Category Archives: New Construction

Hello, Eight Eleven Uptown: The Montrose – Clarendon project has a new name

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A rendering of Eight Eleven Uptown from Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture.

With the former Cuneo Hospital now history, the latest project from JDL Development and The Harlem Irving Companies, designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, is underway. And according to the JDL website, with the new beginning comes a new name: Eight Eleven Uptown.

The Eight Eleven comes from the apartment tower’s new address, 811 West Agatite Avenue. The Uptown, as you may have guessed, comes from its location in the Uptown neighborhood. The 27-story tower will include 381 apartments and nearly 30,000 square feet of retail space.

Stalworth Underground is on-site currently, driving H-piles into the ground; Lendlease is the general contractor.

The foundation permit for Eight Eleven Uptown was issued February 17.

Eight Eleven Uptown

Demolition of the Cuneo Hospital complex back in January.

One South Halsted caissons are closer to being done than I thought

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One South Halsted

Working in the dark – and the rain – to take down a caisson rig at One South Halsted.

Yesterday’s post about caisson work at One South Halsted served to inform you that Case Foundation was still drilling big holes into the ground and filling them with concrete. Well, I can confidently update you that whatever work remains can be done by a solo rig.

Friday-night lights on-site illuminated crews disassembling one of the caisson rigs, so unless another project is in desperate need, caisson work must be nearing completion.

One South Halsted Caissons

I didn’t dream it; Saturday morning shed some light on the rig removal.

One South Halsted Caissons

One South Halsted caissons

Looking down on 625 West Adams progress

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625 West Adams

Nope, that’s not a misplaced beam. The angle will help form the 11th-floor terrace at 625 West Adams.

625 West Adams terrace render

You get a good look at the 11th-floor terrace in this rendering from the 625 West Adams website.

Maybe it won’t be called the 13th floor, depending on the superstitions of those in charge of such decisions, but 625 West Adams is up to the 13th floor these days. Along with all the iron beams and metal flooring being added to the 20-story office tower, the 11th-floor terrace is taking shape, what with its angled beam overhead. The word from Power Construction is to watch for another terrace at the 19th floor.

By best guestimate, the core looks to be stuck at about the 17th floor, but that will be rising soon as well. Co-developers CA Ventures and White Oak Realty Partners plan on having 625 West Adams open for tenants to start moving in their fax machines and dot-matrix printers and setting up shop in March 2018.

Digging Case Foundation’s One South Halsted digging

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One South Halsted

Once you start pouring concrete into a caisson, you have to finish. Sometimes One South Halsted stays active into the evening hours.

Case Foundation is still on the case at One South Halsted, and it’s because caissons don’t dig themselves. As you may recall, One South Halsted went from permit to really busy in about two heartbeats, and work hasn’t let up since. The official caisson count from the B.U.C. HQ vantage point is “bunches and bunches,” with the assumption that they’ll be wrapped up very soon. Then, Lendlease can take over the vertical portion of the 46-story apartment tower by FitzGerald Associates Architects.

Co-developers Fifield Companies and F&F Realty are bringing 492 rental units to the Greektown section of the West Loop. Situated alongside the Kennedy Expressway, the curvy, highly visible tower will be fully loaded with amenities that it will share with the Crowne Plaza hotel next door. Which is only fair, considering One South Halsted commandeered Crowne’s parking lot for its own site.

 

As Atrium Village changes, some of it will remain the same

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Atrium Village January

Construction at Atrium Village way back in January. The now-safe midrise building at 300 West Hill Street is on the left.

As construction of the new 31-story, 400-unit apartment tower at Atrium Village continues, developer Onni Group sent a letter yesterday to residents of the complex, stating the mid-rise building at 300 West Hill Street will not be demolished, as was the original plan. That means 207 households will no longer be displaced by redevelopment.

Onni cited input and concern from current residents about finding new residences as the reason for the decision, and they have the backing of the city, the Near North Unity Program, and Alderman Walter Burnett.

More January progress photos:

 

Instruments of construction keeping good time at the DePaul School of Music

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DePaul School of Music

Rendering of the DePaul School of Music from Antunovich Associates.

Construction of the new DePaul School of Music continues in earnest on DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus. Bulley & Andrews and their ridiculously long tower crane have been going vertical on the site since Spring of 2016. Antunovich Associates has designed a three-story structure that includes two recital halls, a concert hall, student practice and classrooms, and more than 100 below-grade parking spaces. DePaul plans to have the facility open for student use in Spring 2018.

Phlashback to Phoenix: Banner – University Medical Center

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Banner University Health Center Phoenix

The Phoenix Mountains provide the stellar background for Banner – University Medical Center. It’s Prentice-like predecessor sits just to the right.

Way out in the far west suburbs — Phoenix, Arizona — Banner Health is erecting a brand new addition to its Banner – University Medical Center. Designed by HKS Architects, which counts both Chicago and Phoenix as two of the many cities in which it maintains offices, the new facility will consist of a 13-story patient tower atop a three-story podium, housing the emergency department and more. DPR Construction is the general contractor, tasked with having the project complete and ready to treat patients in 2018.

Sterling Bay’s C.H. Robinson HQ taking shape at 1515 West Webster

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1515 West Webster C.H. Robinson

At left, 1515 West Webster. In the foreground, the Chicago River. In the background, that magnificent Chicago Skyline.

Construction progress has already reached the third dimension at Sterling Bay‘s development at 1515 West Webster Avenue on the western edge of Lincoln Park. The four-story, 207,000-square-foot facility will be the new headquarters of third-party logistics juggernaut C.H. Robinson. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Sterling Bay expects to have the new office digs open in mid-2018. For now, that’s up to Power Construction, who look to be making good headway toward that goal.

McDonald’s goes three-dimensional. And I’m lovin’ it

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McDonald's in 3D

The second floor is showing at the new McDonald’s Headquarters in the West Loop.

Life happens quickly. What did you expect from two tower cranes?

To no one’s surprise, the new McDonald’s Corporation Headquarters in the West Loop has lifted off the ground. After weeks of attending to ground-level matters (they’re still at it) McHugh Construction has started going vertical. That mostly good news, because now we can see what’s going on above the perimeter fencing, but bad news because no one with an adjacent balcony or rooftop has offered their vantage point to me for looking downward onto progress. Stuff is harder to see as it gets higher, you know.

Anyone else ready for Nobu caissons? (corrected)

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Nobu Hotel Chicago caissons

Yes, let’s get that thing put together and rip up some earth!

*** STOP THE PRESSES!

Too late? Twitter user and follower @Rjoyce21 informs me that I’m not looking at the assembly of a caisson rig, but rather a “quad sheet press.” So, still a step toward foundation progress, but no caissons. Bummer.

Thank you, Ryan. ***

Because I sure am.

Construction of the Nobu Chicago Hotel at 854 West Randolph Street in the West Loop has been a roller coaster ride at best, a roller coaster ride where you stood in line for two hours and then they closed the ride for repairs just as you got to the front of the line at worst.

All exaggeration, of course. But it’s been interesting. Ground was broken in June. Soil was sampled in July. Then additional height was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission in September, and caisson material was delivered to the site. Then, those materials were gone. Then everything was gone. A foundation permit was issued December 1st, but still no action.

Finally, earlier this month, a crew from Taylor Excavating showed up and started digging. And now yesterday, folks from Hayward Baker were on site setting up a caisson rig. So it looks like the 11-story, 119-room hotel is really happening.