Caisson work is underway at Nobu Hotel. For real this time

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Nobu Hotel caissons

You can’t tell me that ain’t a big ole caisson rig, and it’s hard at work at the Nobu Hotel.

This time I’m certain. A caisson rig used for drilling caissons is drilling caissons at the Nobu Hotel site in the West Loop. It’s not a “quad sheet press,” like the one I misidentified back in March. Nope, this is for real. There’s a big red Revcon rig, digging holes. Plus, there are all those augers and, you know, caisson equipment.

The Nobu Hotel is coming to the Fulton Market neighborhood courtesy of Nobu Hospitality. The 11-story, 119-room hotel features designs by Modif Architecture and Studio K. Centaur Construction of West Lake Street is the general contractor. (The Big Green W will be here doing masonry work.)

 

Your (my) new Chicago Tower Crane count stands at 33

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Chicago tower cranes

Forgotten tower crane at the DePaul School of Music

The conversation with myself went something like this, as I stood on the Fullerton CTA platform Monday morning, waiting for a Brown Line train:

Me: “I’m kinda surprised the tower crane at the DePaul School of Music is still there.”

Also me: “The Depaul School of Music! I forgot the DePaul School of Music!”

So there’s one tower crane I’d forgotten to include. That brings the current (as far as I know) active count to 33. Generally moving north to south, they are:

  1. Eight Eleven Uptown (811 W Agatite)
  2. Hotel Zachary (3630 N Clark)
  3. Addison & Clark (1025 W Addison)
  4. Elevate Lincoln Park (930 W Altgeld)
  5. DePaul School of Music (2330 N Halsted)\
  6. Atrium Village (1140 N Wells)
  7. Wicker Park Connection (1640 W Division)
  8. No. 9 Walton (9 W Walton)
  9. Simpson Querrey Center N (303 E Superior)
  10. Simpson Querrey Center S (303 E Superior)
  11. One Bennett Park E (451 E Grand)
  12. One Bennett Park W (452 E Grand)
  13. 465 North Park (465 North Park)
  14. Apple Store (401 N Michigan)
  15. 8 E Huron (8 E Huron)
  16. Hubbard221 (221 W Hubbard)
  17. 3Eleven (311 W Illinois)
  18. Vista Tower E  (401 E Wacker)
  19. Vista Tower W (363 E Wacker)
  20. 171 Aberdeen (171 N Aberdeen)
  21. McDonald’s HQ W (110 N Carpenter)
  22. McDonald’s HQ E (110 N Carpenter)
  23. Illume Chicago (111 S Peoria)
  24. 625 West Adams (625 W Adams)
  25. Landmark West Loop (1035 W Van Buren)
  26. Ancora at Riverline (720 S Wells)
  27. Alta Roosevelt (801 S Financial)
  28. 1101 South Wabash (1101 S Wabash)
  29. 1136 South Wabash (1136 S Wabash)
  30. One Grant Park (1200 S Indiana)
  31. 1411 South Michigan (1411 S Michigan)
  32. Three Hiltons (123 E Cermak)
  33. Solstice On The Park (1616 E 56th)

At last sightings, we still had stubs in the ground at the Cook County Central Campus Health Center (1950 W Polk), and One South Halsted. There are tower crane permits for 4 properties that haven’t been planted yet:

  1. Aloft Hotel (243 E Ontario)
  2. Nobu (854 W Randolph)
  3. Essex On The Park (808 S Michigan)
  4. No. 508 (508 W Diversey)

Reilly gives Dana Hotel the business, while blocking business expansion

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Dana Hotel

Rendering of the proposed Erie Street Hotel from 42nd Ward office.

Dana Hotel

What Alderman Reilly’s email did to the proposed Erie Street Hotel. Basically.

It’s not often a building gets torn down before it’s even approved.

It case you missed the news (Crain’s nails it here) 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly crushed the Dana Hotel’s dream of expanding its current operation Friday afternoon in an email that left no doubt as to where the alderman stands on the proposal.

In laying the smackdown on the “Erie Street Hotel” and the buildings along Erie Street it would have demolished in the process, Reilly instead demolished the hotel itself, stating that feedback from surrounding neighbors paints the Dana as a bad neighbor, creating traffic problems, noise problems, idling-truck-pollution problems, you name it.

But there’s a sliver of hope.

(1) Spend the next 12 months working to improve operations: (a) acknowledge (rather than deny) & address chronic quality-of-life complaints about the Dana Hotel; (b) improve neighbor relations with permanent removal of nightclub/dance operations; and (c) better manage curbside loading/double parking/traffic flow issues stemming from Valet, Taxicab, UBER, Party Buses and Trolley conflicts.
(2) Forgo a Planned Development and determine what can be developed under existing development entitlements and zoning limitations that apply to a DX-5.
Yep. If the Dana Hotel figures out a way to be good neighbors, and can work out a plan to development without changes to current zoning, the alderman just might reconsider the expansion come 2018.
You can view the email in its entirety here 

Take a walk around McDonald’s

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McDonald's HQ

The view from the B.U.C. HQ is still somewhat limited, until McDonald’s rises a few more floors.

