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

Posted on September 22, 2017 by danieldschell

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

Posted on September 20, 2017 by danieldschell

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.

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

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

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

Posted on September 13, 2017 by danieldschell

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:

Flashback: This cranebarge did the heavy lifting of those glorious iron trusses.

Expect a very busy September for Chicago tower cranes

Posted on September 11, 2017 by danieldschell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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, 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?

Posted on September 8, 2017 by danieldschell

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.

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.

Leopardo, Michels have begun caisson work at 210 North Carpenter

Posted on September 7, 2017 by danieldschell

Leopardo and Michels have begun drilling and filling caissons at 210 North Carpenter.

They’re digging holes and filling them with concrete at 210 North Carpenter, the 12-story, 200,000-square-foot office building from Sterling Bay. Crews from general contractor (and future tenant) Leopardo Companies and Michels Corporation are sending caissons into the West Loop soil for what’s been dubbed the “McDonald’s Vendor Village” along the 1000-block of West Lake Street.

Sterling Bay rendering of 210 North Carpenter.

Crain’s had the announcement last month that Leopardo had signed on the be the first 210 North Carpenter tenant, turning construction into a quasi-D.I.Y. project, if you will. Leopardo’s corporate offices are in Hoffman Estates, and will remain there, but the Chicago staff will relocate from 333 West Wacker Drive when the new space is completed in 2018.

By the way, we tweeted to Adjustable Forms last month about their involvement as the masonry contractor, and they confirmed our suspicion that 210 North Carpenter *will* require a tower crane. Everyone wins.

With caissons wrapped up, 808 West Van Buren scores a tower crane permit

Posted on September 7, 2017 by danieldschell

808 West Van Buren received a tower crane permit Wednesday.

The hideous garbage hole that used to occupy the Greektown corner of Halsted and Van Buren will soon be beautified by a tower crane.

808 West Van Buren, the bKL Architecture-designed 12-story apartment building from Loukas Development, has a clean slate of smooth dirt now that all the caissons have been dug. A few remained to be filled along the north end of the lot Tuesday, but those are probably done by now. The next step for Lendlease is to get that new tower crane in the air and send the 148-unit tower skyward.

: A smooth, clean slate at 808 West Van Buren.

: Hauling off equipment.

Power Construction plants a tower crane at 900 West

Posted on September 6, 2017 by danieldschell

Is that what I think it is, peeking over the construction fence? Yep. 900 West has a tower crane stub.

Not all of the tower crane news coming out of the West Loop is bad.

A tower crane stub has been planted at 900 West Washington Boulevard, the site of 900 West. You may recall our mid-August visit when we stopped by to check on Caisson work. At the time, Power Construction had just received the full-build permit from the City of Chicago to erect the entire 10-story, 22-unit condominium project from Taris Real Estate.

One week later, on August 24, another permit came through, this time for the tower crane. Now, we don’t know exactly when the stub was planted (August 26 was the most recent day we’ve walked by until now) but lo and behold, there was the fresh stub on Tuesday. So, expect Power to send 900 West rocketing skyward now that they’ve got the heavy lifting covered.

: The Tower Crane Permit.

: No crane here August 26. Just caissons to be filled.

: 900 West rendering from Taris Real Estate.

Ordering two McDonald’s tower cranes to go

Posted on September 6, 2017 by danieldschell

McDonald's Headquarters tower crane removal

A yellow street crane waits at the foot of East Crane, ready to bring her down.

Strong Chicago breezes kept Tuesday from being a sad day in the West Loop, but once those winds calm down, the two tower cranes at the McDonald’s Headquarters will be removed.

The Yellow Street Crane Of Doom was on-hand Tuesday, but couldn’t get started on East Crane because of conditions. Wednesday calls for lighter winds, so there’s a good chance crane removal will begin.

Both cranes were erected on the McDonald’s site back in February within a couple days of each other. McHugh Construction was said to be utilizing the top-down method, which allows the frame of the building to go up faster than normal. According to a story by Curbed at ground-breaking time, that shaved off about four months from the construction schedule. Now, a little over six months after the cranes went up, they’ve completed their duty, and it’s time for them to move on.

The Stars & Stripes, and the Stars, fly just below the criss-crossing tower cranes at the McDonald’s HQ. Tuesday, September 5, 2017.

More tower cranes, more patriotism.

A mini Hayden West Loop completes construction

Posted on August 29, 2017 by danieldschell

There’s a sexy model on display at the Hayden West Loop.

On the 8th of this month, the City of Chicago issued a foundation permit for the Hayden West Loop, a nine-story, 28-unit condominium building at 1115 West Washington Boulevard in the West Loop. (I bet you’d already figured out the “West Loop” part, but I included it anyway. Clarity.) While the site, formerly part of the Harpo Studios campus, has been leveled in preparation for construction, we’re still waiting on work to begin.

However, what The Hayden has begun is a new sales office around the corner on May Street, featuring a model of the finished Booth Hansen project, complete with folks relaxing on their seventh-floor terrace. Proving, once again, that architectural models are cool, even when they aren’t skyscrapers.

**DISCLAIMER: Photos of the architectural model were taken, and are being used, with the permission of the staff at the sales center.

: Hayden West Loop rendering from Booth Hansen.

: The Model.

: Chillin’ on the roof.

: The Permit.

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