A core is rising at the Nobu Hotel

Posted on October 9, 2017 by danieldschell

The core is rising from the ground at the Nobu Hotel.

That tower crane Centaur Construction put up is paying dividends, as the core has risen above street level at the Nobu Hotel at 854 West Randolph Street in the West Loop. The Nobu won’t rise high — just 11 stories — so the every inch of growth looks significant.

Speaking of significant, the opening of Nobu will be significantly later than the “late 2017” estimate from that press release linked above. Remember, Nobu famously broke ground (famous because Robert De Niro was here for it) back in June of 2016, but foundation work didn’t get underway until March of this year. The new release date (it’s a De Niro production, so I used a movie-industry term. Get it?) is now 2018, according to the Nobu Hotels website. That’s easily doable for Centaur.

: First, a couple tower crane shots.

Tower-Crane Watch continues at Hayden West Loop as foundation work goes deep

Posted on October 9, 2017 by danieldschell

No stub yet, as foundation work continues at Hayden West Loop.

We’re still waiting for a tower crane stub at Hayden West Loop. Caissons are done, and digging continues as Macon Construction works on Sulo Development’s latest condominium project.

Hayden has a sales office open just around the corner, on May Street, and it looks like about half of its 28 units are sold. Those homes consist of four duplex penthouses and 24 three-bedroom residences, ranging in size from 3,200 to 5,000 square feet.

: Booth Hansen render.

: Hayden West Loop is a model building.

An October Flag Crane Tank shot, featuring Chicago’s newest tower crane

Posted on October 6, 2017 by danieldschell

Chicago’s newest tower crane, our 34th in the sky right now, provides us with today’s American Flag-Tower Crane-Chicago Water Tank shot.

We’ve been on this block before and featured the same flag and tank.

Sterling Bay is responsible for both the tower crane, now at work for Leopardo Companies at 210 North Carpenter…

..and for the flag, which sits atop Venue One at 1034 West Randolph.

The water tank is atop 1035 West Lake Street.

Tower Crane #34 is up and running at 210 North Carpenter

Posted on October 6, 2017 by danieldschell

Chicago’s 34th active tower crane, and 57th of 2017, is up and running at 210 North Carpenter. This is Leopardo Companies’ only tower crane on the official count, and their first since finishing the heavy lifting a few blocks away at Fulton West.

Illume Chicago rises to 7/10 of its ultimate height

Posted on October 4, 2017 by danieldschell

Progress on Illume Chicago has reached the underside of the 8th floor.

LG Development’s 10-story West Loop condominium project, Illume Chicago, at 111 South Peoria, continues to progress upward, on its way to delivering 79 luxury condos next to Mary Bartelme Park. Designed by Pappageorge Haymes Partners, Illume Chicago broke ground in December 2016. It will feature residences on floors 2 through 8, with duplex condos spanning the 9th and 10th floors, with 94 parking spaces on the first floor and underground. Illume’s website shows it to be more than 60% sold.

: The view from Mary Bartelme Park.

The Van Buren will break ground Wednesday morning in Greektown

Posted on October 2, 2017 by danieldschell

A rendering of The Van Buren, at 808 West Van Buren from bKL Architecture.

Once known simply as “808 West Van Buren,” The Van Buren will break ground in an official ceremony Wednesday morning at its Greektown construction site at Halsted and Van Buren Streets.

Representatives from developer Loukas Development, design architect bKL Architecture, and general contractor Lendlease will all be on hand to plunge shovels into the ground to celebrate the new 12-story West Loop tower, according to a press release issued by Loukas Development on Monday.

The Van Buren began with a foundation permit back in April, and has since completed caisson work, done a major amount of foundation digging, and planted a tower crane stub. When complete late in 2018, The Van Buren will deliver 148 rental apartments to the neighborhood.

You can read Loukas Development’s full Press Release below, followed by a few more gorgeous renderings from bKL Architecture:

Groundbreaking Event: Wed. Oct. 4, 2017

Loukas Development Announces Construction Start of The Van Buren, a mixed-use development at 808 West Van Buren Ave., Chicago

WHAT: Loukas Development will host a groundbreaking ceremony at The Van Buren, a 12-story boutique mixed-use development in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The 148-unit building is being developed at 808 West Van Buren Ave.

When: Wed. Oct. 4^th — 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

WHO: Representatives from Loukas Development, bKL Architecture, Lendlease and Washington Capital will break ground and discuss the project.

WHERE: 808 West Van Buren Ave., Chicago; on the northwest corner of Halsted St. and Van Buren Ave.

PHOTO OPPS:

During the event, members of the media will be able to:

Capture the ground breaking/shovel ceremony in photographs featuring development, architectural, and capital sources
Meet Loukas Development Managing Director Aristithis Loukas; hear him explain the vision behind The Van Buren
Meet with and discuss the project design with the architect, bKL Architecture; learn more about how amenities at multifamily new construction continue to evolve
Learn about this transit-oriented project, which will bring a new luxury rental experience to the southeast section of the West Loop.
See renderings of the project which will demonstrate how The Van Buren will fulfill a demand for luxury housing and specialized retail offerings

About Loukas Development

Established in 1978, Loukas Development is an innovative commercial real estate development and management firm with a strong focus on infill, transportation-oriented development in dynamic and high growth urban locations. The company has completed the development, renovation, leasing and conversion of over 500 residential units, including several high profile mixed-use developments in the Chicago area.

