Apple Store peeling off bits of Pioneer Core

Posted on August 2, 2016 by danieldschell

If Pioneer Court is a sacred place to you, look away.

Yes, it’s “Court.” Pioneer Court. I was trying to make two Apple jokes in one headline. It was a miss. Let’s move on.

The Chicago Tribune printed much of the detail about Apple’s new Chicago flagship store back in November. As for me, I just have a few photos of what’s going on in, and under, Pioneer Court, up to and including the anticipation of a tower crane.

“A tower crane?” you say. “For a 2-story building?” Hey, I don’t make the rules. Or the permits. And there’s a permit for a tower crane.

Crews have cut away a good portion of the south side of the court. Expect more demolition before this space starts looking like a retail store.

: Am I really seeing what you saw?

: Work along the Chicago River, as seen from the Michigan Avenue bridge.

: Some sort of prehistoric elevator system.

: If Lower Pioneer Court was a thing, this would be it.

: Could that be the makings of a tower crane base?

: Sub-work.

: The Tower Crane Permit.

Construction Update: McCormick Place Event Center

Posted on July 21, 2016 by danieldschell

The McCormick Place Event Center and the Marriott Marquis Chicago.

Yes, DePaul University will play its basketball games here. But it will be much more than a basketball arena.

The new McCormick Place Event Center is being constructed in the Prairie District of the South Loop. In addition to being a 10,000-seat arena, the Event Center is also expected to host concerts, conventions, business meetings, and other sporting events not featuring the Blue Demons.

The architect of record for the McCormick Place Event Center is Curtis Moody, of Moody Nolan, while Pelli Clarke Pelli and Goettsch Partners lead a who’s-who of architecture firms also involved in the project. Similarly, Clark Construction is the general contractor, but you’ll find a number of other companies involved in construction, including Bulley & Andrews.

They hoop (see what I did there?) to have the court open in time for the 2017-18 NCAA basketball seasons.

: Soldier Field keeps a watchful eye on the new kid.

: Even the cheap seats get special attention to detail.

: There’s more of that blue steel waiting to be put into the game.

Brooklyn Bowl Rolling Into the West Loop

Posted on July 15, 2016 by danieldschell

The historic facade that Brooklyn Bowl saved, and will integrate into the new facility.

There’s no time to spare. Brooklyn Bowl, coming to the West Loop at 832 West Fulton Market, has been in the works for years, and developer Convexity Properties had hoped of opening in 2015. That frame ended up a gutter ball. But Brooklyn Bowl is rolling right down the center of the lane again.

A rendering of the new Brooklyn Bowl from Convexity Properties.

W.E. O’Neil, the general contractor on the project, has been toiling away since last summer, when the century-plus-old cold storage buildings came down. All except for two walls, that is. Historic Preservation architects AltusWorks, tasked with preserving the facades, left two walls up — one along Fulton Market, one along Peoria Street — and will rebuild the portions they disassembled.

Designed by the West Loop’s own OKW Architects, Brooklyn Bowl will be a three-story building: the ground floor will be retail, while the second and third floors will comprise the bowing lanes and entertainment/event spaces. There will also be one level below grade for parking.

: All the pretty blue supports are gone now.

: The view of Brooklyn Bowl form the buildingupchicago office.

Lincoln Park Lost Its Edge. Now It’s Getting Schooled.

Posted on July 13, 2016 by danieldschell

A rendering of Altschool, 2720 North Clark Street, courtesy of Hirsch Associates Architects.

AltSchool’d, that is.

At 2720 North Clark Street in Lincoln Park, Centrum Partners and Hirsch Associates Architects have teamed up for a two-story mixed use project that will be the home of AltSchool, and a Banana Republic Factory Store. (If the Centrum Partners/Hirsch Associates combo sounds familiar, they’re the two responsible for bringing the just-permitted 412 North Wells and 221 West Hubbard project to life.)

AltSchool provides education for pre-kindergarten through 8th-grade students. Chicago will be its fourth location, joining San Francisco, Palo Alto (CA) and New York City.

William A. Randolph Inc. of Gurnee is the general contractor. Construction is expected to be completed in time for the 2017-2018 school year.

: AltSchool render from Hirsch Associates Architects.

: The Edge bar and grill formerly stood on this site.

