Real quick, some particulars on 354 North Union, then we’ll get to progress photos taken March 21:
Developer and general contractor: Onni Group Design architect: Pappageorge Haymes Partners Stories: 33 Units: 373 (rental apartment Parking spaces: 138 Tower cranes: 1 Neighborhood: Fulton River District
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.
McHugh Construction has picked up where they left off at 1000M.
The COVID pandemic, then some financial hardships, had us all a little worried about 1000M (1000 South Michigan Avenue) but now the JAHN tower is back, craned, and in 3D mode in the South Loop. Welcome back indeed.
It’s had some tweaks; when the original iteration was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission, the tower was to be 832′ high, with 506 dwelling units and 486 parking spaces. The new 73-story design, approved in June of last year, brings 738 apartments with 320 parking spaces.
McHugh Construction, which got foundation work underway late in 2019, got all the caisson work done and the tower crane stub planted, before COVID put a halt to work, and then things really hit the fan. But that’s all in the past now, and 1000M is going vertical.
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.
166 North Aberdeen is a 21-story, 224-unit apartment tower under construction in the West Loop. One of these days, I’ll do some research and find out why the building it will soon surround has horses at the top of it. But I digress.
166 North Aberdeen is a design by SCB and a development from MCZ Development. (MCZ also built 165 North Aberdeen right across the street.) Lendlease is on the build, with a hand from Pepper Construction on the concrete.
View of The Reed at Southbank from Franklin & Washington in The Loop.
The Reed at Southbank, the second tower in Lendlease’s mega development in the South Loop, continues to rise along the Chicago River. For those of you counting, and even those who aren’t, the core looks to be about 11-12 stories above the parking podium, with full floors rising 10 stories or so.
You already know tons about The Reed, right? You don’t need to hear me banter about details. I’ll just share progress photos from Monday the 21st.
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.
You’d think by now I’d be prepared to walk into the West Loop and not be stunned by development activity, even when it’s months between visits. Yet here we are in 2022, and I’m still in awe of everything going on in Chicago’s best neighborhood. (Yes, that’s a hill I chose to die on.)
Speaking of “months between visits” here are a couple friendly reminders for me before venturing out again:
Make sure the camera mirror and lenses are cleaned thoroughly before heading out to take photos.
See Rule #1
Now, having spent the last few days editing out the dirt marks from every picture I took, I can start showing you what I saw. And we’ll start with 900 Randolph.
900 Randolph is a development from Related Companies. This soon-to-be 43-story tower will bring 300 new residential units to the West Loop. The construction arm of Related Companies, LR Contracting, is the general contractor, with a helping hand from BOWA Construction. Morris Adjmi Architects (think Landmark West Loop) is the design architect.
900 Randolph received its:
demolition permit for 160 North Peoria on 6/25/2021
first building permit, (all addressed at 164 North Peoria) for foundations on 7/30/2021
tower crane permit on 8/10/2021
full-build permit on 8/27/2021
Some progress photos taken Monday, March 21. Sunny and 70 degrees. In other words, a prefect day.
Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.
Platform 4611 (4611 North Broadway) in Uptown is just a few blocks from home, and only a half-block out of the way of my commute to work and back. So I figured it was about time to lug the real camera out there and grab a few shots.
McHugh Construction is the general contractor. According to their website, the nine-story Platform 4611 will consist of 200 rental apartments atop 10,000 square feet of retail space, with parking spots for 22 cars and 178 bikes.
There are only a couple floors of curtain wall left to install on the east tower, but we still have one tower crane to savor here, so let’s make the best of the rest of our time together. (Cue dramatic music)
Now THIS is how you brand your building during construction.
Stellar signage atop Gild leaves no doubt as to what’s being built as you look up Rush Street to State.
I’m not quite sure what constitutes the second floor here, but that may very well be the underside of the 12th floor Power Construction is working on. That would darn near top out this 12-story apartment development.
After site prep work at 410 South Wabash to dig out under Van Buren Street, crews were pumping concrete into a new wall under the sidewalk Monday. There wasn’t a whole lot to see from the street, but I still spent far too much time watching.
The concrete was pumped thru the square ports in the sidewalk.
You can see the forms for the new wall behind the pillars.
Skip floor markings are visible to 36. My math says the additional 4 floors puts 300 North Michigan at the 40th floor.
Come at me if you want to, but there’s a new brand of NIMBYism out there these days: Instead of just complaining about a building blocking the view from your living room, you now get to complain about a new building blocking your view of something else, but not when you’re at home. No, this pertains to being out and about throughout the city. Or from that one particular spot you like to stand. This is next-level stuff.
Such seems to be the case with 300 North Michigan. Folks are upset that it will block the view of the Carbon and Carbide Building across the street. How about that. The rules are now such that you can’t build anything anywhere that will obstruct the view of anything anywhere. Looks like our next skyscraper will have to be built in DeKalb. (But I can’t see my corn field from the water tower now!)
Anyway, this is what 300 North Michigan looked like Monday, July 26. Using the markings on the skip, it looks like Linn-Mathes has reached the 40th floor, with the elevator core a couple stories higher, on their way to their ultimate 47-story height:
300 North Michigan, July 26, 2021
Like the photos? Appreciate the attitude/snark? No? Still, you can help offset expenses with a much-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.
Building Up Chicago 