Stuff That’s Done: Harrison Hall at UIC

Posted on January 21, 2020 by danieldschell

Harrison Hall, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

While this blog was taking intermittent breaks over the past couple years, Chicago construction has gone on without us. The nerve, right? Many of the projects I started covering from their outset have wrapped up, and though there may be too many to get to, this is my attempt to show you some or those final results. I couldn’t think of a fancier title to use. Stuff That’s Done will have to suffice for now. This is the first of what may or may not be a series.

I wandered past Harrison Hall on the UIC campus this week. Cool piece of architecture. I last checked on it in June 2018. It was designed by SCB and built by Pepper Construction.

**NOTE** Stuff That’s Done may sometimes refer to projects that aren’t completely “done,” but are open.

Slightly overhead views of Cirrus, Cascade

Posted on January 20, 2020 by danieldschell

Those of us without a helicopter, drone, or a really, really long selfie stick are running out of time before construction on Cirrus Condominiums and Cascade Apartments reaches above the elevated street levels of Harbor and Waterside Drives in Lakeshore East.

For that reason, I give you a whole slew of (somewhat) overhead shots, taken January 19, looking down on Lendlease’s continuing progress on the two bKl Architecture-designed residential towers.

: A sluice!

308 West Erie is about to combine forces with 306 West Erie to form one big office building and one very long headline

Posted on January 20, 2020 by danieldschell

North Wells Capital celebrates groundbreaking at 306 West Erie in December.

Brown Line riders: Keep your eyes to the west as you ride between Merchandise Mart and Chicago Avenue. The empty lots along Franklin Street on Erie and Huron are changing.

North Wells Capital has three buildings planned for this stretch of River North, and one of them just got started. Officially an “addition” to the existing office building at 308 West Erie, 306 West Erie will be a five stories high, according to North Wells Linkedin post, or seven stories, according to the renovation permit issued to 308 back in December. The rendering sure looks like five to me. Offices at 311 and 320 West Huron will follow.

Arco/Murray is the general contractor working on the NORR-designed 306 West Erie since its official groundbreaking last month. Revcon is on site as we speak, drilling and filling caissons.

You can read more about, and see renderings of, the project at:

Chicago Cityscape

Crain’s

: From the L

: From the L

: The lot at 311 West Huron.

: The lot at 320 West Huron.

That time I went to Pennsylvania and learned what a cracker plant is

Posted on January 14, 2020 by danieldschell

A quick trip to Pittsburgh and back gave me a chance to check out (sadly, not at night though) the Royal Dutch Shell (they’re spelling that name wrong, imho) cracker plant along the Ohio River in Monaca, PA.

Until yesterday, I had no idea what a cracker plant was, outside of baking snacks. Luckily for all of us, The Times is on it. I’ll do the easy part and share a few photos from across the river. And then you can read the article in the New York Times to learn more.

FYI: Near as I can tell, there’s only one tower crane on this site. And then a whole bunch of varied, humongous others.

Alta Grand Central nears its debut in the South Loop

Posted on January 10, 2020 by danieldschell

It’s been more than 18 months since we’ve checked in on Alta Grand Central in the South Loop. That was in June of 2018, just after Alta Grand Central had been announced on Instagram. Not surprisingly, it has gone from dirt lot to near-completion in that amount of time.

The two 14-story, Pappageorge Haymes Partners-designed apartment towers contain 346 units. Wood Partners is the developer and Walsh Construction the general contractor, just like they were around the corner at Alta Roosevelt.

Alta Grand Central looks move-in ready from the outside, but we still need to wait a bit for the opening.

The Alta Grand Central construction site during our last visit, June 2018.

Demolition of Truc Lam Temple is permitted to begin

Posted on January 10, 2020 by danieldschell

The Truc Lam Buddhist Temple

It’s a Friday, and the weather ain’t the greatest, so that might be the only thing keeping demolition crews from having their way with the former Truc Lam Buddhist Temple at 1521 West Wilson Avenue in Ravenswood. A demolition permit was issued Thursday, allowing Precision Excavation to level the building on the southeast corner of WIlson and Ashland.

Crews got a jump start by stripping away the aluminum siding in December. Construction fencing went up along the sidewalks the first week of January.

A new building permit for a 2-story structure with a ground-floor day care center was issued for this site back on November 22. That permit indicates a NORR-designed building, with Builtech Services as the GC.

: Demolition Permit, issued 1/9/2020

One Chicago Square: Just the tower cranes

Posted on January 9, 2020 by danieldschell

Tower cranes should be cherished. Two tower cranes should be cherished and celebrated. Three tower cranes should be cherished, celebrated, and should get their own post.

One Chicago Square has three tower cranes. This is their own post.