Spotted: A mini tower crane in Phoenix. And IT IS ADORABLE

Posted on March 11, 2017 by danieldschell

One mini tower crane and lots of wood combine on Broadstone Roosevelt Row.

How many times do you sit at home, wondering why we have to live in a world where not every construction project will rise high enough to merit the use of a tower crane? Remember that in Chicago, we have a two-story project (Apple Store) and a three-story project (DePaul School of Music) that have tower cranes, so is there really a good reason not to have one? If only there was a market for mini-tower cranes.

And then boom. No pun intended. But here, on the streets of Phoenix, Arizona, I’ve found such a creature. All business up top, all counterweights down low. Like someone went to the gym only on leg day. It’s being utilized to build Broadstone Roosevelt Row, a multi-family residential block from Alliance Development. The design is by ORB (Office of Rich Barber) Architects of Phoenix. If I knew how to find building permits for Phoenix, I’d offer a little more information about the number of units and the like, but you’ll just have to settle for a few renderings and construction photos. And since Broadstone Roosevelt Row is a wooden wonderland right now, that’s not such a bad thing.

Oh, and that adorable little tower crane, too.

**My apologies to the general contractor on this one, as I haven’t been able to identify who it is. If someone lets me know, I’ll add them.

: Mini tower crane, and a little bit of the wood work, from a distance.

: Crane and sky. If you squint, it looks like a grown-up tower crane.

: The impressive weight stack.

: There *is* some concrete involved.

: Broadstone Roosevelt Row rendering from ORB Architects.

: Broadstone Roosevelt Row rendering from ORB Architects.

A Sunny Day At: The Phoenix Hampton Inn and Suites

Posted on March 9, 2017 by danieldschell

The Hampton Inn and Suites by The M.A. Mortenson Company, at Polk and 1st Streets in downtown Phoenix.

I hear sunny days are fairly common around these parts. So far, I concur.

Out in the far west suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, the M.A. Mortenson Company has just started construction on an 11-story Hampton Inn and Suites at the intersection of Polk and 1st Streets in the heart of downtown. Designed by PK Architects, the $33-million hotel will provide 210 guest rooms, and include amenities including a fitness center, meeting rooms, a business center, and a bar/lounge.

Here’s an OxBlue construction webcam

You can read more about the Hampton Inn and Suites at AZ Big Media

: Working on some sort of sunken maze.

: The Maze.

: This has nothing to do with the construction, but it’s either a tornado, or a huge margarita glass, and it’s kinda cool.

Prepping for a tower crane jump at Centrum Hubbard

Posted on March 7, 2017 by danieldschell

Two new sections of tower crane wait to take their reps at Centrum Hubbard.

All the tell-tale signs are there: Extra tower crane parts … Okay, that’s really the only tell-tale sign there is. But it’s also the only one you need.

Centrum Hubbard made (my) headlines last week by installing the first few panes of glass on the future residential building, and now it looks like the tower crane is gonna be jumpin’ very soon. of course, if you look towards the top of the crane, it appears it may have jumped recently, as well.

165 North Desplaines goes craneless

Posted on March 6, 2017 by danieldschell

You are in no danger of losing your jobs to me. I’ll be fine down here on terra firma.

This past weekend at 165 North Desplaines in the West Loop was spent dismantling and hauling away the tower crane that had been erecting the rental development since June of last year. The 14-story building topped out in late January, and now it’s a matter of buttoning up the exterior, and getting to work on 199 apartment interiors.

: Saturday morning, and disassembly begins.

: Moon and crane.

: Saturday night, a partial crane remains.

: Back at it Sunday morning.

: Lots of NOPE here

: Top o’ the Tower.

: Flying The W until the very end.

: Down the road it goes.

Dig this: There’s action at Nobu. (No, really, there is!)

Posted on March 4, 2017 by danieldschell

https://twitter.com/MalcolmMossman/status/837021488054222849

Just when we were starting to believe the Nobu Hotel project might be kaput, there appears to be whole-scale excavation happening on the lot at Randolph and Peoria Streets in the West Loop.

