Foundation Toys Take Over 625 West Adams Site

Posted on June 13, 2016 by danieldschell

Caisson drill bits arrived by truck Monday morning.

It’s move-in day at 625 West Adams in the West Loop.

No, they didn’t build a 20-story office tower over the weekend. It’s not tenant move-in day; it’s foundation equipment move-in day.

Another truck, more foundation materials.

Bright and early Monday morning, Case Foundation could be seen flooding the 625 West Adams work site with materials and gear they’ll use to begin work on the joint development from CA Ventures and White Oak Realty Partners.

On its way to Chicago is a 20-story office building with 400 parking spaces on levels 1-5, 2,500 square feet of retail space, and three outdoor terraces mixed into the upper floors. Designed by architect Martin Wolf of Solomon Cordwell Buenz, 625 West Adams was approved way *way* back in November of 2012, and developers have decided now is the time to build, and they’ll sign on tenants as they go. The City of Chicago filed a foundation permit last month, and the arrival of all that equipment means things will be very busy at Adams and Desplaines for quite awhile.

: As Old St. Pat’s stands watch, “St. Pat’s Tower” equipment awaits unloading along Desplaines Street.

: Waitin’ for something to do.

: Lots fill up fast when the big gear starts showing up.

: Case Foundation equipment at the ready at “Old St. Pat’s Tower” site.

: Caisson drilling equipment.

3Eleven Takes a Giant Baby Step Towards Beginning Construction

Posted on June 10, 2016 by danieldschell

Once, there was this garage at 311 West Illinois Street.

3Eleven, the new residential tower at an old church from The John Buck Company, has taken a big first step towards getting started on construction of its priory addition and 23-story building, even if that step involves only a little structure.

Gone from the property at 311 West Illinois Street in River North is the garage/equipment shed that once occupied the southwest corner of the surface parking lot.

Now, there is no garage. There is a slab, but no garage.

In its place will be a 23-story tower, containing 245 apartments, 109 parking spaces, and ground-level retail. On the west side of the church you see above, Assumption Roman Catholic Church, the two-story priory building will have a third level added as part of the development. Two architecture firms split duties on this one. FitzGerald Associates (West Loop represent!) handled the design of the tower, while McBride Kelley Baurer Architects handles the priory addition. (It is that firm’s John Kelley whose name appears on the renovation permit.)

The first permit was filed with the City of Chicago on June 2, allowing for the addition to the priory. That’s all well and good, but I’m watching this lot from the Brown Line nearly every day, knowing a tower crane will soon sprout. Stay tuned.

Here’s the priory I mentioned earlier.

Now, picture it with a third story added.

The main sanctuary structure of Assumption Roman Catholic Church will remain as it is.

Oh, and here’s the parking lot and garage, from a somewhat dizzying perspective.

Here you go, permit fans.

Foundation Equipment Standing By at 171 Aberdeen

Posted on June 10, 2016 by danieldschell

I don’t know how much it costs per day to have one of those pretty yellow Hayward Baker machines in your lot, in this case the lot being 171 North Aberdeen Street, but I’m guessing Novak Construction would like to put it to good use sooner rather than later.

The latest project from MCZ Development and designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, 171 Aberdeen promises 75 luxury apartments, 15,000 square feet of retail space, 40,000 square feet of office space, and up to 140 parking spots at the corner of Lake and Aberdeen Streets in the molten-lava-hot Fulton Market neighborhood.

Curiously, there’s a permit on file with the City of Chicago. But it’s a foundation permit for a tower crane. That seems a tad cart-before-horse-ish to me, but it’s happened before. Novak Construction, the general contractor on 171 Aberdeen, will get to work as soon as the city says “go.”

Here’s the tower crane permit, displayed at the 171 Aberdeen work site.

And here’s a rendering from MCZ Development of the finished 171 Aberdeen.

All that prime tagging canvas will be gone once 171 Aberdeen construction gets rolling.

Big Kenect and Little Kenect Progress Kentinues.

Posted on June 9, 2016 by danieldschell

The 14-story tower that makes up about 78% of Kenect’s floorage. If floorage was a word.

At 500 North Milwaukee Avenue in the West Town neighborhood, Akara Partners is developing Kenect, a two-building apartment complex designed by Pappageorge Haymes Partners.

When complete, Kenect will have a 14-story tower on the west side of North Green Street with 179 apartments, and a 4-story structure on the east side of Green Street with 48 units. The two will share 122 car parking spaces and 50 bike parking spaces, while the entire complex will include some 14,000 square feet of retail space.

: Kenect, with outstanding photobombs from River Point and the Sears Tower.

: 4 stories of Kenect, along Milwaukee Avenue.

: The unique framework along Milwaukee Avenue taking form in January .

: That framework looks like this now.

: Looking northwest from Grand Avenue.

