Updating the tower crane updates

Posted on April 27, 2017 by danieldschell

The brand new crane at the Wicker Park Connection Monday evening.

Turns out, tracking tower cranes in Chicago can be exhausting.

Tuesday, the crane was coming down from Optima II.

We were at 31 Sunday with the loss of 1001 West Chicago’s crane, but then 1101 South Wabash had its crane in the air, but under (my) radar, and the Wicker Park Connection, which had planted a stub, finished its crane. That made 33. For, like, an hour. Because yesterday I noticed the luffing crane coming down from atop Optima II in Streeterville. (That crane seemed to be there for about 9 years, didn’t it?)

Long story longer, I believe there are now 32 active tower cranes in Chicago. *This is an unscientific poll.

Remember, there are stubs planted at One South Halsted and the Cook County Central Campus Health Center that should be up and running soon. Essex On The Park, Aloft Chicago Mag Mile, and Nobu have been issued crane permits. But 3Eleven, the Landmark West Loop, and (I think?) 171 Aberdeen have topped out, so we could lose those cranes any day now.

Maybe in the next few days, we can speculate about which just-underway or soon-to-be-started projects will require tower cranes. You know, McDonald’s “vendor village”, Hoxton Hotel, 808 West Van Buren, and the like. What about 508 West Diversey? That’s 12 stories. Yeah, this seems like a conversation for another day.

Scratch 1101 South Wabash off the “Waiting For Tower Cranes” list

Posted on April 26, 2017 by danieldschell

A new tower crane hovers over 1101 South Wabash.

No longer just a large excavation pit, 1101 South Wabash now has a tower crane to help erect the 30-story hotel coming to the South Loop site. Apparently the shiny red crane has been there almost a week now, but I neglected it for a few days. Sorry, crane. Nothing personal. Ya know I love ya.

According to the CTBUH, this is a development from SB Yen management Group in Hinsdale, and will be the Hilton Homewood Suites and Wabash Suites Hotel.

: Yep, this one’s ALL Crane.

: The foundation has been shored up, and the hotel is ready to rise.

1101 South Wabash digs deep

Posted on April 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Foundation work, getting down and dirty, at 1101 South Wabash.

There’s a hotel being built at 1101 South Wabash in the South Loop. And besides it being at the corner of Wabash and 11th Street, behind the Best Western Grant Park Hotel, that’s about all I can tell you of it. Sure, the original foundation permit tells us it will a 30-story hotel. But now there’s a revised permit, which calls for a 30-story mixed-use building.

Okay, not huge news. But there’s more; the revised permit now names Skender Construction as the general contractor, where Lendlease held that distinction on the original permit. Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture remains the architect of record.

With the former two-story parking garage a distant memory, the foundation is being dug and shored up. A tower crane permit was issued February 22, so we have that to look forward to.

: The new general contractor, according to the revised foundation permit.

: Lendlease signage remains all over the construction site.

: The Tower Crane permit, issued Feb 22.

Parking garage turned empty lot in South Loop is getting a hotel

Posted on December 27, 2016 by danieldschell

I don’t know what this steel-and-wood sculpture, in the lot at 1101 South Wabash, is called. But I like it.

At 1101 South Wabash Avenue, directly behind the Best Western Grant Park Hotel in the South Loop, the City of Chicago has filed a permit to begin construction of a 30-story hotel. According to the permit, this will be a design by Lothan Van Hook DeStefano Architecture. And according to the Chicago Plan Commission agenda for November of this year, the hotel will have 281 rooms and 57 parking spaces.

The two-story parking garage on the site got its demolition permit in January of this year, and by the middle of February, it had been reduced to an empty lot.

Currently, there are a couple of cool abstract pieces of iron artwork on site, but I can’t say for sure those are permanent. Lendlease is the general contractor on the hotel project; we’ll let them decide what stays and what goes.