Category Archives: West Loop

The Van Buren will break ground Wednesday morning in Greektown

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The Van Buren

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. 4th — 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.

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

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210 North Carpenter tower crane

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.

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

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*** 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

210 North Carpenter

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.

 

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

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Hoxton Chicago hotel tower crane

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.

808 West Van Buren plants a tower crane stub

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808 West Van Buren tower crane stub

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.

With Haymarket Monument back in place, EMME gets ready to open at 165 North Desplaines (Updated)

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EMME 165 North Desplaines

The Haymarket Monument is back home at 165 North Desplaines, where it will greet residents of EMME.

It was 165 North Desplaines for most of its formative months, but now the name is EMME, and crews are putting the finishing touches on the new apartment building from Gerding Edlen in preparation for its first residents. One has already moved back home; the Haymarket Monument, moved off site to Union Park for safe-keeping during construction, is back in place on the sidewalk near the corner of Desplaines and Randolph.

*** Sept 25: We hear from Greystar Real Estate Partners that EMME has, in fact, already welcomed its first residents, who started moving in September 16. ***

EMME is a 14-story, 199-unit project designed by GREC Architects and built by Power Construction. Units include studios, one-bed, and two-bedroom units, and features include a rooftop pool, fitness center, an outdoor grilling area and a chef’s kitchen, and two produce gardens.

808 West Van Buren foundation work continues

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808 West Van Buren

Deep down, they’re still getting foundation work done at 808 West Van Buren in Greektown.

808 West Van Buren, the bKL Architecture-designed 12-story apartment building from Loukas Development, keeps setting its feet into Greektown, as Lendlease construction crews continue ground work in advance of the tower crane that will send the 148-unit apartment building vertical.

There’s a concrete pad against the north end of the lot, up against the existing building (314 South Halsted, the former home of The Parthenon, and a building getting some extensive work done in its own right) that looked like it could be a tower-crane pad, but what they’re erecting atop that slab doesn’t look much like a tower crane stub. We’ll keep our eyes out.

808 West Van Buren

10 days ago, looking at what I thought would be the tower-crane pad.

808 West Van Buren

See? That doesn’t look like tower crane space.

My really big, very good day: A view of Chicago from inside 150 North Riverside

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150 North Riverside

150 North Riverside is open and spectacular along the Chicago River.

If being obsessed with a building is a problem, then those of you who know me well (or know me at all, let’s be honest here) know I have a problem.

150 North Riverside is my obsession. And problem. If I ever manage to salvage the thousands of photos on the hard drive I dropped of construction of Goettsch Partners’ Chicago office tower, I’ll post them one at a time and you’ll understand what I mean. But you can see into a few of those portals via blog posts here, here, here, and most recently, here.

It started with the sinking of the Chicago River Barge, quite possibly the most famous demise of a water-going vessel in the history of mankind. And just like that, I became mesmerized by construction. I’d go downtown just to stand on the Randolph Street bridge and see how much progress had been made. When we moved to the West Loop, I’d go out of my way to get to and from the L so I could watch.

Before I was ready to let go, 150 North Riverside was done. And I’ll admit to a tinge of sadness in its construction coming to an end. Not just because there would be no more progress to mark, but because I feared the tower would now become a mystery to me. Sure, the plaza outside is a fantastic space, and open to the public 24/7 for wandering through, or enjoying an al fresco lunch. The lobby even has open hours too. But what reason would I ever have to go inside and see Chicago from this vantage point? Maybe I could find a lawyer with an office there, and threaten to sue someone so I could meet for a consultation.

But then along came my angel. Thanks to Shelby Edwards and the William Blair Company, which started moving its Chicago offices into the tower back in June, I got to go inside this magical building last week. William Blair occupies about a dozen floors in the upper half of the tower. I hung out for awhile on the 46th floor, the main reception area. An amazing space, it offers 360-degree views from a host of meeting rooms, classrooms, and small breakout offices.

And then there’s the art. I respectfully avoided photographing any of the artwork; that usually feels like something you shouldn’t do. But imagine two busts, made of layers hunks of drywall cut from the walls behind the busts. Yeah, it’s as cool as it is hard to describe.

