W.E. O’Neil Construction and Michels Corporation are sending caissons into the West Loop soil for the seven-story parking garage at the Plumbers Local 130 facility. The permit to begin was issued May 14.
Now I know some of you aren’t huge parking garage fans, but this one is requiring a tower crane, so there’s a nice trade-off here. (I’m told not to expect said tower crane until July.)
OKW rendering
Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.
Rendering of The Couture from Rinka Chung Architecture.
Four years ago when I last visited Milwaukee, it looked like The Couture was a good bet to be the next tower crane along Lake Michigan.
I was wrong. For the most part. Luckily I didn’t have any money on it.
There’s still no tower crane, but site prep for The Couture has begun, as crews rip out the remnants of the concrete slab that once supported the Milwaukee Transit Center, and get the site ready for foundation work.
The Couture will be a 44-story tower at Clybourn Street, Lincoln Memorial Drive, and Michigan Street. The prime site will offer sweeping views of the lake, the stellar Milwaukee Art Museum, and the annual home of Summerfest, Henry Maier Festival Park.
Early info on The Couture had it including up to 600 units (residents? residences? hmm). Recent features, including this one from Urban Milwaukee, show a much lower number, with 322 apartments and 40,000 square feet of commercial space.
Rendering of The Couture from Rinka Chung Architecture
Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.
The world’s tallest mass timber frame building is under construction in Milwaukee. That’s far more unique than having the only tower crane (that I could find) in the city, and it’s a big deal.
Ascent is one of the latest projects from Milwaukee developer New Land Enterprises. They’re putting up this 25-story, 284-foot-tall apartment tower at North Van Buren Street and East Kilbourn Avenue in the city’s New Town neighborhood. (That’s right. If you’re looking for Chicago-style pizza in Milwaukee, Edwardo’s is no longer here.) When completed next year, Ascent will deliver 259 one-, two-, and three-bedroom units.
The Milwaukee firm of Korb + Associates is the design architect. Check out their website for a bunch of great renderings.
Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.
Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.
FOUNDATIONS ONLY PERMIT FOR THE NEW CONSTRUCTION OF A HIGH RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING
And with those words, issued by the City of Chicago Monday, The Reed at Southbank may begin construction. Lendlease is the general contractor, with McHugh Concrete doing the concrete work. (Note: in “official” contractor-speak, the tower crane “belongs” to the concrete contractor. But around here, we aren’t diligent enough to find and name all the sub-contractors on construction projects, so the general contractor is credited for the tower crane. We don’t mean to slight anyone; it’s just how we do it.)
They’ve been out there tearing up the ground for while now, prepping the site and doing that vertical shaft thing we mentioned before. But now it’s time for the real fun to start.
Sorry, folks. I’ve gotten into a bit of a rut the past few weeks. It was bound to happen with the development slow-down we’ve seen. When this blog was *really rolling, back in 2017, we had a total of 62 tower cranes around Chicago. Now, with just 12 at the moment, it’s difficult to provide some variety. There just isn’t as much to watch these days.
Granted, I could still walk back and forth all day between Carroll Avenue demolitions and Salesforce Tower construction, but I doubt you want to see photo galleries of those every other day.
So to mix things up a little, I’m on a 30-hour visit up north in Milwaukee. Like Chicago, there isn’t nearly as much happening here as the last time I visited back in 2017 (I’ve only spotted one single tower crane) but at least it’s something different.
I forgot to bring the cable that zips photos from my camera to my laptop, so I can’t post much until I get back to Chicago. But I’ll have a few Milwaukee updates for you this week.
Don’t know why the Spinal Tap joke didn’t occur to me last month, when we had 11 tower cranes. My bad. I’ve let you all down.
We lost none of our cranes since last month, and added one, at The Gateway Apartments (2050 West Ogden) in the Illinois Medical District. We also picked up two new permits: 354 North Union and 1371 West Randolph. And we’re holding out hope that 1000M gets going again soon. As for the other outstanding permits (345 North Morgan, 178 West Randolph, and 320 South Clinton)? Your guess is as good as mine.
Where are the tower cranes?
West Loop – 4
Illinois Medical District – 2
River North – 2
One each – The Loop (300 North Michigan); West Town (1454 West Randolph); Portage Park (Clarendale Six Corners); Gold Coast (Gild Chicago)
What are they building?
Residential – 6.5 (300 North Michigan is half res/half hotel)
Hotel – .5 (300 North Michigan)
Office – 4
Medical – 1 (UI Health)
Who has them?
Power Construction – 5
One each – Linn-Mathes (300 North Michigan); Clark Construction (320 South Canal); Skender (609 West Randolph); Ryan Companies (Clarendale Six Corners); Walsh Construction (Salesforce Tower); Global Builders (2050 West Ogden); Pepper Construction (UI Health)
Here’s a 12-pack for ya:
300 North Michigan
320 South Canal
609 West Randolph
1043 West Fulton
1400 West Randolph
1454 West Randolph
2050 West Ogden
Clarendale Six Corners
Gild Chicago
One Chicago
Salesforce Tower
UI Health
Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.
Because when you start glazing a skyscraping, you don’t just stop.
300 North Michigan got the first of its curtain wall about a month ago, and it’s getting shinier by the day. It’s also growing more visible above some of its neighbors, with a great view of it from Fulton Street in the West Loop.
I admit to a morbid fascination in watching demolition. And a little bit of guilt, as if I’m violating personal space by seeing, and photographing, anything so laid open and exposed.
ADM Milling Company and silos, photographed May 26, 2021.
Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.
Thursday, the City of Chicago issued four demolition permits for the 1000 block of West Madison Street in the West Loop. Those four lots — 1032, 1034, 1040, and 1044 — will soon see construction begin on Madison+Carpenter,
Madison+Carpenter will be a six-story condominium building from ZSD Corp. They’re wrapping up work on another condo development, Peoria Green, just a couple blocks away. Sullivan Goulette & Wilson is the design firm. They’re part of the Peoria Green team as well. We’re also watching progress on their design at CA6 in the West Loop.
Precision Excavation will do the dirty work. I’ve been watching them tear apart the former Chase Bank at RaveLaw.
Building Up Chicago 