1044 West Van Buren is Sage West Loop now. And it’s topped out.

Sage West Loop has topped out at 1044 West Van Buren.

Tandem announced in a LinkedIn post that they topped out 1044 West Van Buren last week. That same post also noted a name change: Sage West Loop is the West Loop’s newest new apartment project.

Sage West Loop will deliver 196 units across 18 stories with 78 parking spaces when completed in 2023. (Tandem’s website says the third quarter of 2023, but as quickly as they’ve reached final height, I wouldn’t be surprised to see tenants moving in much sooner than that.)

Congratulations on the topping out to Tandem, the developer and general contractor, design-architect Antunovich Associates, and concrete contractor Adjustable Concrete Construction.

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At Fulbrix, glazing is still going up. And coming down.

160 North Elizabeth shall henceforth be known as Fulbrix.

You’re excused if you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about with “Fulbrix.” It was news to me too.

Fulbrix is the new moniker for 160 North Elizabeth. If if the “glazing coming down” thing sounds like a typo to you, that’s my way of pointing out that as glass continues to rise up the sides of Fulbrix, it’s also working its way down from the top. And there’s always something cool to me about seeing glazing up top with unglazed floors below.

Anyway, congrats to the development team of Moceri + Roszak, Thomas Roszak Architecture, Clark Construction, and Adjustable Concrete Construction on the new name, topping out, glassing up, and all the other milestones you’ve reached. There was a big crew meeting outside just before I walked around the site Wednesday, and I bet they were all celebrating their achievements.

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Hoist one for 160 North Morgan

The skip at 160 North Morgan

A month ago, 160 North Morgan got its hoist permit. Its skip permit. Its construction elevator permit. Its “red thing right there in front” permit. And it’s newly-installed since the last time I dropped by mid-month. I don’t often point out hoist permits, but maybe I should. Besides, now I know what a dual-car Tornborg FC8000 Per/Mat counter-weight hoist tower looks like, so I can point them out to folks on the street when I see them.

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210 North Aberdeen set to erect Chicago’s first new tower crane in forever

Sorry to be so dramatic. It hasn’t really been that long. But since we’ve lost three tower cranes (160 N Elizabeth, 166 North Aberdeen, 853 West Blackhawk) this month, it’s nice to see one going up.

And that’s going to happen starting Monday at 210 North Aberdeen. (h/t to Chris for dropping the hint.) That tower crane base is well-hidden, but the behemoth ALL Crane next to it gives away the story.

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One Six Six drops the tower crane

We lost our third tower crane of August last week, as the Golden Lifter Of Heavy Things was dismantled and hauled away at One Six Six (166 N Aberdeen). It joins 160 North Elizabeth and 853 West Blackhawk (Big Deahl) in the history books. We thank them all for their service.

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First-hand proof: There’s glass on 900 Randolph

I missed the first few pieces of glazing at 900 Randolph by one day last week. Luckily when I went back over Wednesday, it was still there. This is what I saw with my own eyes and lens:

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732 West Randolph eases its way into a tiny West Loop footprint

The tower crane at 732 West Randolph

732 West Randolph has begun climbing on the smallest tower-crane-enabled construction site in Chicago. The postage-stamp sized lot will soon hold a new eight-story boutique office building with 56,000 rentable square feet of working space. General contractor Maris Construction and concrete contractor Pepper Construction were working on the fourth level last week. Designed by Hirsch MPG, 732 West Randolph will connect on its first six floors with 730 West Randolph next door, and will include a rooftop deck and basement fitness center.

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Embry rises above street level at 21 North May

Embry, the 15-story, 58-unit condo building from Sulo Development, has begun its rise in the West Loop, adjacent to its sister development from Sulo, Hayden West Loop. Designed by Lamar Johnson Collaborative, and being built by McHugh Construction (and Concrete), Embry will include a sweet suite of amenities for condo owners, including a gym, and dog walk and spa, an outdoor terrace, and chef’s kitchen. Sulo plans to have units move-in ready in Spring 2023.

The following two galleries (bonus!) of photos were taken August 17 and July 29, respectively. Amazing what progress has been made coming up out of the excavation in just three weeks.


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1020 West Randolph has topped out in Chicago’s West Loop

The W.E. O’Neil drone (top left) and I at 1020 West Randolph last week.

W.E. O’Neil announced last week they have topped out 1020 West Randolph, the five-story boutique office building in the West Loop. Developed by L3 Capital and RL Edward Partners, and designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architects, 1020 West Randolph will include 23,000 square feet of office space and 5,000 square feet of retail space. By the looks of the rooftop terrace rendering, I’m going to need to finesse an invite up there once the space is open.

I last (and first) posted about 1020 back in April. And I would understand if you’d assumed I hadn’t stopped by since. But I have, and I humbly apologize to the 1020 West Randolph team for letting photos grow stale on my laptop. So I’ll post them all now, from the old bank building that was demolished, to a visit last week when a drone and I (*a* drone, not *my* drone) were around to see the structure rise to full height. But with newer photos first.

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1044 West Van Buren upgrades to First Glass

Level 4 gets glass at 1044 West Van Buren

Glazing puns. Ya gotta love ’em.

It’s been a big week for glass on new construction. 1044 West Van Buren is one of those getting in on the fun.

Tandem was busy Wednesday installing windows on the first level above the podium of the Antunovich Associates-designed tower.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.