If you live in a West Loop condo with a nice balcony (or a drone), you might just have a great view of construction from above the new McDonald’s Headquarters. For the rest of us, circling the block bounded by Randolph, Carpenter, Washington, and Aberdeen is the only way to get a good look at proceedings. So that’s what I did.

As Hubbard221 nears the top, 412 North Wells rises to the L

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You can get a train’s-eye view of 412 North Wells right now by taking a relaxing Brown Line ride from the Merchandise Mart up to the Chicago Ave stop. Linn-Mathes is pushing the 9-story office building skyward, now that the residential tower next door, Hubbard221, is nearly topped out. (Is that 22 stories I count?)

Hubbard221 is the 193-unit apartment tower from developer Centrum Partners and designer Hirsch Associates Architects, the team that just saw a tower crane rise on their Wicker Park Connection property. As for this tower crane, it now has double duty to pull, as it tops off the taller tower while beginning to stretch the smaller structure vertically.

 

Another Flag, Another Tank, Another Crane, for another Friday

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Revisiting a very busy section of the West Loop.

In the foreground, the tower crane at the McDonald’s Headquarters site. To the left, a full view of the tower crane at 171 Aberdeen.

The banner yet waving is atop Venue One.

The water tank belongs to 1035 West Lake Street.

Have a great weekend, construction nerds!

 

Alta Roosevelt nears the top

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Alta Roosevelt April visit

Alta Roosevelt cuts an imposing figure in the South Loop.

If you walk through the South Loop this weekend, stop by Alta Roosevelt at 801 South Financial Place and tell me if you think that is one tall tower. Spoiler Alert: It is. And here’s why: Walsh Construction has stacked a whole bunch of floors atop other floors.

I waited around long enough this week for Alta Roosevelt herself to start whispering secrets, and she tells me the 27th floor of the tower has been poured. She also said structural pours for the garage are complete after recently doing the last deck. She is quite proud of accomplishing that feat.

A reminder to you that Alta Roosevelt is a development from Wood Partners, and a design by Pappageorge Haymes Partners. bringing 496 new apartments to the neighborhood where Financial Place and Polk Street meet, one small block east of South Wells. While there’s no immediate danger of losing its pretty yellow tower crane, topping out is likely by early June.

More staring at the rebar jungle that is One Grant Park

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One Grant Park

Can I hang out down there, if I promise to be reaaaalllly careful?

One Grant Park looks like a playground. It isn’t, of course. Unless you’re skilled laborers paid to work there, and then I bet it’s all-day fun.

For now, One Grant Park is still seeing most of its action below street level. There are tunnels and rings of rebar running throughout the site, like a corn maze on an Iowa farm, minus the tractor rides and hay bales. It’s cool enough to stand around and watch, that maybe McHugh Construction will put a gift shop at the exit. Some hot apple cider and a scale model of Rafael Viñoly Architects‘ tower would make nice Christmas gifts, no?

Quick Look: The Wicker Park Connection tower crane is up

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Wicker Park Connection tower crane

The finished tower crane over the Wicker Park Connection, Monday evening.

It got started over the weekend, and by Monday evening it was completed. The Wicker Park Connection can begin going vertical, now that there’s a tower crane on site. We watched most of the erecting from the B.U.C. HQ, but a well-timed going-away dinner (Bon Voyage, Steve!) on Division Street meant a good look at the new kid on that block.

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Updating the tower crane updates

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Wicker Park Connection tower crane

The brand new crane at the Wicker Park Connection Monday evening.

Turns out, tracking tower cranes in Chicago can be exhausting.

Optima II tower crane

Tuesday, the crane was coming down from Optima II.

We were at 31 Sunday with the loss of 1001 West Chicago’s crane, but then 1101 South Wabash had its crane in the air, but under (my) radar, and the Wicker Park Connection, which had planted a stub, finished its crane. That made 33. For, like, an hour. Because yesterday I noticed the luffing crane coming down from atop Optima II in Streeterville. (That crane seemed to be there for about 9 years, didn’t it?)

Long story longer, I believe there are now 32 active tower cranes in Chicago. *This is an unscientific poll.

Remember, there are stubs planted at One South Halsted and the Cook County Central Campus Health Center that should be up and running soon. Essex On The Park, Aloft Chicago Mag Mile, and Nobu have been issued crane permits. But 3Eleven, the Landmark West Loop, and (I think?) 171 Aberdeen have topped out, so we could lose those cranes any day now.

Maybe in the next few days, we can speculate about which just-underway or soon-to-be-started projects will require tower cranes. You know, McDonald’s “vendor village”, Hoxton Hotel, 808 West Van Buren, and the like. What about 508 West Diversey? That’s 12 stories. Yeah, this seems like a conversation for another day.