southwest corner of Cermak Road and Prairie Avenue.

: Standing down low, pointing to things. I appreciate this.

: Upper-level crew.

: This will support the pedestrian walkway over Cermak Street from the Marriott Marquis Chicago to McCormick Place.

: The same walkway support.

: And this is the hole in McCormick Place where the walkway will be.

: STEVE! Steve is helping with the walkway.

: Looking straight up the south wall from Cermak Road.

: This will be the “front” of the Marriott, along the now-closed-off Prairie Avenue.

: The back of the American Book Company building. yes, they too a large chunk out of it. yes, they will fix it.

: Looking west at the east wall.

: Atop the core.

: Giant street crane.

: Marriott construction reflected in the windows of McCormick Place.

: A rendering from Marriott.

: And another Marriott rendering.

: Sadly, I couldn’t get up to the rooftop garden at McCormick Place this visit. So here’s a shot from up there in May.

: And another May shot.

As Atrium Village Foundation Work Continues…A Tower Crane

Posted on July 6, 2016 by danieldschell

Onni Group works on the foundation for Atrium Village.

Ready for another tower crane in Chicago?

Onni Group sure is. Onni is up at 1140 North Wells Street in the Near North neighborhood, working on the redevelopment of Atrium Village. It’s a huge, multi-phase plan to transform the entire development. And Phase One is in full effect.

Onni has been digging through the dirt since February, when the City of Chicago filed a foundation permit for Phase One, which will be a 31-story apartment tower designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architects. It will have 400 rental units, ground-floor retail, and some 300+ parking spaces.

And since it’s a high-rise, it’ll need a tower crane, which was permitted by the City of Chicago yesterday. If you’re familiar at all with Onni Group, then you probably already figured it’s the general contractor on this development as well.

: Atrium Village needs updating, and ONNI IS ON IT!

Exhibit On Superior Shedding Its Tower Crane

Posted on July 2, 2016 by danieldschell

Exhibit on Superior, at 165 West Superior, losing its tower crane.

They come into our lives suddenly, and then they’re gone just as quickly. They build our hopes and dreams, climbing ever higher. And just when you think they can go no higher…they don’t. In fact, they come down. But not before changing the landscape and skyline.

Too dramatic? Eh, whatever.

Suffice it to say the tower crane at 165 West Superior is on its way down from atop the bKL Architecture-designed apartment tower. The new River North development from Magellan Development Group is called Exhibit on Superior. Topping out at 34 stories, Exhibit on Superior will have 298 luxury apartments of all sizes, from studios and convertibles, to 1-,2-, and 3-bedroom units. Add 109 parking spaces, an 8,400-square-foot outdoor park, and nearly 30,000 square feet of amenity space, and you’ve practically got yourself a brand new vertical neighborhood.

Linn-Mathes has been plugging away at construction since the first permits for Exhibit on Superior were filed back in July of 2015, this coming on the heels of the March 2015 demolition permit that signaled the end of the Howard Johnson Inn on this site, with an address of 720 North LaSalle. Yeah, if you still have your room key, might as well hang on to it.

You see, I looked at that from over here and thought “Hey, that tower crane shouldn’t be sitting so low.”

1035 West Van Buren Starts Peeking Above the West Loop

Posted on June 27, 2016 by danieldschell

1035 West Van Buren is beginning to shoot up through the other buildings in the West Loop

It’s not real construction until I can see it from the 48th floor. It is now that time for the new 1035 West Van Buren in the West Loop.

Related Midwest is bringing the apartment tower to 1035 West Van Buren Street, It’s designed by New York City firm Morris Adjmi Architects (that’s a new name to me here in Chicago) with a local assist from GREC Architects here in Chicago. It is GREC’s Greg Randall who appears on the building permit as the architect.

1035 will be a 30-story rental development with 300 units. That’s pretty darn close to averaging 10 units per floor, for those of you who were told there’d be no math today.

Related Midwest plans to have the tower open to residents before the end of 2017. Lendlease construction crews are on site, seeing to that completion goal.

: A rendering of 1035 West Van Buren from Related Midwest.

: Lendlease crews at work.

: Cement work.

: Gratuitous tower crane shot.

: A second gratuitous (gratuitouser?) tower crane shot.

: Why not one more? This time from a distance, and height.

: The Core.

: More core.

: The foundation permit.

A Deeper Look at 151 North Franklin Foundation Work

Posted on June 27, 2016 by danieldschell

Foundation work is on and ongoing at 151 North Franklin.

It looks like the digging is done dug at 151 North Franklin, The Loop’s latest 35-story office tower from The John Buck Company. Gone are the backhoes and front loaders, replaced by rebar. Lots and lots of rebar.

