Category Archives: South Loop

1101 South Wabash is starting to rise from the depths

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Hilton Homewood Suites 1101 South Wabash

A bird’s-eye view of construction at the Hilton Homewood Suites, 1101 South Wabash in the South Loop.

After a lot of digging and shoring of its foundation, there’s vertical work happening at 1101 South Wabash in the South Loop. The 30-story hotel from S.B. Yen Management Group of Hinsdale was designed by Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture, and Lendlease is the general contractor.

A press release from Lendlease at groundbreaking states the hotel will be flagged as a Hilton Homewood Suites. There will be 281 rooms and suites, 71,000 square feet of parking, and an 8th-floor amenity level including a pool and fitness center, all ready for use late in 2018.

Essex On The Park wraps up caisson work; sheet driving up next

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Essex On The Park

Time to dismantle the caisson rig and let the sheet driver get at it.

Case Foundation is done, and now it’s Stalworth Underground’s turn, as foundation work at Essex On The Park continues in the South Loop. With all the big holes drilled into the earth, up next comes the piles of sheeting stacked in the southwest corner of the site, and then Essex can get a tower crane moved in. I hope.

Construction Update: The Three Hiltons at McCormick Place

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Triple-Brand Hilton

Hilton’s first Triple-Brand Hotel begins to rise at 123 East Cermak Road in the South Loop.

There are three Hilton hotels being built into one structure down at 123 East Cermak Road in the Prairie District “sub neighborhood” of the South Loop. That’s really all you need to know, but for the sake of word count, they are the Hilton Garden Inn Chicago McCormick Center, the Hampton Inn by Hilton Chicago McCormick Center, and the Home2 Suites by Hilton Chicago McCormick Center.

Developers First Hospitality Group and Hilton are banking on McCormick Place visitors appreciating having lodging options to choose from, hence the optimal location between the convention campus and the revitalized Motor Row.

A couple sunny days, including Tuesday’s unlocked doors at the McCormick Place rooftop garden, provided perfect conditions to catch up on McHugh Construction’s progress on Antunovich Associates’ design.

 

 

 

One Grant Park rising up from the corner of Roosevelt and Indiana

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One Grant Park

One Grant Park has begun making its push toward the sky in the South Loop.

One Grant Park has begun going vertical at the south end of Grant Park, and the corner of Roosevelt and Indiana will never be the same. The shiny 76-story, 792-unit apartment tower from Rafael Viñoly Architects is a busy site these days, and you know longer have to stand on tip-toes and peer over the fences to catch the action. In fact, you could pack a picnic and sit amongst those leg-statue thingies and watch McHugh Construction work whilst you dine in the park.

1326 South Michigan rings in summer with more H-Pile driving

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Yeah, it’s loud. If you’re anywhere near the South Loop, you probably realize that already.

Stalworth Underground continues driving the 360 H-Piles into the ground that will support the weight of 1326 South Michigan. This one can’t have caissons; the soil just isn’t meant for that type of foundation. Those H-piles will do the work instead. 46-story residential towers are heavy, apparently.

Scenes from One Grant Park

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Before we get to the many many photos, a quick recap of One Grant Park:

The address is 1200 South Indiana Avenue in the South Loop. The 76-story apartment tower will have 792 rental units, 622 parking spaces(!), and 12,000 square feet of retail.

Crescent Heights is the developer, Rafael Viñoly Architects did the design, and McHugh Construction is the general contractor. (One Grant Park is one of seven McHugh tower cranes in Chicago right now.)

1136 South Wabash keeps climbing into the South Loop sky

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1136 South Wabash

One of Lendlease’s 8 Chicago tower cranes works above 1136 South Wabash in the South Loop.

Ever wonder which general contractors have the most tower cranes in the air around Chicago? Well, for right now, the leader in the clubhouse is Lendlease with 8. Power Construction and McHugh Construction are hot on their heels with 7 apiece.

One of Lendlease’s cranes is busy stacking floors atop floors at 1136 South Wabash. 1136 was previously best known for obscuring Hebru Brantley’s Flyboy mural on the wall of next-door neighbor 1132 South Wabash Avenue. But art lives on, and it’s time to recognize the new Solomon Cordwell Buenz-designed project for bringing 320 new apartments to the South Loop. Developed by CA Ventures, there will also be 143 parking spaces in the 26-story tower. Never mind that you’ll be able to fall out of bed and land in Stan’s Donuts, or Five Guys, or Belly Up Smokehouse, or Eleven City Diner, but 1136 South Wabash is also about 7 long strides from the Roosevelt CTA station. That’s delicious convenience right there.

Construction Update: 1411 South Michigan

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1411 South Michigan

An overhead view of 1411 South Michigan. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Healy.

Gravity seems to be no obstacle at 1411 South Michigan, as Lendlease workers (with assistance from Pepper Construction on the concrete work) continue erecting a 15-story residential tower for Russland Capital Group. BKV Group’s design will include 199 apartments for rent, plus more than 40,000 square feet of commercial space. Russland hopes to have 1411 South Michigan open before the calendar flips over into 2018.

Construction Update: Ancora at Riverline

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Ancora at Riverline at Sunset

Ancora at Riverline, at sunset, from the Harrison Street bridge.

Ancora at Riverline

Ancora from above, courtesy Olin Eargle of @properties.

Call it Ancora, call it Phase One of Riverline, call it whatever you want, but it’s growing. And will continue to do so until it reaches 29 stories. CMK Companies’ first portion of the Riverline development along the Chicago River is making its presence known in the South Loop. The podium has reached the fourth level, while a pair of cores shoot up through the center. You’ll find the best spots to view Lendlease’s handiwork along the Harrison Street bridge.

Pile driving has begun at 1326 South Michigan

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1326 South Michigan

A few of the first H-piles at 1326 South Michigan.

If you’re out searching for caisson work, don’t waste your time at 1326 South Michigan. The 46-story, 500-unit tower from Murphy Development Group and CIM Group won’t have them. Instead, the SCB-designed tower will sit atop H-piles, which Stalworth Underground is on site attending to now. According to Stalworth, the South Loop soil simply isn’t made for caisson work, so H-piles will be driven about 90 feet down into the bedrock.

How many H-piles does it take to support a 47-story building? 360, again according to the folks at Stalworth. Each pile is capable of supporting 350 tons, so that’s 252 million pounds of concrete and steel and glass and sofas and appliances that can be supported. Oh, and 190 cars. That’s a decent amount of weight there, too.

Stalworth started driving piles at 1326 South Michigan last week.