165 North Desplaines progress continues in the West Loop

Posted on December 26, 2016 by danieldschell

T’was the night before Christmas, and 165 North Desplaines lights up the West Loop.

165 North Desplaines, the 14-story, 199-unit apartment tower from GREC Architects, continues to grow in the West Loop. A foundation permit filed in June, and the full-build permit filed in October, have allowed Power Construction to go to town on the two-part project, which calls not only for the new residential building, but also for the rehab of 156 North Jefferson, a three-story office building with which it shares a lot.

When complete, 165 North Desplaines will also include retail and parking space, and feature the return of the Haymarket Monument, for now residing in Union Park to protect it from damage during construction.

: Gratuitous tower crane shot.

: 152 North Jefferson.

: The Foundation Permit

: The full-build permit.

: Render of 165 North Desplaines from GREC Architects.

: The Haymarket Monument being removed from the construction site back in May.

: The Haymarket Monument in Union Park.

Construction Progress: Plumbers Local 130 Training Center

Posted on December 22, 2016 by danieldschell

Work continues on the new Plumbers Local 130 Training Center at 1400 West Washington Boulevard in the West Loop. Ground was broken on the Gensler-designed training facility back in June; W.E. O’Neil has been hard at work ever since. The state-of-the-art, 50,000-square-foot project should be complete and ready to start training new plumbers next summer.

Illume Chicago has broken ground, literally and ceremoniously

Posted on December 21, 2016 by danieldschell

Truth.

Controversial? Contentious? How about “underway”?

Illume, the condominiums for the West Loop from LG Development, has started tearing up the parking lot at 111 South Peoria Street. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held on December 5, then two days later, the City of Chicago issued the building permit.

Designed by Pappageorge Haymes, the 10-story building will contain 79 condos, and include parking in the basement and first floor. Norcon has been signed on as general contractor.

https://twitter.com/PappagHaymes/status/805875985069510656

A rendering of Illume from Pappageorge Haymes.

The Permit.

Half-block of West Randolph Street has been cleared, for…. ??

Posted on December 21, 2016 by danieldschell

Even the cover of night can’t hide the emptiness at 725 West Randolph, et al.

Heneghan Wrecking has just about wrapped up work at 723-735 West Randolph Street in the West Loop. What were once 6 dilapidated storefronts look more like farmland than commerce.

So, what’s coming next? No, it’s not a rhetorical question. I’m actually asking it myself. We’ve all heard talk of the fancy tower with robot-valets, but I’ve also heard there may not be anything coming to the empty space for a couple years. Looks like we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, we can keep our eyes on the City’s permit site, and listen for community meetings.

Hey, wouldn’t a massive beer garden for Haymarket Brewing next door be a good use of all that acreage?

: Smooth as glass this morning.

: Still working on the westernmost wall, up against Haymarket Brewing.

: Working yesterday on that same wall.

: Th remnants of 723’s basement are ripped out/buried yesterday.

: All gone.

: Yep, Jessica’s gone, too.

: Blame those big snippers for that.

LG Development writing a new story for the West Loop

Posted on December 19, 2016 by danieldschell

https://twitter.com/LGDevelopment/status/808687914926411777

If it seems there’s construction on every block of the West Loop, it’s probably because there’s construction on every block of the West Loop. But it’s not all fancy corporate HQs and boutique hotels.

At 177 North Morgan Street* (that’s the address according to the building permit. As you can see in the tweet above, LG Development refers to the property as 185 North Morgan.), LG Development is erecting a single-story retail building at the foot of the Morgan Street CTA L station.

Punch Bowl Social picks up a spare, right up their alley

Posted on December 14, 2016 by danieldschell

The restored facade of ~~Brooklyn Bowl~~ Punch Bowl Social in the West Loop.

All the work that went into preserving the historic facade at West Fulton and North Peoria in the West Loop’s Fulton market District isn’t for Brooklyn Bowl, as it turns out. The space, which looks nearly complete, will now be occupied by Punch Bowl Social.

That’s the news we got from Eater Chicago last week. A quick walk around the facility this week shows a venue that looks close to being open; the Punch Bowl Social website says to expect it in 2017. And remember, 2017 is less than three weeks away.

: You can see from here, still some work to do on the top level.

Construction Progress: 1035 West Van Buren

Posted on December 8, 2016 by danieldschell

1035 West Van Buren in the West Loop, colorful even on a gloomy day.

The 30-story, 300-unit apartment tower from Related Midwest at 1035 West Van Buren continues to show its true colors, all of them primary, alongside the Eisenhower Expressway in the West Loop. The blue, yellow, and red-covered construction site would have looked much better on a sunny day, but a quick check of the forecast shows it might be completed before we get more sunshine in Chicago. I’m afraid you’ll have to settle for the following photos from a dreary December afternoon.

: The view from Building Up Chicago.

: Kudos to Related Midwest; still Flying The W.

Tearing down West Randolph Street

Posted on December 7, 2016 by danieldschell

Jessica Alba’s billboard is still around. 729-735 West Randolph? Not so much.

Not all of it, of course. There are a few restaurateurs who’d fight that plan.

Specifically, we’re talking about 723-733 West Randolph. The building marked 735 doesn’t have a demolition permit that I’ve been able to find, but that could just be someone putting the wrong numbers on the front door. Either way, it’s mostly rubble now. Making the space is the ever-reliable Heneghan Wrecking.

: Above and behind the destruction.

: 735 is an ugly building, but it looked for a while like it would be spared the wrecking ball. Newp.

: Kennedy-side rubble.

Ace Hotel discards its tower crane

Posted on December 6, 2016 by danieldschell

The tower crane’s gone from the Ace Hotel.

It’s a sign of progress to see how many tower cranes are sprouting throughout Chicago. It’s another sign to see how many of those cranes are disappearing from construction sites around town. Done with one job; on to the next.

The Ace Hotel at 311 North Morgan Street in the West Loop is one of the latest area projects to lose its tower crane. The GREC Architects-designed 159-key, seven-story boutique hotel is topped out, and Sterling Bay is looking to have full houses in the very near future. General contractor Power Construction is doing what it can to make that happen soon.

: Gone too are the shipping containers that held the original facade in place during early construction.

Like the bottom bun, McDonald’s foundation off to a good start

Posted on December 5, 2016 by danieldschell

Lots of irons in the fire at the new McDonald’s HQ.

With Harpo Studios a distant memory, foundation work is underway in the West Loop on what will be the new headquarters for the McDonald’s Corporation. And you know, you can’t start building a burger without a good bottom bun.

The foundation permit, issued November 7.

A foundation permit was issued by the city on November 7. Equipment from Michels Corporation (they did the caisson work on the newly-opened River Point Plaza) is tearing away at the soil in the block surrounded by Carpenter, Randolph, and Aberdeen Streets, and Washington Boulevard. Once that work is done, general contractor McHugh Construction will start going vertical with the Gensler-designed HQ.