345 North Morgan lands its full-build permit

Posted on June 15, 2021 by danieldschell

It’s been almost 15 months since foundation and tower crane permits were issued for Sterling Bay’s 345 North Morgan, an 11-story, 230,000-square-foot office building in the nearly-impossible-to-keep-up-with Fulton Market District. That’s a looong time to wait on a tower crane.

But Monday, the full building permit was issued for this one, so we’re keeping crossed fingers that Three Four Five will get started soon.

Located next door to Sterling Bay’s Ace Hotel, and across the street from their Google offices at 1KFulton, 345 North Morgan will include ground-floor retail space and parking spots for 34 cars, according to that aforementioned permit.

Eckenhoff Saunders Architects is the design architect on 345. Skender Construction is designated as the general contractor.

End-of-May update of what remains at ADM mill and silos

Posted on May 28, 2021 by danieldschell

I admit to a morbid fascination in watching demolition. And a little bit of guilt, as if I’m violating personal space by seeing, and photographing, anything so laid open and exposed.

ADM Milling Company and silos, photographed May 26, 2021.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Carroll Avenue demolitions continue in Fulton Market, with more on the horizon

Posted on May 27, 2021 by danieldschell

As demolition by Heneghan Wrecking at ADM Milling Company and 1200 West Carroll continue, comes news that Carroll Avenue could see a lot more tearing down and redeveloping in the very near future.

Brick by brick, the ADM office building at 1300 West Carroll is being taken apart.

And the ADM silos at the west end of the 1300 block are being chipped away as well.

The former Midtown Transfer buildings in the 1200 block are all but gone.

The Happy Tails & Trails building at 1240 is the only building remaining on the north side of the 1200 block. For now.

Crain’s Chicago and Urbanize Chicago both reported this week about plans to redevelop both sides of West Carroll’s eastern 1100 block. We know Trammell Crow from their work just north across the Metra tracks at Fulton Labs (which only has one level of curtain wall to go, btw.)

315 N May. It wouldn’t take much to improve this site.

On the south side of the 1100 block, 315 North May fronts May Street, Carroll Ave, and Aberdeen Street.

On the north side of the 1100 block is a Ryder truck-rental lot.

The Ryder lot at 1100 W Carroll. Even easier to improve this site.

The Ryder “building” at 1112 West Carroll. Fulton Labs is in the background.

Stay tuned. The ever-changing Fulton Market District is in for even bigger changes.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

1200 West Carroll is coming even sooner than we thought

Posted on May 24, 2021 by danieldschell

Heneghan Wrecking is making short work of 1212 West Carroll, et al.

Single-story structures stand no chance when they’re in the way of progress. Don’t believe me? Ask the old Midtown Transfer complex in the Fulton Market District. We just found out last week Sterling Bay plans to develop 1200 West Carroll on this site, and Heneghan Wrecking has already accomplished a majority of the demolition work, even as they batter away at the ADM Milling Company office building and silos a block west. Let’s get that rubble hauled outta here and get started on construction.

Side note: It’s tough to see any project in the Fulton Market District without spotting another one in the background. You can see ADM demolition and Fulton Labs in the backgrounds of these 1200 West Carroll demo photos.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

1043 West Fulton tops out in the West Loop

Posted on May 23, 2021 by danieldschell

The best angle for counting floors at 1043 West Fulton. Go ahead, check my math.

Using my fingers and feet, I counted 12 stories at 1043 West Fulton as I walked past Friday. Knowing this is to be a 12-story office building, I asked around, and sure enough, the fine Power Construction folks told me they topped out Thursday.

Shout-outs and high-fives to all, including design architect Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and co-developers Intercontinental Real Estate and Fulton Street Companies, and Adjustable Concrete Construction. Power has them on pace to have 1043 West Fulton open for tenants in Spring 2022.

And now, a gallery form Topping Out Day +1, and a couple from earlier in May with great sunlight. I like the sunlight.

