732 West Randolph gets even with its neighbors

Posted on September 17, 2022 by danieldschell

I should explain that headline. You see, 732 West Randolph isn’t in a dispute with its neighbors. These ain’t the Hatfields and McCoys. In fact, 732 and 730 West Randolph are practically joined at the hip. 732’s first six levels will be connected to 730, with two additional levels rising just above the six-story 730. Make sense? Suffice it to say, both buildings are six stories tall now.

As is often the case with my procrastinating ways, here are photos from a couple recent visits.

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.

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Sterling Bay breaks ground on newly-permitted 225 North Elizabeth

Posted on September 16, 2022 by danieldschell

225 N Elizabeth will meet the moment in Chicago’s #FultonMarket, delivering in-demand residential units this fast-growing neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/qz9CqVyLv7
— Sterling Bay (@sterlingbay) September 14, 2022

Early this week, Sterling Bay broke ground on their latest residential project, then began tearing away at the concrete slabs that stand in its way, while also celebrating the caisson permit issued by the city on Tuesday.

225 North Elizabeth, in their own words, will be:

a 28-story mixed-use tower in Fulton Market featuring 350 modern residential units and approximately 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail. The building, which is designed to complement the industrial character of the neighborhood, will set a new standard for urban living in what has been named “the fastest growing submarket in the country”. Featuring residential amenities including two green rooftop spaces to connect tenants to the outdoors, indoor/outdoor fitness and pet suite facilities, as well as shared indoor work-life spaces to meet the growing demand for work-from-home accommodations, 225 N Elizabeth is where form meets function in Fulton Market.

Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture is the design architect. McHugh Construction is the general contractor, with McHugh Concrete doing the concrete work. That’s Lindahl Brothers out there having at the concrete.

Love seeing the height of the West Loop moving further west.

Disappearing this gigantic concrete slab was the first order of business at 225 North Elizabeth.

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More Embry? Sure, why not

Posted on September 12, 2022 by danieldschell

Two visits to Embry, actually. August 28, and September 7.

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900 Randolph is just cool

Posted on September 10, 2022 by danieldschell

900 Randolph has been fun to watch. Nothing fancy, nothing out of the ordinary. But tall, sleek, and darn near topped out. The skip is numbered up to 34; there are at least six poured floors above the 34th floor. That puts it into the 40s. It’s a 43-story building I was told there would be no math, but even I know that only leaves a couple levels to go.

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1044 West Van Buren is Sage West Loop now. And it’s topped out.

Posted on September 8, 2022 by danieldschell

Sage West Loop has topped out at 1044 West Van Buren.

Tandem announced in a LinkedIn post that they topped out 1044 West Van Buren last week. That same post also noted a name change: Sage West Loop is the West Loop’s newest new apartment project.

Sage West Loop will deliver 196 units across 18 stories with 78 parking spaces when completed in 2023. (Tandem’s website says the third quarter of 2023, but as quickly as they’ve reached final height, I wouldn’t be surprised to see tenants moving in much sooner than that.)

Congratulations on the topping out to Tandem, the developer and general contractor, design-architect Antunovich Associates, and concrete contractor Adjustable Concrete Construction.

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At Fulbrix, glazing is still going up. And coming down.

Posted on September 1, 2022 by danieldschell

160 North Elizabeth shall henceforth be known as Fulbrix.

You’re excused if you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about with “Fulbrix.” It was news to me too.

Fulbrix is the new moniker for 160 North Elizabeth. If if the “glazing coming down” thing sounds like a typo to you, that’s my way of pointing out that as glass continues to rise up the sides of Fulbrix, it’s also working its way down from the top. And there’s always something cool to me about seeing glazing up top with unglazed floors below.

Anyway, congrats to the development team of Moceri + Roszak, Thomas Roszak Architecture, Clark Construction, and Adjustable Concrete Construction on the new name, topping out, glassing up, and all the other milestones you’ve reached. There was a big crew meeting outside just before I walked around the site Wednesday, and I bet they were all celebrating their achievements.

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210 North Aberdeen set to erect Chicago’s first new tower crane in forever

Posted on August 29, 2022 by danieldschell

Sorry to be so dramatic. It hasn’t really been that long. But since we’ve lost three tower cranes (160 N Elizabeth, 166 North Aberdeen, 853 West Blackhawk) this month, it’s nice to see one going up.

And that’s going to happen starting Monday at 210 North Aberdeen. (h/t to Chris for dropping the hint.) That tower crane base is well-hidden, but the behemoth ALL Crane next to it gives away the story.

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One Six Six drops the tower crane

Posted on August 29, 2022 by danieldschell

We lost our third tower crane of August last week, as the Golden Lifter Of Heavy Things was dismantled and hauled away at One Six Six (166 N Aberdeen). It joins 160 North Elizabeth and 853 West Blackhawk (Big Deahl) in the history books. We thank them all for their service.

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First-hand proof: There’s glass on 900 Randolph

Posted on August 25, 2022 by danieldschell

I missed the first few pieces of glazing at 900 Randolph by one day last week. Luckily when I went back over Wednesday, it was still there. This is what I saw with my own eyes and lens:

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732 West Randolph eases its way into a tiny West Loop footprint

Posted on August 23, 2022 by danieldschell

732 West Randolph has begun climbing on the smallest tower-crane-enabled construction site in Chicago. The postage-stamp sized lot will soon hold a new eight-story boutique office building with 56,000 rentable square feet of working space. General contractor Maris Construction and concrete contractor Pepper Construction were working on the fourth level last week. Designed by Hirsch MPG, 732 West Randolph will connect on its first six floors with 730 West Randolph next door, and will include a rooftop deck and basement fitness center.