1306 E 61st | Building Up Chicago

The University of Chicago’s tower crane at 1306 E 61st

Up until about a week ago, the tower crane building a parking garage for the University of Chicago at 1306 E 61st in Woodlawn was our southernmost and easternmost tower crane. That title vanished when the Obama Presidential Center erected the first of its three rigs. Thankfully for U of C, that designation comes with neither a trophy nor a monetary award, so they didn’t miss out on much more than a mention on B.U.C.

Clark Construction is the CG on the parking structure. They received the full build permit December 8 of last year, the caisson permit on November 18, and the tower crane permit on September 21. No idea how long the crane’s been up, but they’ve gotten a lot done so far.

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I don’t usually do a tower crane count mid-month, but dang, only five of them?

Yeah, our tower crane count has dipped to five, with 2050 West Ogden and 300 North Michigan recently (or currently) being taken down.

But take heart, Chicago. We have more on the way soon, with eight having permits and expected to be in the air relatively soon:

The Obama Center has a permit for three of them
164 North Peoria has wrapped up caisson work.
1306 E. 61st (U of C) has a permit
ALLY Lincoln Yards has a permit
513 South Damen has a permit
4611 North Broadway has a permit

410 South Wabash has completed caissons, but we’re still waiting for a tower crane permit for it.

Don’t forget, 1000M (1000 South Michigan) had a stub in the ground, but the crane was never erected. And 178 West Randolph and 320 South Clinton have permits, but . . . who knows.

Let’s keep an eye on LG Development’s HUGO project at Hudson and Chicago. Maybe one tower crane to build both nine-story buildings?

166 North Aberdeen is in caisson mode. That’s a 20-story tower, and will need a TC for sure.

Here are the five tower cranes we *do* have:

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University of Chicago’s four-story parking garage on its way up

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Chicago has 8 tower cranes on the horizon, but only 5 on the skyline