Enjoy the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Fulton Labs has ditched the tower crane

Posted on April 23, 2021 by danieldschell

Darn Near Done: 800 Fulton

Posted on March 25, 2021 by danieldschell

This is a cool building.

800 Fulton is an 18-story office tower at the literal gateway to the Fulton Market District. Really. There’s a sign. Developed by Thor Equities, it is a design by SOM and a build by Lendlease. It should be open any minute now.

Fulton Labs announces topping out

Posted on March 23, 2021 by danieldschell

Fulton Labs caught some rays over the weekend.

Blogs are okay, but the best source for information is always from the best source: the source itself.

Tuesday, Fulton Labs announced the topping out of the building at 400 North Aberdeen in Fulton Market. That keeps the facility on track to open early next year.

Here’s the text of the announcement, which can be seen in its entirety at the link above:

CHICAGO — March 23, 2021 — Trammell Crow Company (TCC), one of the largest commercial real estate developers in the United States, today announced it has topped out the construction on its Fulton Labs at 400 N. Aberdeen development. The facility is a 423,454 square-foot best-in-class laboratory building that the company is developing to help meet rapidly expanding demand for Class A lab space in the Chicago region, an area that has had chronic shortages of such space for decades.

The company broke ground on the development in July 2020 and anticipates completing the facility on schedule by Q1 of 2022. Portal Innovations, a premier venture development platform that bridges scientific ideation and value creation in life science, medtech and bioinformatics, has already signed a lease and will occupy a full 35,000-square-foot floor upon the building’s completion.

“After the past few years of working toward making this hub of life science innovation in Chicago possible, it is rewarding to see it all begin to come together,” said Morgan Blaska, Senior Associate for Trammell Crow Company. “With the community of life sciences tenants strengthening in our Fulton Labs at 1375 W. Fulton facility, coupled with securing our first lease at 400 N. Aberdeen and achieving this milestone in the construction process, we’re excited to see the continuing impact that our investment in purpose-built wet and dry lab space is having on the community.”

Power Construction is the general contractor on the project, ESG Architects is supplying design and architectural services, CRB is providing lab planning and engineering design support, and CBRE is directing the life sciences transaction and advisory work.

“With our decades of construction experience in Chicago, it is exciting to be a part of a project like this that will help solve the chronic shortage of lab space in the Chicago area,” said Steve Jackson, Vice President at Power Construction. “Our expertise in this field, along with our partnership with groups like CRB and ESG, allows us to be a part of a much-needed facility that will foster collaboration and innovation for life science companies.”

Of the building’s 16 floors, 12 are dedicated to wet or dry lab space, including one full floor of shared lab space managed and programmed by Portal Innovations. The facility’s features are designed to allow for flexibility and scalability, such as column-free and long-span layouts. The facility has been designed to serve the robust infrastructure requirements for office and lab users alike, while also providing unique advances in building technology, such as View Smart Windows that automatically adjust the tint throughout the day to allow for minimized heat, UV damage, glare, and pathogens, while still providing sunlight to tenants.

Construction progress as if Saturday, March 20:

First Visit: 1043 West Fulton begins going vertical in Fulton Market

Posted on March 16, 2021 by danieldschell

One of Chicago’s newest tower cranes is at 237 North Aberdeen in the Fulton Market District. But you can call it 1043 Fulton if you’d like.

1043 West Fulton is a joint effort from Intercontinental Real Estate and Fulton Street Companies. The 12-story office building will deliver 124,000 square feet of office space, 6,400 square feet of retail space, and about three dozen below-grade parking spots to the busiest neighborhood in the city.

Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture is the design architect; Power Construction is on the build. 1043 is expected to open in Spring 2022.

Photos are from two visits with five days. They’re kicking some butt on this one.

He who labs glass, glass lasts

Posted on March 15, 2021 by danieldschell

What I’m trying to say is, Fulton Labs has its first couple rows of glass installed. Here’s an updated photo gallery from the first half of March 2021.