145 South Wells has planted a tower crane, which should be blossoming any minute now

Posted on June 18, 2018 by danieldschell

The tower crane stub (and wading pool?) is ready to go at 145 South Wells.

Today is expected to be the first day of assemblage for the tower crane at 145 South Wells, the 20-story boutique office tower Clark Construction is building for Moceri + Roszak in The Loop. We’ve waited a long time for a tower crane in what amounts to Chicago’s Central Business District. (We don’t call it that here, but I’ve always liked the way that sounds. Lots of other cities use it; why not us? Is it like putting ketchup on a hot dog? Doing the wave at Wrigley? Riding a bike on the sidewalk? Oh wait…everyone does that here.)

So here’s a quick look at that stub before it becomes a full-grown tower crane.

: Kinda looks like a mug shot with that background.

McHugh Construction Instagrams NEMA Chicago’s 50th

Posted on June 18, 2018 by danieldschell

More love for our NEMA Chicago project this week! Decking for floor 50 has begun – only 26 more floors to go!

A post shared by James McHugh Construction Co. (@mchughconstruct) on Jun 15, 2018 at 1:30pm PDT

There was another Golden Anniversary of sorts to celebrate last week, as McHugh Construction posted the above photo to their Instagram page announcing the start of Floor #50 at NEMA Chicago. The South Loop tower by Rafael Viñoly Architects, which started life as 1200 South Indiana, became One Grant Park, and has now settled in as a member of Crescent Heights’ NEMA franchise, will eventually grow to 76 stories.

: This will always be my favorite view of NEMA.

Centaur Construction has their groove back at the West Loop’s Nobu Hotel

Posted on June 18, 2018 by danieldschell

Taking a loooong look at the Nobu Hotel, from Peoria Street over the Eisenhower Expressway.

In May, Centaur Construction got back to work at Nobu Hotel, and it didn’t take them long to hit their stride again.

With Pepper Construction’s help on concrete, progress on the hotel has jumped up to the fourth floor since we last stopped by just a couple weeks ago, while the core continues to grow toward its 11-story goal.

In the meantime, the Chicago version of the Nobu Hotel has changed ownership, with new permits listing NHC, LLC of Coral Gables, Florida as the new entity. The address comes up as the AIC Hotel Group, which lists other Nobu Hotels, and Hard Rock Hotels, among its properties.

GEMS World Academy Upper School gets permission to complete its latest assignment

Posted on June 14, 2018 by danieldschell

With a permit issued Wednesday, the GEMS World Academy Upper School has official permission to complete its 13-story building in Lakeshore East. That allows Power Construction to continue their progress on the bKL Architecture-designed facility. Students are expected to start using the Upper School in Winter 2019.

You can watch progress for yourself by following this link to the youtube construction cam; the cam is also accessible from bKL Archtecture’s GEMS World Academy Upper School page linked above.

: bKL Architecture renderings.

: bKL Architecture rendering.

: The Full-Build Permit.

: GEMS World Academy, the original.

Views of Chicago, from the18th Street Bridge

Posted on June 13, 2018 by danieldschell

My town, Chicago, as seen from the 18th Street Bridge.

I walk across the South Loop’s 18th Street Bridge once or twice a year, whether I need to or not. And that’s a shame. It’s a great perspective of the city, including the skyline and the magnificent St. Charles Air Line Bridge. For six months, it was all in my back yard. Now that I’m gone from the neighborhood, I realize how unappreciative I was of my proximity to it.

I need to get here more. A lot more.

I may have gotten a tad carried away with cropping photos into panoramas here. Indulge me. As usual, I couldn’t decide which ones *not* to include.

St. Charles Air Line Bridge

: Okay, not from the bridge…

: …

Canal Street Railroad Bridge

: From a bridge, but not 18th Street…

Ping Tom Park

Construction on the horizon

: 727 West Madison.

: Essex on the Park.

: Essex.

: NEMA Chicago and The Paragon Chicago.

: (Obscured) Hilton Homewood Suites/Hilton Garden Inn.

: The Paragon Chicago tower crane.

: The Cooper at Southbank.

Progress Update: Columbia College Student Center

Posted on June 13, 2018 by danieldschell

It’s time to check in with Pepper Construction on their progress in the South Loop. That’s where they’re erecting the Gensler-designed Columbia College Student Center at 8th Street and Wabash Avenue. The 114,000-square-foot facility is slated for opening in 2019.