Loukas Development has an operating and development platform capable of scaling quickly for institutional opportunities while remaining connected to the Chicago neighborhoods we serve. Our mission is to redefine and reshape the urban commercial, residential, and mixed-use experience through a combination of state-of-the-art design and solid construction techniques. For more information, visit www.loukasdevelopment.com.

About Washington Capital Management, Inc.

Loukas Development’s capital partner on the project is a limited liability company managed by Seattle-based Washington Capital Management, Inc. on behalf of its clients.

Washington Capital Management, Inc. (WCM) is an employee owned investment advisory firm founded in 1977. WCM headquarters are located in Seattle, Washington, with branch offices in Portland, Spokane, Anchorage, Southern California, Northern California and Boston. For more information on WCM, please see http://www.wcmadvisors.com.

About bKL Architecture

Founded and led by Thomas Kerwin, bKL Architecture is a Chicago based architectural firm with extensive experience in the design and execution of large scale mixed-use building projects. bKL’s core principles include design excellence, technical acumen and viable solutions to complex problems. Open dialogue within its studio cultivates collaboration, communication and cohesive designs that enrich the sites and cities around the world in which they build.

: All renderings via bKL Architecture.

: All renderings via bKL Architecture.

: All renderings via bKL Architecture.

: All renderings via bKL Architecture.

No time to celebrate #33, as Tower Crane #34 goes up in the West Loop

Posted on October 2, 2017 by danieldschell

The gang’s all here, as Leopardo Companies, Adjustable Forms, and Central Contractors Service set up the tower crane at 210 North Carpenter.

The West Loop is in a full-fledged tower-crane frenzy these days, and it won’t let up any time soon. We’ve barely had time to enjoy Tower Crane #33 in Chicago (raised over the weekend at 900 West) and already #34 is being erected, at Sterling Bay’s 210 North Carpenter.

This will be Chicago’s 57th tower crane of 2017, and the seventh crane operating currently in the West Loop.

Crews from Leopardo Companies, Adjustable Forms, and Central Contractors Service are all on site today, getting the Manitowoc MD485 set up, less than a week after the permit was issued, and only five days after the stub was planted in the ground.

: The cab was trucked in early this morning.

: The stub was planted Thursday.

: Crane parts await assembly on Randolph Street.

: Another crane will sit right next to the CTA Green and Pink Line L tracks.

With caissons complete, 210 North Carpenter pulls a tower crane permit (updated)

Posted on September 28, 2017 by danieldschell

*** This story has been updated with the photo below. Leopardo Companies was having the tower crane stub planted on the 210 North Carpenter site as the story was being written Thursday morning. The stub was spotted from the Skydeck at the Sears Tower.

210 North Carpenter tower crane stub

Under the watchful eye of Chicago’s skyline, foundations are being dug for 210 North Carpenter. Coming soon: a tower crane.

210 North Carpenter has been cleared of caisson equipment, dirt has been smoothed over, and foundations are being dug for Sterling Bay’s 12-story, 200,000-square-foot office building in the West Loop. And on Tuesday September 26, the City of Chicago issued a tower crane permit for the project, allowing CG Leopardo Companies to go vertical on their own future offices.

: 210 North Carpenter rendering from Sterling Bay.

: 210 North Carpenter rendering from Sterling Bay.

: The Tower Crane Permit.

: A blank canvas, now that caisson work is done.

It’s time to go vertical, as the Hoxton Chicago erects a tower crane

Posted on September 25, 2017 by danieldschell

Chicago’s newest tower crane is at the Hoxton Chicago hotel in the West Loop.

The Hoxton Chicago hotel in the West Loop can start shooting upward toward its 12-story goal, now that Power Construction has installed a shiny new tower crane to do the heavy lifting. Power and Central Contractors Service spent most of the weekend putting up the Peiner SK-415 beauty on the lot at Lake and Green Streets in the ridiculously busy Fulton Market District.

The GREC-designed hotel got its tower crane permit from the City of Chicago back on August 4, so we had to wait awhile for this one. And, as usual, it was worth the wait.

: This is the view from the upper level of the Morgan Street L platform.

: Epic backdrop.

: Also a pretty decent backdrop.

: Sears Tower visitors had the best views over the weekend.

: The view from the Clinton L platform.

: The foundations looks to be shored up.

808 West Van Buren plants a tower crane stub

Posted on September 25, 2017 by danieldschell

A tower crane stub was planted last week at the 808 West Van Buren construction site.

Hey, who remembers my prediction about where the tower crane would be at 808 West Van Buren in the West Loop? Yeah, forget that. My guess that a concrete pad may have been prepped for the crane at the far north end of the site was off by about 98.8%. The tower crane stub popped up last week (I don’t know which day; I missed another one) near the southwest corner of the lot. The City of Chicago issued a permit for a Peiner SK-415 back on September 6.

There’s still a lot of foundation digging happening at the future 12-story residential building from Loukas Development, but this first sign of a tower crane means Lendlease will start shooting skyward on the bKL Architecture design in the very near future.

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