Darn Near Done: North+Vine approaches its opening

Posted on January 29, 2020 by danieldschell

North+Vine, at 633 West North Avenue in Old Town.

We don’t need another category of blog posts around here, but if we did, it would be Stuff I Didn’t Get To Until It Was Darn Near Done.

It’s hard to tell just walking by whether North+Vine is open yet. Sure, there’s work to be done inside, but are those the retail spaces? The lobby? Hmmm.

North+Vine, at 633 West North Avenue in Old Town, is a collaboration from developers White Oak Realty Partners, CA Residential, and GID. A design by West Loop firm FitzGerald, the 11-story rental building brings 260 apartments to the old Father & Son Plaza site. This is a Power Project, and again, it looks like the have it darn near done.

: My only tower crane shot, from August 2019.

Demolition Update: Fifteen Fifty on the Park

Posted on May 10, 2018 by danieldschell

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.

: The Foundation Permit.

: Fifteen Fifty on the Park rendering from Golub.

Do soil sampling rigs signal the start of Equis of Old Town?

Posted on April 25, 2018 by danieldschell

No. No they do not. Permits would signal the beginning of Equis of Old Town. But soil sampling rigs are a great sign. Heck, one is a good sign. Two must mean the condominiums on the former site of Noble Horse Theater and Stables are very close to beginning.

LG Development Group (Illume Chicago, The Ronsley) is bringing 1, 2, and 3-bedroom condos and residences, 175 units in total, to the now vacant lot bounded by Sedgwick, Schiller, and Orleans Streets. There are no permits yet, so we don’t know when construction will actually begin, but this is one to keep an eye on.

Fifteen Fifty on the Park begins demolition, but saves the Village Theater facade

Posted on February 28, 2018 by danieldschell

Demolition for Fifteen Fifty on the Park

3 stacked shipping containers are being used to stabilize the Village Theater facade, which is being saved.

Demolition has begun at three addresses in Old Town, as space is cleared for the new Fifteen Fifty on the Park. The threes are wild, as another trio, this one of developers, are building the new project. Golub, CIM Group, and Avoda Group are collaborating on the 10-story building, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz.

One of the buildings to be demolished, at 1548 North Clark Street, is the old Village Theater. Its facade is being saved, and Power Construction is utilizing one more 3-fer, this time with three shipping containers stacked atop each other, as a means of stabilizing that facade while everything else crumbles around it. We’ve seen Power use this technique before, at the Ace Hotel site in the West Loop.

According to Golub’s website, Fifteen Fifty on the Park will include 32 luxury condos, 2,600 square feet of retail space, and parking for 66 vehicles.

Taylor Excavating is doing the demolition work.

: Rendering of Fifteen Fifty on the Park from Golub’s website.

: Demo permit for Village Theater at 1546 North Clark.

: 101 West North Avenue demo permit.

: 109 West North Avenue demo permit.

: I operate on the assumption that the 109 demo permit includes 113-115 as well. Or another permit is coming.

: These facades will *not* be saved. I hope.

Checking in on an Old Town TOD

Posted on April 24, 2017 by danieldschell

Six stories of new TOD at 1550 North Wieland Street in Old Town.

When we last paid a visit to the 200-block of West North Avenue in Old Town last fall, a couple venerable old buildings at 227 and 233 West North were being demolished to make room for a new Transit Oriented Development from JAB Real Estate. That new TOD has now topped out.

Located at 1550 North Wieland Street per the city’s building permit, the new six-story, 60-unit building is designed by Space Architects + Planners, and will include parking for 20 cars and 60 bicycles. There will also be ground-level retail. Maris Construction (CA Washington) is the general contractor.

: Rendering of 1550 North Wieland from Space Architects + Planners.

: The Building Permit.

Quick Look: Not even rubble remains at O’Brien’s in Old Town

Posted on April 22, 2017 by danieldschell

Ironically, the most prominent remnant of O’Brien’s in Old Town is the guard rail that used to protect the restaurant from traffic.

Only a tiny pile of debris remains after just three days of work.

It’s an Old Town Teardown as O’Brien’s meets the wrecking claw

Posted on April 18, 2017 by danieldschell

When this shows up at your table, you better hurry and clean your plate.

Tuesday was Last Call at O’Brien’s Restaurant at 1528 North Wells Street in Old Town, as a crew from Heneghan Wrecking went about making space for a future hotel on the site. Permitted for demolition in March, O’Brien’s closed in late August, but plan to be back in business as part of the new boutique hotel slated for the site. That hotel, approved by the Chicago Plan Commission in June 2016, will be 13 stories high with 188 guest rooms, and, teamed with four single-family homes, will include demolition of the building next door, at 1520 North Wells.

: Rendering of the new hotel from Condor Partners

: The Demolition Permit.

: Heneghan WSrecking showing up to do what they do.

: The clock is being saved.

: The back of the house.

: Beer garden.

: There was a crowd, as expected.

: First came the fencing.

: And then the demolition.

: 1520 North Wells Street will also be demolished.

: But it has no demolition permit as yet.

: Bidding on this sign for the B.U.C. HQ.

: 1520 North Wells.

: Interior views Tuesday morning, just before demo began.

: 25

: These murals…

: …are gone now.

Sedgwick Development begins work at confusing Chicago intersection

Posted on October 7, 2016 by danieldschell

301 West North Avenue is in the early staged of construction.

The corner of West North and North North Park, in Old Town. Come on, that’s a little awkward to say.

Regardless, Sedgwick Development (you know them from 1325 North Wells, if you’ve been keeping up with the blog) has begun the process of turning a surface parking lot at 301 West North Avenue into a 7-story residential building. As with the aforementioned North Wells project, Sedgwick is the architect, developer, and general contractor on 301 West North. It will include 69 dwelling units, ground-floor retail, and below-grade parking.

: The permit, on site.

: The permit, more user-friendly.

Construction Update: Sedgwick Development’s 1325 North Wells

Posted on October 3, 2016 by danieldschell

1325 North Wells, by Sedgwick Properties.

1325 North Wells is new mid-rise apartment building coming to 1325 North Wells Street in Old Town. It’s being built by multi-tasker extraordinaire Sedgwick Development, which serves as architect, designer, developer, and general contractor on the project.

1325 North Wells broke ground back in March. When complete, it will provide 60 luxury 1, 2, and 3-bedroom rental units, 30 parking spots, and about 3,200 square feet of ground-level retail space. As you’ll see in the photos below, construction crews have just risen above street level.

: From humble beginnings…1325 North Wells back in April.

: The building permit, filed in October

Doom and destruction on North Avenue

Posted on September 30, 2016 by danieldschell

They are ripping apart a couple buildings in Old Town to make room for a new apartment development.

Crain’s had the story back in April about the two properties, 227 and 233 West North Avenue, that will be replaced by a 6-story, 60-unit rental building from JAB Real Estate. According to Crain’s, the project also includes 20 parking spots and 2,000 square feet of retail space.

Use the neighbor's fire escape to catch the demolition debris so it doesn't fall to the ground. Smart. https://t.co/nQIgSNHtfL

— Daniel Schell (@thedanielschell) September 30, 2016

For the time being, KCOM Environmental of Fort Wayne, Indiana (don’t be fooled by the address on the demolition permit. It says Chicago, but that’s a Fort Wayne address and zip code) has the task of tearing down the old structures and clearing space for the new, illustrated here with the video above, and the photos below.