On The Blue Plate Catering Menu: New Digs

Posted on July 13, 2016 by danieldschell

Construction is ongoing at the new Blue Plate Catering facility, seen here from the corner of Fulton and Ada Streets.

Blue Plate Catering, recognized nationally for being a top-notch caterer, is in the process of serving up a new facility in West Town. Currently located at 1061 West Van Buren Street, a location rumored to be in line for redevelopment, Blue Plate’s new building is at 305 North Ogden Avenue. The quadrilateral-shaped lot (yes, I had to Google that) is bounded by Ogden and Carroll Avenues, and Market and Ada Streets.

The future site is a combination renovation/new construction, with permits from the City of Chicago categorized only as renovations. While fixing up an older single-story structure, Blue Plate is erecting a three-story facility that will house its corporate offices, the catering kitchen, and a commercial commissary. There will be 25 on-site parking spaces included, as well as, I assume, plenty of space for Blue Plate’s catering fleet. The foundation permit was issued in October of 2015; the full-build permit followed in February of this year. The design is by Jonathan Splitt Architects. 41 North Contractors of Lisle, IL is the general contractor.

: Looking past the one-story brick renovation at the three-story new construction.

: Blue Plate Catering, with Fulton West rising in the background.

171 North Aberdeen Begins Foundation Work Under Clueless Blogger’s Nose

Posted on July 12, 2016 by danieldschell

The foundation permit, issued June 6th, I didn’t know existed. My bad.

I tried to pay attention to this one. Honest I did.

I told you over a month ago caisson equipment was standing at the ready at 171 North Aberdeen Street in the West Loop, eager to tear into the soil of the empty lot. But Novak Construction, the general contractor for the project, couldn’t. Not yet. That was June 10th, and the City of Chicago had yet to file a foundation permit.

WRONG.

In fact, that permit had been filed on June 6th. But, as sometimes happens in the data entry process, a key line had been left blank on the city’s permit site: no permit date. So when I was looking at the most recent permits for Aberdeen Street, I should have been scrolling all the way to the end, where permits without dates fall.

So as I wandered by the site Tuesday, I was merely checking to see if equipment was still there. And not only was it there, it was drilling holes into the earth. Knowing nobody in Chicago work start work without the proper permits being in place, I walked the perimeter until I found what I needed to see. Namely, the site bulletin board. And on it, the permit approving foundation work. And all is right with the world.

That permit means the Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture-designed 171 North Aberdeen is about to be a real thing. The new mixed-use project from MCZ Development (click that link. MCZ has a wonderful video introducing their building) will have 75 luxury apartments, 15,000 square feet of retail, and 40,000 square feet of office space. Plus 130 or so parking spaces to accommodate residents, shoppers, diners, and commuters.

: MCZ rendering of 171 North Aberdeen.

: 171 North Aberdeen. You can find it by looking for the water tank and chimney.

: Revcon Construction going to town on the caissons. Good thing they weren’t waiting for my okay, eh?

: You don’t need bloggers. You can learn all you need to know about 171 North Aberdeen by reading the fence.

: Foundation work at 171 North Aberdeen. Hopefully I won’t miss the tower crane going in.

817 West Lake Street to Become West Loop’s Latest Eatery

Posted on June 21, 2016 by danieldschell

This two-story brick building at 817 West Lake Street will be a bar/restaurant.

LG Development, already busy in the West Loop, has a permit on file with the City of Chicago as of yesterday to turn the two-story brick building at 817 West Lake Street into a bar and restaurant.

Got it.

The permit calls for “adaptive re-use” using designs from Jay Keller of Space Architects + Planners. Space has done work on the brand new Federales in the West Loop, as well Half Acre Beer Company and Bleeding Heart Bakery.

LG, meanwhile, looks to be busy for the foreseeable future in the West Loop. It has a big project coming up at 111 South Peoria Street, Illume, and numerous other projects around town, including 1101 West Randolph, where a third story is being added to a two-story building under renovation.

: The new bar and restaurant at 817 West Lake Street will be at the foot of the soon-to-open Parker Fulton Market.

: The Permit.

: 817 West Lake Street would like you to know something…

: LG’s rendering of Illume, 111 South Peoria.

: LG’s renovation at 1101 West Randolph Street

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