At The Sinclair, glass is almost up, and the tower crane is almost down

Posted on April 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Tower cranes aren’t supposed to be lower than the top of the buildings their servicing. Unless they’re being removed.

The tower crane started coming down from The Sinclair last week. That may seem like sad news, but the glass is also more than half full, which is good news. So they cancel each other out.

McHugh Construction has been working on the Fifield Companies apartment tower since Winter 2015. Now, after two tower cranes and lots of concrete, the 35-story, 390-unit tower looks certain to make its Summer Opening goal.

: A tower craned section is loaded onto a truck.

: Hey, Dude.

: Your cab is a bit hung up.

: The Sinclair has a booboo.

: Installing cladding on the east wall of the podium.

: There goes some of the tower crane.

1101 South Wabash digs deep

Posted on April 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Foundation work, getting down and dirty, at 1101 South Wabash.

There’s a hotel being built at 1101 South Wabash in the South Loop. And besides it being at the corner of Wabash and 11th Street, behind the Best Western Grant Park Hotel, that’s about all I can tell you of it. Sure, the original foundation permit tells us it will a 30-story hotel. But now there’s a revised permit, which calls for a 30-story mixed-use building.

Okay, not huge news. But there’s more; the revised permit now names Skender Construction as the general contractor, where Lendlease held that distinction on the original permit. Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture remains the architect of record.

With the former two-story parking garage a distant memory, the foundation is being dug and shored up. A tower crane permit was issued February 22, so we have that to look forward to.

: The new general contractor, according to the revised foundation permit.

: Lendlease signage remains all over the construction site.

: The Tower Crane permit, issued Feb 22.

Quick Look: The Sinclair tower crane is coming down

Posted on March 29, 2017 by danieldschell

I wasn’t fast enough on the draw to capture the tower crane at The Sinclair coming down this morning as the Purple Line passed by. But I recovered in time to get this shot between the Sedgwick and Armitage stops. That rooftop crane will handle the rest of the heavy lifting from here on out.

Landmark West Loop tops out

Posted on March 27, 2017 by danieldschell

A brooding Landmark West Loop from the B.U.C. HQ, through some Monday morning weather.

I must have had my back turned Thursday the 23rd, as the Landmark West Loop, the 30-story, 300-unit apartment tower at 1035 West Van Buren Street from Related Midwest, topped out last week. A press release from Lendlease that popped up on LinkedIn shared the news. A milestone moment for the Landmark to be sure, but also a forewarning that another tower crane will be disappearing from the West Loop landscape soon. Shooting stars, they are.

You can read Lendlease’s press release by clicking here, or see the text that follows a few photos from a sunny February day:

Lendlease & Related Midwest Celebrate the Topping Out of Landmark West Loop (Chicago, IL, March 23, 2017) Today, Lendlease, one of the largest construction management firms in Chicago, and Related Midwest, the pre-eminent developer of luxury condominiums and rental homes in Chicago, celebrated the topping out of Landmark West Loop, a new 30-story residential tower located at 1035 W. Van Buren in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The event, which included lunch and giveaways for the tradesmen and women, celebrated the structure reaching its maximum height, bringing the project one step closer to completion. “We’re very excited to celebrate the topping out of this highly anticipated project that will truly transform the West Loop,” said Bert Brandt, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Lendlease. “I want to acknowledge the combined efforts of Related Midwest, the design team, the union trades and our Lendlease project team for their tireless efforts in helping reach this significant project milestone.” “A quality development begins with a quality team, and our longstanding relationship with Lendlease allowed us to assemble just that — thanks to the dedication of the men and women working on this project, Landmark West Loop is on track for August move-ins,” said Don Biernacki, Senior Vice President of Construction at Related Midwest. “As work on the tower continues, we’ve already started pre-leasing and are thrilled by the response from prospective residents, many of whom have been waiting for this level of luxury rental housing to come to the West Loop and Illinois Medical District.” Located along the Eisenhower Expressway, Landmark West Loop is a 442,845-square-foot building featuring 300 luxury apartments and associated parking. Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, the building is targeting LEED Silver certification.

