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The tower crane is gone, but work hasn’t skipped a beat at 345 North Morgan in the Fulton Market District.
Sterling Bay’s latest boutique office building is installing windows on what is shaping up to be my favorite new building for nighttime views. And I say that having only been there on sunny days. But mark my words; this is one of those sites you’ll want to get to just as it gets dark at night with the interior lights shining brightly.
345 North Morgan is a ten-story, 200,000-square-foot office building designed by Chicago’s own Eckenhoff Saunders Skender is the general contractor. Their task, along with Adjustable Concrete Construction on concrete, is to have this office building ready for tenants before we close the door on 2022.
It wasn’t until I looked up the permit history that I remembered 345 having a little trouble getting started. Of course, over the past 24 months, who among us *hasn’t* had a little trouble getting started. The old paint store at 345 North Morgan got a demolition permit on December 5 of 2019. (I still have an unfinished draft that I started in January of 2020.) The foundation permit for the new building was next, issued March 12, 2020. But then things went idle for awhile before caisson work began in August of last summer. The full build permit was issued in June of 2021, and the tower crane was permitted on September 3. And here we are.
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Donate110 North Wacker (Bank of America Tower to some of you) is open to the public this weekend for Open House Chicago 2021. The 55th floor is a continuous, wide-open space, and a great vantage point to see Chicago. If you’re like me, and think the Sears Tower is just a tad too high for your modest camera-lens collection, this is the ticket.
I got a good view of our five remaining tower cranes from up here.
And an honorable mention for 300 North Michigan, which is being taken down.
The space:
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:
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:
Fine, that seems a little dramatic. But seven tower cranes ain’t a lot of tower cranes. (And one of them isn’t even in operation yet.) The Chicago Seven are:
2. 300 North Michigan. Linn-Mathes is the general contractor. Sterling Bay and Magellan Development are the co-developers. bKL Architecture is the design architect.
3. Plumbers Local 130 Parking Garage (1371 West Randolph.) W.E. O’Neil is the general contractor. Plumbers Local 130 is the developer. OKW Architects is the design architect.
4. The Reed at Southbank (234 West Polk.) Lendlease is the general contractor and developer. Perkins + Will is the design architect.
5. 354 North Union. Onni Group is the general contractor and developer. Pappageorge Haymes Partners is the design architect.
6. Gateway Apartments (2050 West Ogden.) Global Builders is the general contractor. Piekarz Associates is the design architect.
7. 345 North Morgan is being assembled as you read this, so I’m counting it. Skender is the general contractor. Sterling Bay is the developer. Eckenhoff Saunders Architects is the design architect.
410 South Wabash is done with foundation work.
1000M will hopefully be back in business soon.
164 North Peoria is still in caisson mode.
ALLY at Lincoln Yards hasn’t broken ground quite yet, but site work has started, at it got a foundation permit last week.
1306 East 61st Street – The University of Chicago doesn’t have any other permits yet.
178 West Randolph and 320 South Clinton? I’m not holding my breath.
UIC had a tower crane at the UI Health Outpatient Surgery Center & Specialty Clinics crane is being dismantled this week. UIC may need a crane at 700 West Taylor for its Computer Design Research and Learning Center. But there won’t be a city permit for it, should there be one, because this is being built under the State of Illinois’ authority.
513 South Damen just got a foundation permit for 21 stories.
It’s been almost 15 months since foundation and tower crane permits were issued for Sterling Bay’s 345 North Morgan, an 11-story, 230,000-square-foot office building in the nearly-impossible-to-keep-up-with Fulton Market District. That’s a looong time to wait on a tower crane.
But Monday, the full building permit was issued for this one, so we’re keeping crossed fingers that Three Four Five will get started soon.
Located next door to Sterling Bay’s Ace Hotel, and across the street from their Google offices at 1KFulton, 345 North Morgan will include ground-floor retail space and parking spots for 34 cars, according to that aforementioned permit.
Eckenhoff Saunders Architects is the design architect on 345. Skender Construction is designated as the general contractor.
