A patriotic ending to Lendlease’s tower crane at 727 West Madison in the West Loop.
You can kiss the tower crane at 727 West Madison goodbye
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Category Archives: New Construction
Harrison Hall glasses up the joint at UIC
Pepper Construction works on both the north-facing and south-facing facades of Harrison Hall at UIC.
Chalk up another milestone for Pepper Construction at UIC, where they’ve started putting windows on Harrison Hall. (This is neither the time nor place to argue that a university’s academic hall should be using Macs instead of installing Windows)
I don’t know why I didn’t make a “glass is in session” pun in the headline for this, but I more than made up for it with the Windows thing, dontcha think?
Anyway, topping out the concrete in late April and removing the tower crane last month are two other recent achievements Pepper can be proud of at Harrison Hall. Of course, the one that counts the most will be having the 151,000-square-foot, SCB-designed facility open for UIC students in the fall.
145 South Wells has planted a tower crane, which should be blossoming any minute now
The tower crane stub (and wading pool?) is ready to go at 145 South Wells.
Today is expected to be the first day of assemblage for the tower crane at 145 South Wells, the 20-story boutique office tower Clark Construction is building for Moceri + Roszak in The Loop. We’ve waited a long time for a tower crane in what amounts to Chicago’s Central Business District. (We don’t call it that here, but I’ve always liked the way that sounds. Lots of other cities use it; why not us? Is it like putting ketchup on a hot dog? Doing the wave at Wrigley? Riding a bike on the sidewalk? Oh wait…everyone does that here.)
So here’s a quick look at that stub before it becomes a full-grown tower crane.
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- Kinda looks like a mug shot with that background.
McHugh Construction Instagrams NEMA Chicago’s 50th
There was another Golden Anniversary of sorts to celebrate last week, as McHugh Construction posted the above photo to their Instagram page announcing the start of Floor #50 at NEMA Chicago. The South Loop tower by Rafael Viñoly Architects, which started life as 1200 South Indiana, became One Grant Park, and has now settled in as a member of Crescent Heights’ NEMA franchise, will eventually grow to 76 stories.
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- This will always be my favorite view of NEMA.
Centaur Construction has their groove back at the West Loop’s Nobu Hotel
Taking a loooong look at the Nobu Hotel, from Peoria Street over the Eisenhower Expressway.
In May, Centaur Construction got back to work at Nobu Hotel, and it didn’t take them long to hit their stride again.
With Pepper Construction’s help on concrete, progress on the hotel has jumped up to the fourth floor since we last stopped by just a couple weeks ago, while the core continues to grow toward its 11-story goal.
In the meantime, the Chicago version of the Nobu Hotel has changed ownership, with new permits listing NHC, LLC of Coral Gables, Florida as the new entity. The address comes up as the AIC Hotel Group, which lists other Nobu Hotels, and Hard Rock Hotels, among its properties.
GEMS World Academy Upper School gets permission to complete its latest assignment
With a permit issued Wednesday, the GEMS World Academy Upper School has official permission to complete its 13-story building in Lakeshore East. That allows Power Construction to continue their progress on the bKL Architecture-designed facility. Students are expected to start using the Upper School in Winter 2019.
You can watch progress for yourself by following this link to the youtube construction cam; the cam is also accessible from bKL Archtecture’s GEMS World Academy Upper School page linked above.
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- bKL Architecture renderings.
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- bKL Architecture rendering.
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- The Full-Build Permit.
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- GEMS World Academy, the original.
Progress Update: Columbia College Student Center
It’s time to check in with Pepper Construction on their progress in the South Loop. That’s where they’re erecting the Gensler-designed Columbia College Student Center at 8th Street and Wabash Avenue. The 114,000-square-foot facility is slated for opening in 2019.
Prepare to be shocked: I went to Wolf Point East again
June 6, 2018: The City of Chicago was kind enough to raise half of the Lake Street Bridge so I could get a good view of Wolf Point East.
It was there, so I stopped. Sue me.
The GR333N-ing of the Fulton Market District continues
Looking across the tracks at 333 North Green.
Office buildings are a big deal in the West Loop these days. No longer confined to The Loop, Chicago’s professional palaces are sprawling out to other neighborhoods now, and the West Loop leads the way. Not surprising, as this part of town seems to be out in front of most every aspect of development.
We’re keeping a close eye on 333 North Green, or GR333N as it’s been dubbed, partly because it’s cool to look down on Power Construction at work from up on the Halsted Street Bridge. One of Sterling Bay’s recent additions to West Town’s office-building portfolio, 333 North Green will be 19 stories tall and contain 555,000 square feet of office space.
We took a stroll past the site last week, and can offer you these views of progress:
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- Keepong the Halsted Street lookie-loos at bay.
Hyatt House has started to grow at May and Washington
Skender is ramping up construction on the Hyatt House hotel in the West Loop.
The 16-story Hyatt House Hotel is starting to rise from the former parking lot at 105 North May Street in the West Loop.
Skender is the general contractor on Hyatt House; this represents their one and only tower crane on the current Chicago Survey, and they’re making it count. The future hotel has risen above street level already. Designed for Sterling Bay by Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, Hyatt House will have about 200 guest rooms.
Building Up Chicago 