At long last, The Loop has a tower crane again, courtesy of 145 South Wells

Posted on by
2

 

145 South Wells tower crane

Chicago’s newest tower crane is at 145 South Wells. And it’s a shiny yellow one!

The 20-story office tower Moceri + Roszak is building at 145 South Wells has erected The Loop’s first tower crane since we waved bye-bye to the sidewalk-hovering iron beast at 151 North Franklin more than a year ago. Now the real fun begins for Clark Construction, what with the crane being operational and caissons having been sunk into the earth. That means it’s time for some verticality at 145 South Wells.

Do what you do, shiny yellow crane.

Summer’s heat has wilted the Chicago Tower Crane count down to just 22 entering July

Posted on by
2
Vista Tower one crane

Vista Tower will be completed with just one tower crane.

Chicago has taken quite a hit over the past few months. Sure, we’re still seeing new tower cranes go up on a regular basis, but we’ve also lost a bunch as well, including ten since we last surveyed the. Not to worry though; there are more on the horizon. Not literally, though. Those would have to be counted as suburban cranes.

New since the May survey:

  1. GR333N (333 North Green)
  2. 145 South Wells
  3. Milieu (205 South Peoria)
  4. 5252 South Cornell

Gone Since the May survey:

  1. Vista Tower East Crane (still there, but halfway down)
  2. One Bennett Park East Crane
  3. Hayden West Loop
  4. 210 North Carpenter
  5. Hoxton Chicago
  6. 727 West Madison
  7. Hilton Hotel combo (1101 South Wabash)
  8. Home2 Suites River North
  9. Renelle on the River
  10. Harrison Hall at UIC
  11. 450 West Belmont

Coming Attractions:

  1. 1201 E. 60th Street (Is this still happening, U of C?)
  2. 730 N Milwaukee
  3. The Bentham? The website is still live, so there’s (some?) hope.
  4. Union West
  5. 1415 South Wabash

No permit yet, but construction has started:

  1. 1550 North Clark
  2. Toyoko Inn Chicago
  3. 4555 North Sheridan
  4. Alta Grand Central
  5. 110 North Wacker

Where are the tower cranes?

  1. West Loop – 6
  2. South Loop – 3
  3. Lincoln Park – 3
  4. River North – 2
  5. Lakeshore East – 2
  6. 6 neighborhoods have one tower crane apiece: The Loop (THE LOOP HAS A TOWER CRANE AGAIN! -145 South Wells); Lake View (3833 North Broadway); Streeterville (One Bennett Park); Gold Coast (61 East Banks); Near North (Atrium Village Phase 2); Hyde Park (5252 South Cornell)

Who has them?

  1. Power – 5
  2. W.E. O’Neil – 4
  3. McHugh – 2
  4. Walsh – 2
  5. Nine general contractors have one tower crane apiece: Skender (Hyatt House West Loop); Linn-Mathes (5252 South Cornell); Centaur (Nobu Hotel); Clark (145 South Wells); Maris (Three Sixty West); Lendlease (One Bennett Park); DLG (3833 North Broadway); Leopardo (61  East Banks); Onni Group (Atrium Village Phase 2)

What are they building?

  1. Residence – 15 1/2 (Vista is half res, half hotel)
  2. Office – 3
  3. Hotel – 2 1/2 (Vista again)
  4. Education – 1 (GEMS World Academy Upper School

 

Wanna see ’em? Moving south to north:

Chicago’s multi-tower-crane jobs are disappearing fast

Posted on by
Reply

A matter of mere days after I’d finally come to grips with no longer having two tower cranes at the new McDonald’s Headquarters in the West Loop, word came that the East Crane at Vista Tower was coming down. I made the pilgrimage over to Streeterville to take a few shots from across the Chicago River, turned to look behind me, and what else do I see? One tower crane at One Bennett Park! I appreciate everyone’s progress here, but noooooooo!

We’re counting on you to never finish, The Lincoln Common!

Vista Tower East Tower Crane

Vista Tower’s East Tower Crane is at half-mast.

One Bennett Park One Tower Crane

What’s funny is, I took this photo earlier Saturday morning for the single crane at Vista Tower, not noticing the half a crane atop One Bennett Park.

Now seems like as good a time as any to revisit and celebrate the TEN TOWER CRANES(!) of Battersea Power Station in London, and the 5-pack of cranes at Jewel Residences in Gold Coast, Australia.

Battersea Power Station London

Jewel Residences, Gold Coast, Australia

The Lincoln Common tower cranes

Please never leave us, Lincoln Common tower cranes! (Announcer voice: The Lincoln Common is almost topped out, so….)

Gone but not forgotten: Chicago Water Tanks no more

Posted on by
Reply

Chicago’s water tanks are back in the news, thanks to a report from WGN’s Lourdes Duarte. I started scrambling to find what photos I didn’t lose in the Great Hard Drive Debacle of 2017. Here are a few tanks that have come down from the skyline in recent years.

***If you get really bored, you can do a fly-over tour of Chicago on Google Maps and find water tanks in older views that are still on the map, but have since been demolished. You’ll find a lot more than I have pictured here.

June must be 50s month in Chicago; Essex on the Park reaches another milestone

Posted on by
Reply
Essex on the Park hits 50 stories

46…47…you do the math. But that’s *at least* 50 where I was schooled.

Must be something in the water. All the spring rain, perhaps. Whatever it is, 50 seems to be a popular number in the Chicago skyline these days, as our population of new skyscrapers continues to grow up.

A close look at the numerals stenciled into the front of Essex on the Park show that it too, along with recent 50-achievers Vista Tower and NEMA Chicago, has reached the 50th level. For a 56-story apartment tower, that’s pretty darn close to topping out.

Congratulations to the team of Power Construction, Oxford Capital Group, and Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, on achieving the milestone. Just a handful of floors to go.

Three Sixty West is making big progress in River North

Posted on by
Reply
Three Sixty West June 2018

Progress continues upward at Three Sixty West, the new condo development from Belgravia.

The only problem I can find with this building is that it’s right up against another structure to the east, so you can’t walk a 360 around it.

Growth galore in River North, where Three Sixty West, the 11-story condo tower from Belgravia Realty Group, has climbed to the seventh floor.

In the GREC Architects-designed building where there will soon be 38 brand-spankin-new condominiums, Maris Construction is more than halfway up in progress at 360 West Erie Street. What that could mean is we might see glass installation beginning soon.