1101 South Wabash digs deep

Posted on April 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Foundation work, getting down and dirty, at 1101 South Wabash.

There’s a hotel being built at 1101 South Wabash in the South Loop. And besides it being at the corner of Wabash and 11th Street, behind the Best Western Grant Park Hotel, that’s about all I can tell you of it. Sure, the original foundation permit tells us it will a 30-story hotel. But now there’s a revised permit, which calls for a 30-story mixed-use building.

Okay, not huge news. But there’s more; the revised permit now names Skender Construction as the general contractor, where Lendlease held that distinction on the original permit. Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture remains the architect of record.

With the former two-story parking garage a distant memory, the foundation is being dug and shored up. A tower crane permit was issued February 22, so we have that to look forward to.

: The new general contractor, according to the revised foundation permit.

: Lendlease signage remains all over the construction site.

: The Tower Crane permit, issued Feb 22.

One Grant Park plants a tower crane

Posted on March 31, 2017 by danieldschell

Scratch One Grant Park off the tower crane waiting list.

https://twitter.com/PDNAChicago/status/847801738648268800

Thanks to that tweet from Twitter user @PDNAChicago, we now know One Grant Park has begun installing a tower crane. The crane permit was granted (heh…Granted) way back on February 1, so it’s been a long wait.

The highly-anticipated Rafael Viñoly Architects design for Crescent Heights is delivering 76 stories and 792 apartments, plus 12,000 square feet of retail space, to the South Loop intersection of Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue.

Soon, McHugh Construction will have a new tower crane with which to begin sending One Grant Park into the sky. Hopefully, it won’t be a two-month wait like we had for the seedling. (Spoiler alert: It won’t be.)

: Someone’s in there.

: Foundation work, but not for the tower crane.

: Digging continues.

: The permit was issued Feb 1.

: Rendering of One Grant Park from Rafael Viñoly Architects.

Aloft Chicago Mag Mile sets foundations in Streeterville

Posted on March 31, 2017 by danieldschell

Stalworth Underground is on the foundation beat at the new Aloft Chicago Mag Mile.

Aloft Chicago Mag Mile rendering from the Tishman website.

With the former home of Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art erased from existence, the new Aloft Chicago Mag Mile has begun putting down roots into the Streeterville soil. This is a design from Valerio Dewalt Train Associates, but the project itself is all Tishman. That’s because Tishman is not only the developer, owner, and manager of the new 18-story, 336-room hotel, but they’re the general contractor too.

For now, Stalworth Underground is on the scene, drilling caissons upon which the Aloft Chicago Mag Mile will sit. Next, they’ll do sheeting work (not the making-the-bed kind) before Tishman sends the new hotel vertical. They expect have it open in Winter 2018.

Chicago’s new Apple Store is taking the glass box to 2 whole new levels

Posted on March 31, 2017 by danieldschell

What says “glass box” better than an actual glass box? That’s pretty much what Power Construction is building in Pioneer Court these days. And while some use the “glass box” description as criticism, the new Apple Store at 401 North Michigan Avenue along the Magnificent Mile sure is making it work.

: Glass-wall views to and from the Chicago River.

: Those lights scream PARTY BARGE.

: Still no cab, Abe?

Quick Look: The Sinclair tower crane is coming down

Posted on March 29, 2017 by danieldschell

I wasn’t fast enough on the draw to capture the tower crane at The Sinclair coming down this morning as the Purple Line passed by. But I recovered in time to get this shot between the Sedgwick and Armitage stops. That rooftop crane will handle the rest of the heavy lifting from here on out.

Riverline levels continue to rise

Posted on March 28, 2017 by danieldschell

Ancora represents the first phase of the Riverline development in the South Loop.

Progress continues at Ancora, the first phase of the huge Riverline project CMK Companies is building along the Chicago River in the South Loop. The 29-story tower is barely above street level, yet somehow it already appears to be soaring. With the help of Pepper Construction on concrete work, Lendlease has reached the third floor on some parts of the site.

The Perkins+Will design will bring 452 apartments to this first phase of Riverline. Future phases will ultimately bring nine more buildings, 16,500 square feet of retail space, and a new riverwalk to the neighborhood.