Twitter user @MalcolmMossman tweeted the above photo on Wednesday, after wandering past the site and noticing Taylor Excavation’s equipment peeking out above the secretive fencing. And sure enough, a closer inspection shows some real-live digging. Foundation work? Let’s hope so. It’s nice to see some ground move after it was broken way back in June.

: A machine that makes big dirt small. Cool.

: Not seeing any action at Nobu was getting tired, so this makes sense.

165 North Desplaines tower crane comes down this weekend

Posted on March 3, 2017 by danieldschell

A friday-night look at the 165 North Desplaines tower crane, which comes down this weekend.

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.

The West Loop got two new tower cranes within the past week, and on the same lot to boot, when McDonald’s erected a pair at 110 North Carpenter. But now we’ll have to give one back.

165 North Desplaines topped out over a month ago — on January 26th, to be exact — and now all the heavy lifting is done, and it’s time for this tower crane to move on. An email from the 42nd Ward tells us that happens this weekend.

As you shed a tear for the departing tower crane, remember we should have one soon at One South Halsted. And perhaps the Nobu Hotel, should this week’s excavation work be the real deal.

My iPhone and I stopped by 165 North Desplaines on the way home tonight, to take one last look.

: Crews were clearing access to the tower crane base Friday night.

It’s Craning Day at the Triple Hilton McCormick Place

Posted on March 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Thursday morning, this tower crane cab rolled past the B.U.C. HQ. On its way to the Hilton McCormick Place? Sure seemed like it.

Last week, we found the makings of a tower crane at the Triple-Branded Hilton Hotel at McCormick Place. That always means to be on high alert for assembly. Now, I can’t prove the crane parts I watched being driven down the Kennedy to the Dan Ryan this week were headed to McHugh Construction’s site, but it sure added up. A peek out the window Thursday morning confirmed that the crane was being set up down in the Prairie District. And field trip ensued, resulting in the following photos. Best guess is, assembly will be completed Friday.

Way off in the distance, tower crane set-up has been spotted. Time to head to the South Loop.

: This rolled by B.U.C. Wednesday morning, then exited at 18th Street.

: hat-tip to some blue sky for showing up out of nowhere.

: This crane is the real star of tower-crane assembly.

: Stacking counterweights.

Centrum Hubbard brings a touch of glass to the River North neighborhood

Posted on March 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Centrum Hubbard gets in on the glass action.

A big milestone has been reached in River North this week. The first level of cladding is being installed at Centrum Hubbard, the residential tower going up at 215 West Hubbard Street. The 23-story, 193-unit apartment companion to the 9-story office building next door at 412 North Wells, both designed by Hirsch Associates Architects, is up to the 17th floor.

The John Buck Company’s 151 North Franklin tops out

Posted on March 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Watching the beam rise at today's #151NFranklin topping out pic.twitter.com/ctX999RXrw

— The John Buck Company (@TheJohnBuckCo) March 2, 2017

And there it goes. Thanks to The John Buck Company for sharing news that 151 North Franklin topped out, and for capturing the moment the final beam rose skyward in photos. I stopped by Randolph and Franklin later in the afternoon to find Lendlease celebrating the event by hanging more glass.

You can see more photos from TJBC’s on its Facebook page here.

A Sunny Day At: 8 East Huron

Posted on March 1, 2017 by danieldschell

Straight up, 8 East Huron looks best on a sunny day.

Okay, so sunny days were almost the norm for awhile during our February Spring. Still, new construction is meant to be seen when the sun is shining. And winter ain’t over yet, so the sun could be gone just as quickly as it appeared.

Here’s an update on progress at 8 East Huron, the residential tower from CA Ventures and Harlem Irving Companies. The building, designed by Valerio Dewalt Train Associates, will have 102 apartments, 31 parking spaces, and more than 2,700 square feet of ground-floor retail. Clark Construction is on the build.