Essex On The Park is becoming Noticeable In The Skyline

Posted on October 11, 2017 by danieldschell

See it over there? Essex On The Park is starting to show through the trees of Grant Park.

From the east side of Grant Park, looking west, you can see Essex On The Park beginning its slow creep into the Chicago skyline. That’s what going vertical can do for a 56-story tower.

The giant, shiny, 476-unit project by Hartshorne Plunkard Architects will add 476 apartments to the Michigan Avenue streetwall. Oxford Capital Group, Essex On The Park’s developer, plans to have the residences open for move-ins in 2019. Remember that this project also includes the upgrading of the Essex Inn next door, expanding its capacity to 281 guest rooms.

That short red stubby tower crane Power Construction is using to build the apartment tower is fast becoming one of Chicago’s most photogenic. Take a walk around Grant Park, by by changing your location, you can use different buildings as a backdrop. Or, walk through the South Loop to the west, on Wabash or State Street, and get clear blue skies behind the tower crane. I know, I sound obsessed, but try it. You’ll see.

: Sears shots.

: Wait…are you Ceres right now?

Construction Progress: Hilton Homewood Suites is all 3-D

Posted on October 10, 2017 by danieldschell

The 30-story Hilton Homewood Suites at 1101 South Wabash, somewhat slow to get out of the ground, is starting to shoot upwards. Credit Lendlease for the progress on the hotel, which is scheduled to open late next year.

Hey, would ya look at 1326 South Michigan, going all three-dimensional!

Posted on October 10, 2017 by danieldschell

It’s going to be 47 stories tall. Nothing should surprise me about 1326 South Michigan starting to rise up from the ground. But sometimes foundation work can seem like such a chore, you forget there will be action above the surface. And now, 1326 is giving us such action.

Walsh Construction is getting the most out of their single Chicago tower crane, as the podium is starting to take shape at this South Loop site. (Don’t forget, Walsh will have a tower crane at Wolf Point East in the very near future, too.) The core is up about five stories too, making work much easier for to observe. Not to mention the peephole Walsh cut out for us along Michigan Avenue. That’s a company that cares, right there.

This one isn’t due to open until late in 2018, which seems a long way off now, but will be here before you know it. The SCB-designed tower will deliver 500 new apartments to the very busy neighborhood, thanks to co-developers Murphy Development Group and CIM Group. We got wind of a possible name change almost two months ago; hopefully we know the new moniker before Opening Day.

Eleven40 drops its pretty yellow tower crane

Posted on October 10, 2017 by danieldschell

A crane too low. (It’s okay to be sad.)

When I got home last night, in the dark, which angers me because I hate winter, I said out loud “Hey, does that crane look too low to you?” None of you answered, which is good, because it would have been creepy if you’d have been here, but sure enough, Lendlease began the task of dismantling the tower crane at Eleven40 yesterday, meaning Chicago’s tower crane count dips to 33.

Work will continue for the next couple days on removal. This morning, a crew is taking apart the upper tie-in. Photos follow:

Quick Look: The glass is half full at 1407 On Michigan

Posted on September 26, 2017 by danieldschell

Showing no ill effects of losing its tower crane a couple weeks ago, 1407 On Michigan continues to progress towards completion. The following photos were taken late (it’s gets dark at 6:30 now 😟) Tuesday afternoon. Late-day sunlight serves this project well.

And then there were two. Twice.

Posted on September 25, 2017 by danieldschell

One tower crane is cool. Two is spectacular. There might be sound functional reasons to employ two tower cranes on a job site, but it’s usually done for our entertainment. And two jobs sites came through for us last week.

The two tower cranes of The Lincoln Common.

W.E. O’Neil added a second crane up at The Lincoln Common. It.s two 20-story towers each require a crane of its own. And McHugh Construction added a second crane at One Grant Park. It’s primary function will be to construct the 16-story parking deck, while the first crane continues with the residential portion of the 76-story apartment tower.

A luffing crane has joined the fun at One Grant Park.

Chicago now has five construction projects with two tower cranes, joining the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center, One Bennett Park, and Vista Tower.