As a reminder, those are Lendlease crews you see gettin’ stuff done at the future CNA Center, a John Ronan Architects design.

: The pool looks almost done.

: I should have gone into rebar sales.

: Pumping in cement.

: It was all hands on cement Saturday. There were eight cement mixers on site.

: Along the watchtower.

: Peeks can be sneaked from ground level.

: It gives a much better perspective of how deep the foundation is.

: The Mayor was pleased to see me at the groundbreaking ceremony in April.

: A well-earned break.

: Someday soon (fingers crossed) this will be a tower crane.

: There may still be a tiny bit of digging left to do.

: A field of rebar.

: “I don’t think this is supposed to be—oh wait, there it is. Okay, we’re good!”

: 215 West Lake rises in the background.

Alta Roosevelt Sends a New Tower Crane Into South Loop Sky

Posted on June 20, 2016 by danieldschell

The new tower crane at Alta Roosevelt in the South Loop, 801 South Financial Place.

Unless you’re the one who has to climb it every day, it just got a lot easier to move things around at the Alta Roosevelt construction site.

Walsh Construction assembled a tower crane last week at the soon-to-be 33-story apartment tower designed by Pappageorge Haymes Partners. Walsh has been driving piles into the ground since getting a foundation permit from the City of Chicago back in March, while the tower crane permit arrived June 7.

801 Financial tweeted some fantastic photos just after the tower crane was put together.

https://twitter.com/801Financial/status/744170327891054594

It should come as no surprise to you that I have a few more photos of the crane below.

: There’s room for growth.

: Not crane related, just a hole in the ground.

More Photos Than I Know What To Do With: 215 West Lake

Posted on June 16, 2016 by danieldschell

215 West Lake, in the Chicago Loop.

It started with the demolition of a parking garage, then upping the ante by taking down an office building dating back to the late 1800s. Now, 215 West Lake Street in the Loop is a construction site for a 33-story, 265-unit apartment tower.

Designed by Thomas Roszak Architecture, 215 West Lake started foundation work back in February. Surrounded by parking garages, it’s a fun one to watch. Clark Construction is providing the entertainment.

: What’s in that cooler? I assume it’s High-C.

Alta Roosevelt Rings In Summer, Then Plants a Crane

Video

Wandered through the South Loop recently? Wondering about that ringing in your ears? Well, ask not for whom the bell tolls. Mostly because those aren’t bells.

As you’ve likely figured out by now, that sound — that really loud sound — is coming from Alta Roosevelt, the 33-story rental tower being constructed at 801 South Financial Place. Designed by Chicago firm Pappageorge Haymes Partners, Alta Roosevelt will have 496 studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, and a whopping 348 parking spaces to go along with them. In an unusual twist from the current building trend, there will be no retail space included.

According to PHP, the tower will feature “resort-like amenities.” These types of highfalutin perks are becoming the norm for new-construction apartments, not just for condominiums. Developers are looking to provide renters with as many creature comforts as possible, making today’s apartment projects look much more like fancy condo buildings. (You can make the argument that high-end amenities will help developers turn those apartments into condos somewhere down the road, but I’m not going there.)

: Look who’s getting a tower crane!

: Still just a seedling. It will grow.

: Tower crane stub and friends.

: 801 South Financial has been a busy busy lot since March.

: It was quieter then, but not much fun to watch.

: Soil sampling rig back in September.

: Site preparation got underway in March.

: Then the big equipment started showing up.

: Along with the pilings. Lots of pilings were driven to the site, so they could be driven *into* the site.

: Lots of pilings.

: Seriously. Piles of pilings.

151 North Franklin Goes Deep

Posted on June 6, 2016 by danieldschell

Crews shored up the pilings around the perimeter, then started digging. And digging.

It’s a bad time to grab a quiet lunch in The Loop. And it will be for quite some time, save weekends. Particularly in that cute little pop-up park on the northwest corner of Franklin and Randolph streets. Unless, of course, eating dust is on your menu. In that case, consider those dump trucks going in and out of 151 North Franklin your personal food trucks.

151 North Franklin is a 35-story, John Ronan Architects-designed office tower being developed by The John Buck Company. Lendlease is the general contractor.

Maybe you miss the Walgreen’s store that occupied this space; I do not. Come on, the best prescription for this lot was new construction. Admit it.

Digging under the shore line. Sort of.

Don’t mind me, Lendlease. Just grabbing a few shots, then I’ll be on my way.

That’s 215 West Lake rising in the background. This is a busy corner of The Loop.

From the 151 North Franklin website, a rendering of the finished tower.

Building Up Chicago

An Eye on Chicago Construction.

Category Archives: 30-39 Stories