Category Archives: Residential

This is an even Bigger Deahl: 1475 North Kingsbury has a tower crane stub

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A tower crane stub juts from the ground at 1475 North Kingsbury

1475 North Kingsbury (Blackhawk?) is doing its part to get Chicago another new tower crane. Thursday morning, we found a brand-spankin’-new stub sticking out of the ground. It sure looked by the efforts at the base of the base that the stub had had just been set, but I was too timid to interrupt a very busy crew to get confirmation on its arrival date. The important thing is, it’s there, and the rest of the crane should soon follow.

As we noted in this very space back in April:

1475 North Kingsbury received a caisson permit and a tower crane permit Wednesday, April 6. Designed by FitzGerald, it will be a 27-story tower with 327 rental apartments. Along with Structured Development, two other developers join the team for this one: White Oak Realty Partners, and Ponsky Capital Partners. Ponsky’s website uses the name “Blackhawk” for this one; we’ll see if that moniker sticks. (Reminder: The Seng and Common Lincoln Park are both addressed on Blackhawk Street.)

Next up, photo. The first gallery is from Thursday’s crane discovery. Then you’ll see a batch taken May 1 of the last remnants of caisson work.


Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Progress Update: 900 Randolph (164 N Peoria)

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If you’re looking for the permits, 164 North Peoria is the address you’ll want. If you’re looking for details on the soaring new West Loop apartment Tower, 900 Randolph is the name you need.

Okay, it might not quite be soaring yet. But at 43 stories, 900 Randolph will soon be the tallest building in Chicago west of Halsted Street (not the Kennedy; I think that designation stays with 727 West Madison), as the West Loop and Fulton Market neighborhoods continue to grow upwards and outwards. And it’s making its way up, as the core appears to have reached the 14th or 15th floor.

Let’s catch you up on the latest progress, photographed Sunday, May 1.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Caisson work at 920 North Wells gets the North Union party started

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Stalworth Underground drills caisson at 920 North Wells

Holes are being drilled into the earth at 920 North Wells, as construction gets underway for the North Union megadevelopment from JDL Development. The gettin’-our-boots-dirty team of Power Construction, Stalworth Underground, and Adjustable Concrete Construction are all on hand to make rebar cages and pour some concrete.

JDL announced via Instagram Stories Wednesday evening that a caisson permit had been issued that day (along with word that One Chicago had reached full occupancy, so big CONGRATS on that) and here we are Thursday morning, with the city’s permit site showing the permit for caissons under a 21-story tower, and the first two caissons being bored.

920 North Wells, a design by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission as part of North Union project in May of 2021.

We’re going to enjoy 920 North Wells for now, but North Union will be overstimulating construction nerds for a long, long time. So get the lawn chair and cooler out of the garage, pack some snacks, and let’s go!

Oh, I almost forgot….I took pictures!

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Keeping up with 1000M

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1000M is a little more than tree-height. Here’s proof.

Now that 1000M is back in business, we want to be sure not to miss much. So here’s another round of photos of construction progress, taken Sunday the 10th.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Proof of caisson work abounds at Embry

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Sure, if you’re a neighbor along the first block of North May Street, you can feel the progress (to which one friend has attested.) For the rest of us, the best way to find out if caisson work on Embry (21 N May St) has begun in the West Loop is to go take a look. We went. We saw. We photographed.

McHugh Construction and McHugh Concrete, general and concrete contractors, respectively, got the full permit to build on April 5. A demolition permit to get 25 North May out of the way was issued January 28. We’re hoping to see a tower crane permit any day now.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

160 North Elizabeth taking big leaps skyward

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Impressive progress at 160 North Elizabeth

Progress at 160 North Elizabeth has doubled since our last visit, though the change seemed much more dramatic on first glance. This morning, Adjustable Concrete shared on its Linkedin page that they’re working on Level 9. They’re the concrete contractor for GC Clark Construction, so they would know.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

1400 South Wabash has gone 3D

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You don’t have to be up in the sky to watch progress at 1400 South Wabash anymore. Construction has risen above street level, on its way to 30 stories and 299 units. That’s Lendlease and Pepper Construction sending the Pappageorge Haymes Partners design onward and upward.

A fly-by view will have to do. 2700 North Sheffield has ditched the tower crane

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The tower crane adding a third building to the Edith Spurlock Sampson Apartments has come down, not before I snapped an iPhone shot from a passing Brown Line train, but before I got to the site on foot. There remains a lot of work to be done though, so I still got to see construction.

Leopardo Companies, in a joint venture with Ujamaa Construction, is the general contractor on a six-story building between the CHA’s two existing pieces of the complex. The new middle tower, designed by RATIO Architects, will bring 80 apartments and two floors of amenities.

The link above to Leopardo has a wealth of information about both the new building and the renovation of the existing tower. Check it out before you take a look at a short gallery of photos.

From the L, 3/21/22
From the L, 3/21/22
From the L, 3/21/22

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

1044 West Van Buren has a fresh canvas to begin construction

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Coming to this space: 1044 West Van Buren.

There’s now a vacant lot where 1044 West Van Buren will soon begin construction.

Tandem is building an 18-story, 196-unit apartment tower designed by Antunovich Associates here. Tandem will be their own general contractor, just as they were at Avra West Loop across the street. They got a tower crane permit on March 25, and the building permit followed on March 30. The two modest buildings previously occupying the site were issued demolition permits on September 30 of 2021. They’re long gone; hence the aforementioned blank canvas.

Tandem plans to have 1044 West Van Buren open for residents next spring.

Full build permit
Tower crane permit
Rendering from Antunovich Associates

This is another really Big Deahl: 1475 North Kingsbury scores its first two permits

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Rendering of 1475 North Kingsbury from FitzGerald.

If it seems like only this morning I shared photos from The Seng and Common Lincoln Park and their early construction progress, that’s be because it was this morning. Then later this morning came the news that The Shops at Big Deahl had two permits to start building another component.

1475 North Kingsbury received a caisson permit and a tower crane permit Wednesday, April 6. Designed by FitzGerald, it will be a 27-story tower with 327 rental apartments. Along with Structured Development, two other developers join the team for this one: White Oak Realty Partners, and Ponsky Capital Partners. Ponsky’s website uses the name “Blackhawk” for this one; we’ll see if that moniker sticks. (Reminder: The Seng and Common Lincoln Park are both addressed on Blackhawk Street.)

As with this morning’s two Big Deahl buildings, Power Construction is the general contractor. Maybe they’ll get started here before the Blackhawk Street tower crane comes down, giving us two tower cranes on the same project. Fingers crossed.

The caisson permit.
The tower crane permit.