The Columbia College Student Center at 8th Street and Wabash Avenue in the South Loop is a reality, as crews from Pepper Construction continue to work on the foundation. The Gensler design, when finished will provide 114,000 square feet of space for students over five levels.
Case Foundation has moved their equipment onto the 145 South Wells construction site.
We figured 145 South Wells would be the first project stepping up to fill the tower crane void in The Loop. Hard to believe, but it’s been more than a year since The Loop’s last tower crane, at 151 North Franklin, came down from the sky. The only other potential candidate to put one up is 110 North Wacker, but we won’t see a tower crane there for some time yet. But this 20-story office tower from Moceri + Roszak should get the job done very soon.
145 South Wells received a foundation permit from the City of Chicago back in November of last year. And then last week, it got a tower crane permit. Case Foundation let us know a few weeks ago that caisson work would get started here soon, and sure enough, they’ve moved foundation equipment onto the site.
The new tower is a design by Thomas Roszak Architecture, who also designed the tower-crane-worthy LINEA Apartments at 215 West Lake Street. Clark Construction will serve as general contractor.
If you’re wondering where Clark has been in the Chicago Tower Crane Survey, 145 South Wells marks their return to our list, with their most recent entry being at 8 East Huron in River North. (You may also see Adjustable Forms markings on this crane. They’re serving as the masonry contractor, and that usually means they are responsible for the tower crane.)
A model of Hayden West Loop sits on display at the sales center on May Street in the West Loop.
The first building of the nine-story Hayden West Loop, a two-part project from Sulo Development, has reached the underside of its 8th level. Designed by Booth Hansen, it will bring 28 condominiums and 83 parking spaces. The second building is slated for a site around the corner on May Street. Macon Construction is the general contractor utilizing that shiny yellow Liebherr tower crane.
The following photo gallery shows progress from the first week of May, backwards through February.
Chicago’s southernmost tower crane has risen at 5252 South Cornell in Hyde Park.
Earlier this week, we published our Chicago Tower Crane Survey for May 2018, where we noted that a crane at 5252 South Cornell (this thing needs a name) would be erected very soon. As it turns out, very soon was retroactive. A visit Thursday to Hyde Park showed a new, shiny red tower crane atop the construction site, which is where Linn-Mathes is building a 26-story apartment building for Mac Properties. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the tower will deliver 246 new apartments to the Hyde Park neighborhood, atop four levels of parking.
NEMA Chicago grows in the South Loop, despite being obscured by the Canal Street Railroad Bridge.
One Grant Park was a fine name for the new tower at 1200 South Indiana Avenue in the South Loop. It paid homage to the park whose south end the tower would anchor. Alas, the moniker wasn’t meant to last, and now One Grant Park has a new name: NEMA Chicago. This is according to the website of developer Crescent Heights. And if it’s on their website, it has to be real.
Something else One Grant Park just–oops…NEMA Chicago–just picked up, and this took longer than expected: cladding. Curtain wall. Windows. Glass. Glorious glass. Some up high, some down low. But it’s there, at last.
For someone whose facade is being saved from destruction, you could look happier.
There isn’t much left to see at the corner of Clark Street and North Avenue in Old Town, save for a few blue shipping containers and the facade of the old Village Theater. Those two features, of course, are there for a reason, as one supports the other while the block comes down around them.
Fifteen Fifty on the Park, a 10-story condominium tower being developed by Golub, CIM Group, and Avoda Group, will soon begin construction. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, Fifteen Fifty will boast 32 new condos, with parking for 66 cars, and 2,600 square feet of ground-level retail space.
Power Construction will be the general contractor. They got a foundation permit on May 3, so they can start work as soon as demo work is cleaned up.
https://twitter.com/McHughConstruct/status/993580821100613632
Yep, we just shared two tweets with you. That’s because Renelle on the River celebrated two important milestones: The first pieces of glass, and the last piece of steel.
As you can see in the video shared by bKL Architecture principal Thomas Kerwin, the first level of cladding installation is underway on the bKL-designed tower. And McHugh Construction was kind enough to share with the world that Renelle’s steel has topped out. That means the next milestone will be the sad one, when the tower crane comes down. And then all that’s left for Renelle on the River to accomplish is to open those incredible condominiums to residents, and that’s expected to happen early in 2019.
Union West rendering from bKL Architecture. On the left is the first tower at 939 West Washington.
Ready for more construction in the West Loop? Good. Because Tuesday, Union West got its full-build permit for a 15-story residential tower at 939 West Washington Boulevard. Building atop the foundation permitted back in April, the 939 tower is the first of two structures at Union West that will ultimately contain 357 apartments, with 12,000+ square feet of ground-floor retail space and 255 parking spots.
bKL Architecture designed the two-tower development for ZOM Living. Power Construction is the general contractor, adding to their West Loop projects that include the Hoxton Chicago, 333 North Green, 180 North Ada, Milieu, and 900 West. (Wow. They’re really busy.)
There’s a cool-looking iron contraption on the site now. No idea what that’s about, but we’re pretty sure it’s structural and not sculptural.
And now, the photo gallery, with everything from that cool steel thing, to bKL Architecture renderings, to demo work, to now-removed buildings and parking lots.
56 West Huron glasses up the River North neighborhood.
56 West Huron, the 13-story, 10-unit condominium tower from Kiferbaum Development Group, has topped out in River North, and now Gilbane Building Company has started installing the curtain wall on the building’s exterior.
Designed by Studio Dwell, the tower will include 10 full-floor condominiums, plus one duplex penthouse unit topping them off. Completion is anticipated in Fall 2018.
Skender has planted a tower crane in the West Loop as they begin construction on Sterling Bay’s Hyatt House.
Very soon, we’ll be adding another name to the Chicago Tower Crane Survey. Skender has planted a stub at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and May Street in the West Loop, where they’re erecting the new Hyatt House hotel.
Sterling Bay is developing the 16-story hotel, conveniently located less than a block from the new McDonald’s HQ they’ve just built. Designed by Chicago firm Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, Hyatt House will bring nearly 200 guest rooms to the neighborhood, which you may have noticed is quite busy with construction. And that means people visiting new offices, and dropping in on residents of all those new apartments, will need a place to stay. Hyatt House will be ready for them.
Building Up Chicago 