: Early work on the 14-story tower, July

: And on the 4-story portion, also July

: Kenect had a wonderful tower crane…

: …so wonderful, that even the moon couldn’t help but visit.

: Kenect got its first glass back in November 2015.

: Yeah, I won’t go up there and do that, what they’re doing. Nope.

: The unfortunate rat traps that were demolished to make room for Kenect.

: The unfortunate rat traps that were demolished to make room for Kenect.

111 South Peoria, By Any Other Name

Posted on June 9, 2016 by danieldschell

Illume (11ume?) Chicago, now with its own signage.

Would still be controversial?

Doesn’t matter anymore.

Never Forget

Try as they might (you can read all about the contentious road this project took here at chicagoarchitecture.com) to quash the project at 111 South Peoria, West Loop NIMBYs (mostly from the two adjacent condo buildings, then just one at the Plan Commission meeting) failed to prevent the brand new condominium development from happening in the current parking lot at the same address.

And now that the contentious plan has met the approval of 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr. and the Chicago Plan Commission, 111 South Peoria has a new name as it moves towards fruition: Illume. But fancy, with three 1s instead of an i and two Ls. But a small 1 and two big 1s. 111ume? Yeah, it’s hard to type it that way.

Illume Chicago was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission back in March. It gave the okay for 79 condos in a 115-foot-tall building. Designed by architecture firm Pappageorge Haymes Partners, Illume is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2017. Along with being the developer, LG will be the general contractor as well.

The rendering of Illume Chicago presented by LG Development at the March Plan Commission meeting.

This parking lot will soon be Illume Chicago.

The very same parking lot, as seen from the Up Chicago office.

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.

Demolition Equipment Takes Over Empty 130 North Franklin Lot

Posted on June 8, 2016 by danieldschell

National Wrecking started tearing holes in the 130 North Franklin soil on June 6.

“Hey, Dufus” your letter to the editor begins, “that makes no sense. Why would an empty lot need to be demolished?”

HOLES. That’s why. Sometimes the very equipment that tears a structure down becomes the excavation tools, the first step in building one up. And that’s the case at 130 North Franklin in The Loop, where the National Wrecking Company has moved in to start prepping the land for a 54-story office tower from developer Tishman Speyer.

The Chicago Plan Commission approved the Krueck & Sexton-designed tower on August 20, 2015, and construction nerds have been staring at the half-dirt/half-parking lot ever since, as us construction nerds do. And now we finally get to see some action. There are no permits filed as yet for 130 North Franklin, but when we know about them, you’ll know about them.

A long view.

Please don’t back up, Sir.

The parking lot portion at the north end of the site will be developed as well.

A rendering of 130 North Franklin from Krueck + Sexton.

1400 West Washington Getting a New Plumbers Training Center?

Posted on June 7, 2016 by danieldschell

A rendering of the new Plumbers Local 130 Training Center, from the W.E. O’Neil website.

Thanks to a heads-up from Twitter user @ponjeters, it appears the recently-demolished Plumbing Industry Center posted last night will be replaced by a new, state-of-the-art Plumbers Local 130 Training Center.

Another render from the W.E. O’Neil website.

According to the website of contractor W.E. O’Neil, they are tasked with building a 120,000-square-foot facility that will replace the one Heneghan Wrecking just finished tearing down. Per the website:

“The project is being designed as (a) teaching tool for apprentices and will incorporate state-of-the-art technology and plumbing training workshops.”

The O’Neil website lists Gensler as the architect, and Chicago Journeymen Plumbers as the client.

The website has no location information other than “Chicago,” which still has a few more spaces to fill in besides this one at 1400 West Washington Boulevard. I sent an email to O’Neil last night in hopes of verifying the project’s address.

The now-destroyed Plumbing Industry Center at 1400 West Washington Boulevard in the West Loop.

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.

Introducing RP150 to the Chicago Skyline

Posted on June 6, 2016 by danieldschell

May, 2016. RP150 rises above the Metra tracks in the West Loop.

Eurythmics. Wham. Go West. Daft Punk. Air Supply. Names that conjure up images of groups, yet only represent a duo. Now you can add a Chicago act to that list: RP150.

You may know RP150 as two separate entities. But to me, they’re like peas and carrots. It’s hard to remember what this city looked like without them, and now they’ll be here, together, forever.

150 North Riverside is a 54-story office building, designed by the Chicago architecture firm Goettsch Partners, between Lake Street, Randolph Street, and the Chicago River. Right next to it, on the north side of Lake Street, is River Point, a 52-story office tower at 444 West Lake Street designed by Pickard Chilton. Being developed by Riverside Investment & Development Company, and Hines, respectively, the two neighbors will deliver about 2,250,000 rentable square feet to the West Loop. There will also be nearly three full acres of public park space, for those of us who don’t need to rent an office in either building. And glass. Lots of shiny glass.