351 West Huron beaming itself into River North

Posted on March 28, 2017 by danieldschell

351 West Huron is a condominium development in River North at — ready for this? — 351 West Huron Street.

351 West Huron is a new condominium building fast entering River North. A project from Regency Development Group of Northbrook, 351 West Huron won’t be your typical condo. The seven-story structure will contain just six full-floor units, every one of them with three/four bedrooms and 4,500 square feet, a two-car garage, private elevator entrances, and, from what the renderings illustrate, to-die-for balconies and terraces. Hartshorne Plunkard Architects did the design work on the building; Summit Design + Build is on the build.

There’s already lots of steel framing the building, and floor plates were being added during a recent visit.

: a rendering of 351 West Huron from 351whuron.com

: The “typical” 3-bedroom floorplan.

Quick look: That’s a wrap on One South Halsted caisson work

Posted on March 28, 2017 by danieldschell

Unless there’s new technology allowing caisson to be dug without rigs, caissons look finished at One South Halsted.

A look after dark down on the One South Halsted site Monday night shows only one caisson rig remaining on site, and a horizontal one at that. The only logical conclusion one could make from this is that caissons are done.

As you may have guessed, I’m willing to skip straight to the tower crane portion of our program, but we’ll have to let Lendlease make that decision. For now, Case Foundation still has some equipment to remove from the lot, like augers and that big yellow rig lying on the ground. Then crews can get busy on the next phase of foundation work.

Landmark West Loop tops out

Posted on March 27, 2017 by danieldschell

A brooding Landmark West Loop from the B.U.C. HQ, through some Monday morning weather.

I must have had my back turned Thursday the 23rd, as the Landmark West Loop, the 30-story, 300-unit apartment tower at 1035 West Van Buren Street from Related Midwest, topped out last week. A press release from Lendlease that popped up on LinkedIn shared the news. A milestone moment for the Landmark to be sure, but also a forewarning that another tower crane will be disappearing from the West Loop landscape soon. Shooting stars, they are.

You can read Lendlease’s press release by clicking here, or see the text that follows a few photos from a sunny February day:

Lendlease & Related Midwest Celebrate the Topping Out of Landmark West Loop (Chicago, IL, March 23, 2017) Today, Lendlease, one of the largest construction management firms in Chicago, and Related Midwest, the pre-eminent developer of luxury condominiums and rental homes in Chicago, celebrated the topping out of Landmark West Loop, a new 30-story residential tower located at 1035 W. Van Buren in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The event, which included lunch and giveaways for the tradesmen and women, celebrated the structure reaching its maximum height, bringing the project one step closer to completion. “We’re very excited to celebrate the topping out of this highly anticipated project that will truly transform the West Loop,” said Bert Brandt, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Lendlease. “I want to acknowledge the combined efforts of Related Midwest, the design team, the union trades and our Lendlease project team for their tireless efforts in helping reach this significant project milestone.” “A quality development begins with a quality team, and our longstanding relationship with Lendlease allowed us to assemble just that — thanks to the dedication of the men and women working on this project, Landmark West Loop is on track for August move-ins,” said Don Biernacki, Senior Vice President of Construction at Related Midwest. “As work on the tower continues, we’ve already started pre-leasing and are thrilled by the response from prospective residents, many of whom have been waiting for this level of luxury rental housing to come to the West Loop and Illinois Medical District.” Located along the Eisenhower Expressway, Landmark West Loop is a 442,845-square-foot building featuring 300 luxury apartments and associated parking. Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, the building is targeting LEED Silver certification.

CA Washington goes for the gold

Posted on March 27, 2017 by danieldschell

CA Washington in the West Loop. Don’t look directly at it on a sunny day.

Normally, I advise you to take your construction photos on bright, sunny days. You may want to rethink that around CA Washington. It’s kinda bright.

The condominium development from Belgravia Realty Group has reached its ultimate height of six stories, some of which have been adorned in neon yellow. Personally, I’d like to see that color remain, but that doesn’t jibe with the renderings. A more impressive addition of late are the sweet balconies being hung from the sides of the 69 condos. Look nice? Well, if the “SOLD OUT” sign on the facade is accurate, you may have already missed your chance.

A design by Sullivan Goulette & Wilson, CA Washington is two buildings, with addresses at 27 North Aberdeen Street and 28 North Carpenter Street. It sits directly across Washington Boulevard from the new McDonald’s headquarters in the West Loop.