Essex On The Park celebrates the Poureth of July

Posted on July 3, 2017 by danieldschell

A swarm of activity at Essex On The Park as the concrete flows freely.

Monday is Concrete Day for Essex On The Park, as Power Construction crews spend the day between the holiday weekend and the actual holiday pouring concrete into the foundation for the new 56-story apartment tower from Oxford Capital Group. And of course, we’re not talking about little bits of concrete. We’re talking trucks lined up down the street, waiting to get their pour on.

One segment of the concrete being poured today is the foundation for the tower crane. The stub was planted almost two weeks ago, sitting there looking all lonely. But now it will have a home, and the crane can be fully assembled, and soon (we hope.) If it goes up before any other cranes come down, it will be #34 on the Chicago Tower Crane Survey.

1326 + 1 = 33: 1326 South Michigan erects Chicago’s 33rd tower crane

Posted on July 3, 2017 by danieldschell

It’s the new math. 1326 South Michigan put up a tower crane last week, raising Chicago’s total to 33.

https://twitter.com/skenrou/status/881190910649933825

That tweet from Twitter used @skenrou Saturday morning confirmed the shiny yellow luffer (not fighter) was up and ready to do Walsh Construction’s heavy lifting. 1326 still looks like a barren lot, albeit with a tower crane now poking up through the north edge of the site. But that will all change quickly, as the 47-story tower can now begin to go vertical.

: In the distance, a tower crane.

It’s demolition, man! Get ready for The Bentham

Posted on June 30, 2017 by danieldschell

Demolition started Thursday at the Erie-LaSalle Body Shop on Erie Street, making way for The Bentham.

As if this little corner of River North wasn’t busy enough…

Add The Bentham to the list. A little birdie let us know that Quality Excavation had begun demolition Thursday afternoon at the old Erie-LaSalle Body Shop at 146 West Erie Street, as well as the two-story building at 668 North LaSalle. Now a block that already includes work on The Ardus and Marlowe greets The Bentham.

The Bentham is the latest venture from Sedgwick Development. The 15-story, 172-foot-tall tower will have just 31 3-bed/3-bath residences.

We already know Adjustable Forms will handle the masonry work; they tweeted their excitement about getting started earlier in the week, along with a stellar rendering.

https://twitter.com/adjustableforms/status/879419107233456129

This lovely two-story model at 668 North LaSalle has to go as well.

Marlowe utilizes its tower crane to rise upward

Posted on June 29, 2017 by danieldschell

Marlowe is starting to go high in River North.

Marlowe is the 15-story River North apartment development by Lennar Multifamily Companies, and also the proud owner of one of Chicago’s newest tower cranes. The project by Antunovich Associates, at 675 North Wells Street, got its start in early May with caisson work, and now Power Construction has things moving skyward.

When complete, Marlowe will have 176 rental units in studio, one-bed, and two-bedroom sizes, plus 11,000 square feet of retail space at ground level. Lennar plans to have it open for residents in 2018.

Construction Update: Elevate Lincoln Park getting literal as it hits the tenth floor

Posted on June 26, 2017 by danieldschell

Steven Vance at Chicago CityScape elevated high above Elevate Lincoln Park for this fantastic shot!

Elevate Lincoln Park, the ten-story, 191-unit apartment complex from Baker Development, has elevated just about as high as it’s ever going to get. McHugh Construction crews have reached the tenth floor just over one year after demolition started on the site. And as if that isn’t accomplishment enough, the first row of glass has begun installation.

Rendering of Elevate Lincoln Park.

In addition to residences, Elevate Lincoln Park will include ground-floor retail space and three levels of parking. As you can see in the above photo from @ChiBuildings, the SCB design fits perfectly into the odd-shaped lot bounded by Lincoln Avenue, Altgeld Street, and the CTA’s elevated tracks.

Eight Eleven Uptown, you may now build to completion

Posted on June 26, 2017 by danieldschell

Going up? Eight Eleven Uptown is, thanks to the full-build permit received Monday the 19th.

Dateline 19-June-2017:

***DIRECT DEVELOPER SERVICES*** FULL BUILDING PERMIT FOR A PROPOSED 27 STORY RESIDENTIAL BUILDING WITH 373 DWELLING UNITS; GROUND FLOOR RETAIL; 278 PARKING SPACES; ALL AS PER PLANS.

And so it came to be that Eight Eleven Uptown, the newest residential tower from JDL Development and Harlem Irving Companies, was permitted by the City of Chicago to continue, and complete, construction in the Uptown neighborhood. That’s good news for Lendlease, who’ve shown no signs of slowing down while waiting on that permit. Eight Eleven Uptown, a design from Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, will include a Treasure Island food store and 6,000 square feet of additional retail space.

1326 South Michigan is getting into the tower-crane game

Posted on June 24, 2017 by danieldschell

https://twitter.com/ChrisAHorney/status/878399659307347968

Shout-out to Twitter user @ChrisAHorney from Murphy Development Group, who let us know the tower crane stub spotted at 1326 South Michigan on Thursday, was planted on Friday. He also let us know full assembly will begin on Monday.

We’ve all seen Walsh Construction’s work around town, so it was pretty obvious they know a horizontal stub wasn’t gonna do them much good when building a skyscraper, but it’s nice to have photo confirmation anyway.

Walsh will put that tower crane to work erecting the SCB-designed 46-story, 500-unit tower that Murphy Development Group is bringing to the South Loop in partnership with CIM Group.

: The tower crane stub, wearing special lil booties, waiting to be planted.

: Yep, it’s a shiny yellow Liebherr.

: That’s a formidable tower crane foundation.

Essex On The Park plants a tower crane

Posted on June 23, 2017 by danieldschell

Essex On The Park has a Stub In The Ground.

Chicago’s tower-crane count is back down to 32, and Essex On The Park won’t stand for it. Thursday, Power Construction planted a stub in the South Loop ground. Surrounded for now by rebar, the foundation will soon (today?) be filled with concrete, which will cure before the full tower crane can be assembled. Let’s watch the middle part of next week for that.

Throwback Thursday: London’s One Blackfriars

Posted on June 22, 2017 by danieldschell

One Blackfriars rises along the River Thames in London. This photo was taken from the Monument to the Great Fire of London, a great way to see the city.

One month ago we were in London, marveling at architecture old and new. And there’s a whole lot of new on the way. One of those projects is One Blackfriars. Like much of what’s being built right now around London, it is very distinctively shaped, and gorgeous.

One Blackfriars is a development from Berkeley Group. The 50-storey (no stories here; this is London, after all) glass tower will have 274 apartments and 161 hotel rooms along the south bank of the River Thames. The design is by the architecture firm of SimpsonHaugh and Partners. The general contractor (seriously, as I wandered London and saw this name on lots of new construction, I thought each one would include a large movie-theatre complex. Silly tourist.) is Multiplex. Multiplex is not a place to watch films and eat popcorn; Multiplex is a massive global construction company.

Alta Roosevelt fills in its final floor

Posted on June 21, 2017 by danieldschell

https://twitter.com/thebiggreenw/status/874345009591578626

Like a video-game master, Alta Roosevelt has reached the top level at 801 South Financial Place in the South Loop. The above tweet, from June 12, shows concrete crews pouring the last of Alta’s main floors. There will still be steel added on top for the penthouse, but you won’t see concrete trucks moving in and out of the 33-story apartment tower any longer.

Designed for Wood Partners by Pappageorge Haymes Partners, Alta Roosevelt is delivering 496 rental units with 348 parking spaces to the site immediately north of the new British School, between River City and the Metra rail tracks. Walsh Construction has been on the job since site prep began back in march 2016.