I didn’t spend my entire hour with Shelby taking photos of tower cranes; I captured lots of Chicago views. But those memories are for me. To keep with the theme of this blog, here now are the shots I took to share with you; as many cranes as I could find from the 35th and 46th floors of 150 North Riverside:

Expect a very busy September for Chicago tower cranes

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As you surely must know by now, Chicago began the month of September with 31 operating tower cranes in the air. And even though we’ve already seen one of those come down — the East Crane at the McDonald’s Headquarters (followed soon by West Crane) — there are plenty more where those two came from, already permitted and ready to rise. As of Friday afternoon, Chicago had seven outstanding tower crane permits.

Which isn’t to say we won’t lose a few more. A permit was issued last week for a crane to remove the two tower cranes at the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center. Eleven40 and 1407 On Michigan in the South Loop are both topped out, so we’ll likely lose those two cranes soon as well.

But let’s concentrate on the positive. Here are the seven tower cranes with active permits that will dot the skyline in the immediate future:

One Grant Park

One Grant Park second tower crane

Beams are driven into the ground at One Grant Park to support its second tower crane.

One Grant Park put up a tower crane way back in April. But then, on August 24, the city issued a permit for a second crane. McHugh Construction started driving a dozen beams into the ground to act as caisson for supporting Crane #2, which will be utilized to construct the parking deck that rises up to the 16th level. Crane #1 will continue working on the residential tower.

The Lincoln Common

Lincoln Common south tower crane

Overhead shot of The Lincoln Common south tower crane, from Curtis Waltz at Aerialscapes.

Another “second tower crane.” W. E. O’Neil erected a tower crane at The Lincoln Common the week of August 21st. The two 20-story towers will each require a tower crane of its own, so expect the second to be erected within the next week-to-10-days.

900 West

900 West tower crane stub

A tower crane stub marks progress at 900 West.

900 West is a relatively small building, at nine stories and 22 condominium units. But it’s just tall enough to require a tower crane. A stub was erected on the West Loop site the first week of September.

Hoxton Chicago

Hoxton Chicago hotel tower crane stub

Another West Loop stub, this one at the Hoxton Chicago hotel at Lake and Green Streets.

Like 900 West above, the Hoxton Chicago hotel is another Power Construction project in the West Loop, and another recently-planted tower crane stub, having been set in place on Friday. The Hoxton will be a 12-story, 175-room boutique hotel for the booming Fulton Market neighborhood. Sadly, Building Up Chicago can no longer watch this site from HQ, having moved HQ to the South Loop.

Hayden West Loop

Hayden West Loop

The tower crane will follow caisson work at Hayden West Loop.

Yet another West Loop development, Hayden West Loop is another project that may not look like it needs a tower crane, but come on. They all need a tower crane. Hayden will be a nine-story, 28-unit condominium building, and it received a tower crane permit on September 7.

808 West Van Buren

808 West Van Buren

Deep excavation work, but no tower crane yet, at 808 West Van Buren.

You didn’t think we were done in the West Loop, right? 808 West Van Buren is a 12-story, 148-unit apartment tower replacing the empty lot at Halsted and Van Buren. It received a tower crane permit last week, on the 6th, and with caisson work wrapped up, a stub should be appearing any day now.

3833 North Broadway

3833 North Broadway

3833 North Broadway, back in June. Looks like I better get back there soon and catch up on progress.

Way up north, 3833 North Broadway will be an eight-story, 134-unit apartment project, with ground floor retail space. The tower crane permit came through on September 6, and will be the first one on the Chicago count for DLG Development.

 

Hayden West Loop begins caisson work; will a tower crane follow?

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Hayden West Loop caisson work

Revcon gets to drilling at Hayden West Loop.

Revcon caisson rigs are drilling holes at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Aberdeen Street in the West Loop. Not for no reason, of course. They’re building a foundation on which to rest the Hayden West Loop, a new condo building from Sulo Development. Those caissons have to support 28 new units, as well as 83 (83?) parking spaces in the Booth Hansen design.

Hayden West Loop architectural model

The Hayden West Loop architectural model. Is this tower crane territory?

You remember that gorgeous model we spotted at the Hayden West Loop sales center? It got us to thinking: Hayden will be nine stories tall, which isn’t all that high. But it sits on a fairly large footprint. Don’t you think Macon Construction, the general contractor, will need a tower crane for that? We sure hope they do. It would give Macon their second crane on the Chicago count, to go along with No. 508 up at 508 West Diversey in Lake View. Here’s hoping.