513 South Damen is topped out and very glassy

513 South Damen and its sister building, Atrio.

When last (and first) I visited 513 South Damen in the Illinois Medical District, I was surprised at how quickly it had grown. Last week’s 360-degree tour shows it to be topped at 22 stories, and glass has reached the eighth level above the parking podium.

513 South Damen is:
A 279-unit apartment building
A development from Marquette Companies
A design by Brininstool + Lynch
A project of Power Construction

513 South Damen is *how* tall already?

Marquette Companies’ 513 South Damen rises in the Illinois Medical District

Maybe it’s been longer than I realized since 513 South Damen got started, but it surprised me last Monday to see how much progress has been made. But I guess that’s what “progress” means, eh?

The empty 513 South Damen lot the last time I walked by, in October of 2021.

513 South Damen is a 22-story, 279-unit apartment tower from Marquette Companies, who’ve recently put up Evo Union Park and Park Fulton in the far-West Loop. The other two big players on those two projects, general contractor Power Construction and design architect Brininstool + Lynch, round out the 513 team as well.

513 South Damen received:
the caisson permit on 7-26-2021
the tower crane permit on 10-13-2021
the foundation permit on 10-29-2021
the full build permit on 12-17-2021

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

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: