As McDonald’s progresses, Sterling Bay pitches @1045 retail space

Posted on April 11, 2017 by danieldschell

The McDonald’s HQ in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago.

Along with construction progress at the new McDonald’s Corporation Headquarters in the West Loop comes signage for available retail space, which Sterling Bay has dubbed @1045. An homage to its north frontage at 1045 West Randolph Street, @1045 is 48,000 square feet of ground-floor space, divisible to 2,000-square-foot parcels.

But enough of the real estate talk. What matters here is that McHugh Construction continues to push off the ground and into the sky. The @1045 signage is a nice touch, but construction is the real attraction.

: The Golden Arches have arrived on site.

: 7

: The Two Cranes.

625 West Adams holds its first day of glass

Posted on April 10, 2017 by danieldschell

A car parked along Adams Street is reflected in the shiny new curtain wall at 625 West Adams.

625 West Adams reached another construction milestone last week, installing the first few panes of the curtain wall facing Adams Street. As if all that steel above the podium wasn’t distracting enough, now I have all this glass to look forward to. Thanks, Power. Now I’ll get even less done around here.

: Night vision.

: A blue car passes by…

: Crews celebrated the new glass by installing a second hoist.

Quick look: That’s a wrap on One South Halsted caisson work

Posted on March 28, 2017 by danieldschell

Unless there’s new technology allowing caisson to be dug without rigs, caissons look finished at One South Halsted.

A look after dark down on the One South Halsted site Monday night shows only one caisson rig remaining on site, and a horizontal one at that. The only logical conclusion one could make from this is that caissons are done.

As you may have guessed, I’m willing to skip straight to the tower crane portion of our program, but we’ll have to let Lendlease make that decision. For now, Case Foundation still has some equipment to remove from the lot, like augers and that big yellow rig lying on the ground. Then crews can get busy on the next phase of foundation work.

Landmark West Loop tops out

Posted on March 27, 2017 by danieldschell

A brooding Landmark West Loop from the B.U.C. HQ, through some Monday morning weather.

I must have had my back turned Thursday the 23rd, as the Landmark West Loop, the 30-story, 300-unit apartment tower at 1035 West Van Buren Street from Related Midwest, topped out last week. A press release from Lendlease that popped up on LinkedIn shared the news. A milestone moment for the Landmark to be sure, but also a forewarning that another tower crane will be disappearing from the West Loop landscape soon. Shooting stars, they are.

You can read Lendlease’s press release by clicking here, or see the text that follows a few photos from a sunny February day:

Lendlease & Related Midwest Celebrate the Topping Out of Landmark West Loop (Chicago, IL, March 23, 2017) Today, Lendlease, one of the largest construction management firms in Chicago, and Related Midwest, the pre-eminent developer of luxury condominiums and rental homes in Chicago, celebrated the topping out of Landmark West Loop, a new 30-story residential tower located at 1035 W. Van Buren in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The event, which included lunch and giveaways for the tradesmen and women, celebrated the structure reaching its maximum height, bringing the project one step closer to completion. “We’re very excited to celebrate the topping out of this highly anticipated project that will truly transform the West Loop,” said Bert Brandt, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Lendlease. “I want to acknowledge the combined efforts of Related Midwest, the design team, the union trades and our Lendlease project team for their tireless efforts in helping reach this significant project milestone.” “A quality development begins with a quality team, and our longstanding relationship with Lendlease allowed us to assemble just that — thanks to the dedication of the men and women working on this project, Landmark West Loop is on track for August move-ins,” said Don Biernacki, Senior Vice President of Construction at Related Midwest. “As work on the tower continues, we’ve already started pre-leasing and are thrilled by the response from prospective residents, many of whom have been waiting for this level of luxury rental housing to come to the West Loop and Illinois Medical District.” Located along the Eisenhower Expressway, Landmark West Loop is a 442,845-square-foot building featuring 300 luxury apartments and associated parking. Designed by Morris Adjmi Architects, the building is targeting LEED Silver certification.

CA Washington goes for the gold

Posted on March 27, 2017 by danieldschell

CA Washington in the West Loop. Don’t look directly at it on a sunny day.

Normally, I advise you to take your construction photos on bright, sunny days. You may want to rethink that around CA Washington. It’s kinda bright.

The condominium development from Belgravia Realty Group has reached its ultimate height of six stories, some of which have been adorned in neon yellow. Personally, I’d like to see that color remain, but that doesn’t jibe with the renderings. A more impressive addition of late are the sweet balconies being hung from the sides of the 69 condos. Look nice? Well, if the “SOLD OUT” sign on the facade is accurate, you may have already missed your chance.