As Atrium Village changes, some of it will remain the same

Posted on March 23, 2017 by danieldschell

Construction at Atrium Village way back in January. The now-safe midrise building at 300 West Hill Street is on the left.

As construction of the new 31-story, 400-unit apartment tower at Atrium Village continues, developer Onni Group sent a letter yesterday to residents of the complex, stating the mid-rise building at 300 West Hill Street will not be demolished, as was the original plan. That means 207 households will no longer be displaced by redevelopment.

Onni cited input and concern from current residents about finding new residences as the reason for the decision, and they have the backing of the city, the Near North Unity Program, and Alderman Walter Burnett.

More January progress photos:

: HI!

: 13

The John Buck Company’s 151 North Franklin tops out

Posted on March 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Watching the beam rise at today's #151NFranklin topping out pic.twitter.com/ctX999RXrw

— The John Buck Company (@TheJohnBuckCo) March 2, 2017

And there it goes. Thanks to The John Buck Company for sharing news that 151 North Franklin topped out, and for capturing the moment the final beam rose skyward in photos. I stopped by Randolph and Franklin later in the afternoon to find Lendlease celebrating the event by hanging more glass.

You can see more photos from TJBC’s on its Facebook page here.

The Big Green W warns of a tower crane jump in Alta Roosevelt’s future

Posted on February 27, 2017 by danieldschell

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Walsh Group (@thebiggreenw)

When the Big Green W talks, people listen. Especially skyscraper nerds and construction junkies. Even more so when they use your photo and give you a shout-out.

Walsh Construction promised a tower crane jump at Alta Roosevelt on their Instagram feed, and since Sunday’s brunch was only a block away (PLUG: I highly suggest you all head to Sociale sooner, instead of later) I stopped by 801 South Financial. I didn’t catch the jump, but they’re certainly prepared for it.

Below, you’ll find a video, and then a photo gallery. The video was intended for you to hear the sounds of the wind howling through the construction site. It was magically musical; alas, all you’re likely to hear is the wind whipping through my phone.

Landmark West Loop takes over where 1035 West Van Buren began

Posted on February 23, 2017 by danieldschell

From this day forward, 1035 West Van Buren would like to be called Landmark West Loop.

You know the guy at the office who refills the stapler for you, then staples the last four pages together and takes credit for the TPS reports you spent all week working on? Well, that’s a very vague analogy for what’s just happened at Related Midwest’s new apartment tower in the West Loop.

New signage had been spotted, and Stephanie Lulay at DNAinfo reported yesterday, that what had been called 1035 West Van Buren through all the digging and heavy lifting shall henceforth be known as Landmark West Loop.

There’s still a little ways to go to top off the 30-story tower, as it’s reached about 25 floors in height, but still, a lot of the work was done before this new name swooped in. Though to be fair, buildings named after their addresses aren’t especially clever, and three-word street names are just clunky anyway. Besides, no one has moved into any of the 300 new, unfinished rental units yet, so it isn’t like they’ll need change-of-address cards already. So a new moniker for this one seems fitting. Landmark West Loop it is.

Landmark West Loop rises along the Eisenhower Expressway.

Quick Look: The Sinclair tops out in the Gold Coast

Posted on February 20, 2017 by danieldschell

The Sinclair is topped out, and most of the forms have been removed from the top. We can expect the tower crane to come down very soon.

A Sunny Day At: Alta Roosevelt

Posted on February 14, 2017 by danieldschell

Disclaimer: This post is actually the culmination of more than one sunny day. Yes, the photos are a few days apart, and therefore may appear to show construction at different stages. This is not an attempt to mislead my dear rather; rather, it is a product of my inability to use all the photos I take in a timely manner.

Seriously though, I think these pictures are about a week apart. That’s not a big deal, right?

Alta Roosevelt, or 801 South Financial as it’s sometimes known (even by its own Twitter account) continues to grow up before our eyes, and the eyes of everyone in the South Loop. 33 stories, a whopping 496 apartments from Wood Partners, designed by Pappageorge Haymes, and built by Walsh Construction, conveniently located between the Roosevelt Collection and the LaSalle Street Metra station. You can grab a movie, rush home for a shower, and jump on the Rock Island train to Joliet without even needing a Lyft.