Now THIS is how you brand your building during construction.
Stellar signage atop Gild leaves no doubt as to what’s being built as you look up Rush Street to State.
I’m not quite sure what constitutes the second floor here, but that may very well be the underside of the 12th floor Power Construction is working on. That would darn near top out this 12-story apartment development.
After site prep work at 410 South Wabash to dig out under Van Buren Street, crews were pumping concrete into a new wall under the sidewalk Monday. There wasn’t a whole lot to see from the street, but I still spent far too much time watching.
Come at me if you want to, but there’s a new brand of NIMBYism out there these days: Instead of just complaining about a building blocking the view from your living room, you now get to complain about a new building blocking your view of something else, but not when you’re at home. No, this pertains to being out and about throughout the city. Or from that one particular spot you like to stand. This is next-level stuff.
Such seems to be the case with 300 North Michigan. Folks are upset that it will block the view of the Carbon and Carbide Building across the street. How about that. The rules are now such that you can’t build anything anywhere that will obstruct the view of anything anywhere. Looks like our next skyscraper will have to be built in DeKalb. (But I can’t see my corn field from the water tower now!)
Anyway, this is what 300 North Michigan looked like Monday, July 26. Using the markings on the skip, it looks like Linn-Mathes has reached the 40th floor, with the elevator core a couple stories higher, on their way to their ultimate 47-story height:
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That humble parking lot is at 900 West Taylor Street in University Village. The University of Illinois at Chicago broke ground here July 15 on its 135,000-square-foot Computer Design Research and Learning Center. That’s big news for the school, its students, and the faculty.
It may also come in handy for Chicago’s tower crane counters. Since this is UIC’s project, it’s under the authority of the State of Illinois, not the City of Chicago. So permits won’t show up on the City Building Permits site I check every Tuesday thru Saturday once the coffee has kicked in. But I’m not gonna let this one get by me, like the UI Health tower crane did. And like the Harrison Hall crane would have if it hadn’t been bright yellow and right up against the Eisenhower Expressway. I have questions out all over town asking if this project will require a tower crane. Answers soon, I hope.
LMN Architects and Booth Hansen handled the architecture on the UIC CDRLC. W.E. O’Neil would appear to be the general contractor, based on their LinkedIn post about the groundbreaking. It’s the only reason I know about this development. So a shout-out to them for the heads-up.
Lots of fantastic renderings from the groundbreaking announcement linked above:
Chicago made it back to double digits Thursday, as W.E. O’Neil finished erecting the city’s 10th active tower crane at 1371 West Randolph Street in the West Loop. That crane will build the seven-story parking garage for the Plumbers Local 130, on what used to be a portion of their surface parking lot.
I would once again like to point out that those guys up there, especially out on the jib, are in no danger of losing their jobs to me.
Tuesday, right here in this very space, I pointed out the verticality Onni Group was achieving at 354 North Union despite not having the tower crane in place yet. Perhaps I could have waited two more days . . .
This will be the 11th tower crane in Chicago if it’s fully erected before any of the topped-out projects (Parq Fulton, Evo Union Park, One Chicago, UI Health) take theirs down.
This update on Salesforce Tower is simple: Walsh Construction continues their curtain wall installation at Hines’ 60-story office tower at Wolf Point on the Chicago River, all while the tower keeps shooting skyward. I see about 30 levels of steel, and 36 levels of core. (Not a scientific poll.)
And now, photos:
A quick look around The Reed at Southbank Monday showed an awful lot of piles driven into the South Loop soil, with lots more stacked up waiting their turn. I only saw one caisson above ground, and that was there on my most recent trip June 21 (part of the “vertical access shaft” work, I think). I thought to myself, Self? Are they doing piles before caissons? Are the caissons done already? Are there only piles and no caissons? In the June photo, you’ll notice there were already piles of piles to be driven.
My conclusion? I don’t know. But I have some photos to show you.
Power Construction is installing windows at 1043 Fulton, and a lot of them, on the north and west façades. Still waiting on glass for the south façade, while that east-facing masonry wall probably won’t need them.
Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), 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.
That warm ink you smell is coming from the fresh full-build permit issued yesterday for 354 North Union. With it in hand, Onni Group now has the official in-writing permission to go skyward on their 32-story, 373-unit apartment tower in the Fulton River District. (Don’t try to find the Fulton River on a map.)
Designed by Pappageorge Haymes Partners, 354 North Union will also deliver 143 parking spaces between the basement and second floor.
There’s no tower crane yet, not even a stub, on site. But that hasn’t stopped Onni from getting things done. There’s a cool-looking concrete structure rising toward the northwest corner of the lot, which I suspect might be a connection to Halsted Street. Keep in mind, though, I just take pictures. I could be way off base on that.
This is a great construction site for spectating.
Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), 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.
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