A design by Sullivan Goulette & Wilson, CA Washington is two buildings, with addresses at 27 North Aberdeen Street and 28 North Carpenter Street. It sits directly across Washington Boulevard from the new McDonald’s headquarters in the West Loop.

: CA Washington from the B.U.C. HQ

: Balconies. Sweet, sweet balconies.

: 28 North Carpenter on the left, 27 North Aberdeen on the right.

: NOPE

: SOLD OUT

One South Halsted caissons are closer to being done than I thought

Posted on March 25, 2017 by danieldschell

Working in the dark – and the rain – to take down a caisson rig at One South Halsted.

Yesterday’s post about caisson work at One South Halsted served to inform you that Case Foundation was still drilling big holes into the ground and filling them with concrete. Well, I can confidently update you that whatever work remains can be done by a solo rig.

Friday-night lights on-site illuminated crews disassembling one of the caisson rigs, so unless another project is in desperate need, caisson work must be nearing completion.

I didn’t dream it; Saturday morning shed some light on the rig removal.

A crane grows at Illume Chicago

Posted on March 25, 2017 by danieldschell

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A post shared by Norcon, Inc. (@norcon.inc)

If you were watching your Instagram feed Friday, you may have noticed the above photo from Norcon, showing the beginning of work on the tower portion of the new tower crane at Illume Chicago in the West Loop.

The tower at Illume Chicago went up Friday. The crane will follow.

You can (kind of) see the tower in the photo above, taken from the B.U.C. HQ. Judging by the forecast for Saturday, it’s very possible Norcon’s plan to assemble the crane over the weekend might be washed out. If that’s the case, expect them to try again next weekend. (Weekday assembly isn’t a possibility because of the need to close off Green Street.)

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Looking down on 625 West Adams progress

Posted on March 24, 2017 by danieldschell

Nope, that’s not a misplaced beam. The angle will help form the 11th-floor terrace at 625 West Adams.

You get a good look at the 11th-floor terrace in this rendering from the 625 West Adams website.

Maybe it won’t be called the 13th floor, depending on the superstitions of those in charge of such decisions, but 625 West Adams is up to the 13th floor these days. Along with all the iron beams and metal flooring being added to the 20-story office tower, the 11th-floor terrace is taking shape, what with its angled beam overhead. The word from Power Construction is to watch for another terrace at the 19th floor.

By best guestimate, the core looks to be stuck at about the 17th floor, but that will be rising soon as well. Co-developers CA Ventures and White Oak Realty Partners plan on having 625 West Adams open for tenants to start moving in their fax machines and dot-matrix printers and setting up shop in March 2018.

: Bright flashes are common. Watch your foot though.

: Core work.

: The Adams Street facing.

: From the Monroe Street 7Bridge.

Digging Case Foundation’s One South Halsted digging

Posted on March 24, 2017 by danieldschell

Once you start pouring concrete into a caisson, you have to finish. Sometimes One South Halsted stays active into the evening hours.

Case Foundation is still on the case at One South Halsted, and it’s because caissons don’t dig themselves. As you may recall, One South Halsted went from permit to really busy in about two heartbeats, and work hasn’t let up since. The official caisson count from the B.U.C. HQ vantage point is “bunches and bunches,” with the assumption that they’ll be wrapped up very soon. Then, Lendlease can take over the vertical portion of the 46-story apartment tower by FitzGerald Associates Architects.

Co-developers Fifield Companies and F&F Realty are bringing 492 rental units to the Greektown section of the West Loop. Situated alongside the Kennedy Expressway, the curvy, highly visible tower will be fully loaded with amenities that it will share with the Crowne Plaza hotel next door. Which is only fair, considering One South Halsted commandeered Crowne’s parking lot for its own site.

: Put your toys away.

: It’s magic.

McDonald’s goes three-dimensional. And I’m lovin’ it

Posted on March 22, 2017 by danieldschell

The second floor is showing at the new McDonald’s Headquarters in the West Loop.

Life happens quickly. What did you expect from two tower cranes?

To no one’s surprise, the new McDonald’s Corporation Headquarters in the West Loop has lifted off the ground. After weeks of attending to ground-level matters (they’re still at it) McHugh Construction has started going vertical. That mostly good news, because now we can see what’s going on above the perimeter fencing, but bad news because no one with an adjacent balcony or rooftop has offered their vantage point to me for looking downward onto progress. Stuff is harder to see as it gets higher, you know.