900 Randolph is just cool

Posted on September 10, 2022 by danieldschell

900 Randolph has been fun to watch. Nothing fancy, nothing out of the ordinary. But tall, sleek, and darn near topped out. The skip is numbered up to 34; there are at least six poured floors above the 34th floor. That puts it into the 40s. It’s a 43-story building I was told there would be no math, but even I know that only leaves a couple levels to go.

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.

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Apartments at 350 North Canal permitted to begin where Cassidy Tire ended

Posted on September 9, 2022 by danieldschell

The City of Chicago issued a foundation permit Wednesday for 350 North Canal. That means The Habitat Company’s plan for apartments on the lot where Cassidy Tire once stood is ready to roll. An empty lot, a clean slate, at the beginning of the month, McHugh Construction and McHugh Concrete can begin laying the groundwork for the 33-story, SCB-designed tower. Stalworth Underground will assist with caisson work.

The permit indicates 343 apartments, 123 parking spaces for cars (no below-grade parking here. There will be a parking podium on levels 2-4) and 185 bicycle spaces. I’ll be staring at the permit site, waiting for the tower crane to arrive.

Roman Numerals at 160 North Morgan?

Posted on September 9, 2022 by danieldschell

bKL Architecture has designed a great-looking residential tower for the West Loop. And even though we’re still in the early stages of construction on 160 North Morgan, one of the coolest aspects of the design is already visible.

If this were Roman numerals, it’d be 3. Because two I’s in front of a V would be 2 less than 5. But we all know III is the Roman numeral for 3, so this is actually 7, or VII, but we’re looking at it from the back.

I’m rambling. Check it out for yourself.

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The Reed tower crane is no more

Posted on September 9, 2022 by danieldschell

Topping out is such sweet sorrow. Sure, no one wants to live in a tower that hasn’t topped out yet. But at what cost? Losing another tower crane? Alas, The Reed at Southbank’s topping out meant the loss of its crane was inevitable, and the painstaking process of disassembly is underway.

North Union II/III get started at 868 North Wells

Posted on September 8, 2022 by danieldschell

One of the first caissons for 868 North Wells at North Union.

One day after getting a foundation permit for the next two buildings at North Union, crews were drilling holes in the earth and filling them with concrete at 868 North Wells Street in Near North.

That single permit issued Tuesday allows Power Construction and Keller North America to work on two structures here: a 27-story residential tower with 411 units, and a five-story building with 23 units. (JDL Development shows a 25-story tower, so we’ll assume the two extra floors are the two below-grade parking levels mentioned in the permit, which includes 129 spaces. They also show 428 units instead of 411; we’ll just wait and see how many there will be when the dust settles and the appliances are installed.)

As they were for North Union’s first tower, a block north at 920 North Wells, Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture is the design architect. McHugh Concrete joins the team as concrete contractor.

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

Posted on September 8, 2022 by danieldschell

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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To the laborers: A Labor Day appreciation post

Posted on September 5, 2022 by danieldschell

NOPE pic.twitter.com/OOHswKT4zQ
— 🏗 BuildingUpChi 🏗 (@BuildingChi) August 31, 2022

I’ve made the “NOPE” joke many times. But it’s not really a joke. I don’t do well with heights.

Fun Fact: In the mid-to-late ’80s I was this close to moving to Chicago (from Pittsburgh) to work in construction for a bricklayer. Gave my two-week notice and everything. I changed my mind, in part because I realized construction workers have to climb ladders and work from swing-stages and dangle from more than five feet off the ground. Nope. Not for me. Can’t do it.

Many of you have told me you’re no fan of heights either, but “you get used to it.” I’ll take your word for that. Don’t get me wrong, I can go up in a skyscraper, stand behind a safe pane of glass, and look down and around. Those are *protected heights* to me. No glass? No go.

Now, someday I’ll be offered an invitation to climb into a tower crane. That’s an opportunity I won’t pass up. But in the meantime, I’m staying here on terra firma.

As for the rest of you up there high above the streets and the rivers, mad respect from me. Not just for what you do, but where you do it.

Happy Labor Day. Stay safe up there.

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Howard Brown Health passes the halfway mark in Lake View

Posted on September 2, 2022 by danieldschell

The Howard Brown Health facility rising at 3501 North Halsted

The legal-firm-sounding team of McHugh & McHugh have passed the halfway point on the five-story Howard Brown Health healthcare facility in Lake View. That leaves just two levels of concrete to pour until the Eckenhoff Saunders Architects-designed clinic tops out.

Permits received for this project include:
Demolition for 3501 N Halsted – 8/18/2021
Demolition for 3513 N Halsted – 8/18/2021
Caissons – 2/15/2022
Tower crane – 3/28/2022
Core & shell – 5/9/2022
Interior build-out – 6/17/2022

And now, the pictures:

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360 North Green plants a tower crane

Posted on September 1, 2022 by danieldschell

The tower crane base is set at 360 North Green.

360 North Green isn’t wasting any time. When last I climbed Halsted Street to check out construction progress, just 10 days ago, caissons were going full bore. Now, I go by again and not only are caissons done, but there’s a giant excavation underway, and, most importantly, the tower crane base has been planted near the northeast corner of the construction site. And as you know, we have some tower cranes to replace in the sky.

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

Posted on September 1, 2022 by danieldschell

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.