Here comes Tower Crane #2 at One Grant Park

Posted on September 20, 2017 by danieldschell

One Grant park’s original tower crane stands proudly over its latest project: Tower Crane #2.

As One Grant Park continues to grow, we saw growth of another kind on Tuesday: Tower Crane #2 has sprouted up from the stub planted on the site last week.

When I arrived late in the afternoon, the crane’s tower had grown, but the crawler crane on the lot last week planting the stub was nowhere to be found. That tells me Tower Crane #1 is putting Crane #2 together. Doesn’t that kind of teamwork just melt your heart. Crane #1 will continue working on the residential of the tower (that being the 792 apartments we all want to see the views from) and Crane #2 will work on the parking deck that extends up through the 16th floor.

As for the rest of work at One Grant Park that doesn’t involve assembling tower cranes, McHugh Construction crews look like they’ve reached the 15th floor, by my count. Just 61 stories to go to reach 76. We’ll have plenty of progress to watch for over the coming fall and winter months.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: More photos than you’ll ever need of a tower crane that isn’t even finished yet… plus the rest of progress on One Grant Park.

: This is what we can see without leaving the B.U.C. HQ.

: That view, zoomed.

The South Loop loses a tower crane, as 1407 On Michigan comes down

Posted on September 16, 2017 by danieldschell

Lendlease, Pepper Construction, and Central Contractor Services are all working the weekend, bringing the 1407 On Michigan tower crane down.

Any more posts about Lendlease, and they’ll have to put me on the payroll. When the B.U.C. HQ moved into the South Loop, we landed right in the middle of four of their construction sites. Maybe this is the Lend Loop now.

Lendlease’s job at 1407 On Michigan is losing its tower crane. Crews from Central Contractors Service and Pepper Construction are all on hand this weekend, as the crane is lowered from the sky. Russland Capital Group’s 15-story apartment building is topped out (you can see Lendlease’s press release here) and getting glassy, and all the heavy lifting is done.

When complete, the BKV design will include 199 studio to 3-bedroom-sized units, an outdoor pool, basketball court, and business center. The ground floor will have Rush Primary and Specialty Care facility. With three-and-a-half months remaining in 2017, meeting the original goal of having 1407 On Michigan open for residents before the end of the year seems like a stretch, but lets sit back and see how it goes. Mild fall months help.

: It’s lonely at the top when you’re a lame-duck crane cab.

: Headed down Michigan Ave.

: No, YOU sgtood in the middle of Michigan Avenue.

: The tower crane at 1326 South Michigan looks on nervously.

Sunset at Riverline shows off Ancora progress

Posted on September 15, 2017 by danieldschell

If you go by floor count, it looks like the Ancora tower at Riverline is a teenager now. The CMK Companies apartment-and-townhome building will grow to 29 stories when all is said and done, and Lendlease continues to build.

Like all new construction wrapped in multi-colored building materials, Ancora is best seen on sunny days. And the best-best views are in the evening, as the sun goes down, from the west side of the Chicago River.

: I missed a recent tower-crane jump.

Counting down Eleven40’s tower crane days

Posted on September 15, 2017 by danieldschell

Eleven40 is topped out, with forms remaining only on the east side. Prepare to lose that tower crane soon.

The way I figure it, as long as there are forms atop Eleven40 in the South Loop, I’ll still have a tower crane to see in the back yard. Once those are all down though, we can expect crane removal to happen post haste, as the apartment tower from CA Ventures and Keith Giles continues toward completion at 1136 South Wabash Avenue. And only the east elevation still has forms at all, so we’re getting down to crunch time.

Lendlease is crazy busy in the South Loop, with Eleven40, Ancora at Riverline, 1407 On Michigan, and Hilton Homewood Suites at 1101 South Wabash all climbing at the same time. Like Eleven40, 1407 is topped out, and its tower crane is expected to come down this weekend. Ancora is less than half way from its ultimate height, and the Hilton is just starting to go vertical.

But back to Eleven40. It will bring 320 apartments across its 26 stories when complete, with delivery expected in Spring 2018. As of Today 2017, there are 14 levels of glass installed above the podium, with crews banging and clanging pieces into place daily. From here, we’d say that Spring opening is a cinch.