A Linkedin post late last week from Thomas Roszak tells us concrete at 160 North Elizabeth has reached the 15th floor. This is a 27-story tower, so that’s more than halfway up. Because math. And I’m good at it. Clark and Adjustable are good at things too, because this building is flying upwards.
If you happened to make it outside Thursday, you noticed it was a sunny, gorgeous day. And sunny days are ideal for construction progress photos. So I took a few:
From way up northFrom way down south
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The 18-story, 196-unit apartment tower by developer and general contractor Tandem took a big step forward this week, planting a tower crane stub in the ground at 1044 West Van Buren in the West Loop. The crane will be erected early next week, I’m told, in what looks to be nice weather.
My first visit here was April 7; I went back May 1 and saw some digging had been done. The kind of digging you expect *after* caisson work is done; the kind of digging that makes you think “hole up; did I miss caissons?” Yep. Somehow, I completely missed caisson work, which must have been done with lightning speed. Oh well. You snooze, you miss out. Or something.
Here are more stub pics, and a few shots of foundation work from the May 1 visit:
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JDL announced via Instagram Stories Wednesday evening that a caisson permit had been issued that day (along with word that One Chicago had reached full occupancy, so big CONGRATS on that) and here we are Thursday morning, with the city’s permit site showing the permit for caissons under a 21-story tower, and the first two caissons being bored.
We’re going to enjoy 920 North Wells for now, but North Union will be overstimulating construction nerds for a long, long time. So get the lawn chair and cooler out of the garage, pack some snacks, and let’s go!
Oh, I almost forgot….I took pictures!
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Progress at 160 North Elizabeth has doubled since our last visit, though the change seemed much more dramatic on first glance. This morning, Adjustable Concrete shared on its Linkedin page that they’re working on Level 9. They’re the concrete contractor for GC Clark Construction, so they would know.
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ALLY at 1229 W Concord on the rise along the Chicago River
ALLY at 1229 W Concord, Sterling Bay’s life sciences development (it’s at 1229 W Concord, as you may have already figured out) has reached full height. Next milestone is to wrap that bay up in glass and let it shine along the North Branch of the Chicago River.
Sunday wasn’t my first visit to ALLY; I stopped by as they were erecting the tower crane on November 9 of last year, but I’ll be darned if I haven’t lost all the photos from that day, save for a couple of them I tweeted.
ALLY at 1229 W Concord is a design by Gensler, with Power Construction acting as the general contractor and Adjustable Concrete Construction on concrete. It’s the first of lots more to come at Lincoln Yards, which should keep us construction nerds entertained for a long, long time. The nine-story, 280,000-square-foot facility will include seven lab floors and lower-level parking for 55 cars. Expect delivery next year.
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160 North Elizabeth added another tower crane along Randolph in February.
160 North Elizabeth is a brand-spanking-new 27-story, 375-unit West Loop apartment tower from Moceri + Roszak. You know that name from the office building at 145 South Wells, apartment towers Parkline Chicago and Linea, and other developments.
160 North Elizabeth was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission on March 18, 2021. To date, it has received: a foundation permit on 11/24/2021 a tower crane permit on 11/30/2021 a full build permit on 2/4/2022.
The following photos were taken back on March 21.
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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 SaundersSkender 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.
The old 345 North Morgan, taken from the original B.U.C. HQ in the West Loop. Demolition wrapping up, December 16, 2019. Stalworth Underground doing caisson work, 08/31/2021
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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Sorry to rub it in if yer one o’ them NIMBYs who’s upset that the parking lot you use once a month when you drive to The Loop is gone. But the rest of us are pretty happy about it.
More than a year and a half after a foundation permit was issued, the surface parking lot at 410 South Wabash has been torn to bits, to be replaced by a 25-story residential tower. And it’s pretty cool to see, too. You can get a good view under the sidewalk and even a little bit of the seamy underbelly of Van Buren Street.
Back in January 2020, this very blog wrote, and I quote:
College students don’t need parking lots. College students do need beds. That might be a little oversimplified, but that’s how I prefer to look at 410 South Wabash in the South Loop.
A foundation permit issued by the City of Chicago beck in December launched the beginning of 410 South Wabash. Developed by Lennar Multifamily, or LMC, this new residential building in the South Loop promises to deliver 344 dwelling units in a 25-story, 260-foot-tall tower.
The site sits at the foot of the T intersection of the CTA’s elevated train lines at Wabash Avenue and Van Buren Street, offering future residents unlimited opportunities to take cool Instagram shots of the L coming and going into and out of The Loop. Orange, Pink, Green, Brown, and Purple Line trains all pass through here, and when the Christmas Train passes by at night, lucky tower dwellers will be directly above the action.
4th Ward Alderman Sophia King held a community meeting in May, from which there comes a veritable cavalcade of information on 410 South Wabash. Floor plans show a mix of 1-bed, 2-bed, and 3-bed units, plus studios, convertibles, and micro-apartments. Though no indication is given that this tower is targeting the South Loop student population, those smaller units sure seem to be good options for the college kids.
410 South Wabash will also include 103 parking spaces, which goes against my thoughts on students needing to park, but definitely fits in with 3-bedroom homes. There will also be about 8,000 square feet of commercial space.
Antunovich Associates is the architect of record; Pepper Construction is the general contractor.
Some things have changed since then, which I started writing about in March 2020, but held off on publishing in the hopes of hearing news that construction was about to start. Something known as an Easy Process Permit was issued by the city March 5 of 2020, changing the general contractor to Power Construction, and naming Adjustable Concrete Construction as the concrete contractor. Then (you still with me? Or did I lose you at “sorry to rub it in”?) two reinstatement permits were issued by the city: the first in January of this year, and another the last week of June. And it looks like that second one is what broke through the ice jam and got this project flowing again.
Which brings us to July 2021, wherein I make it down to 410 South Wabash in The Loop and verify that work has indeed begun. End of story.
Orange line video of site work. Lost my balance and almost fell over on the bend.
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No matter the name, Power Construction topped out the 12-story building in May, and now the tower crane is being disassembled and removed from the site. Still waiting on the first signs of curtain-wall glass.
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The best angle for counting floors at 1043 West Fulton. Go ahead, check my math.
Using my fingers and feet, I counted 12 stories at 1043 West Fulton as I walked past Friday. Knowing this is to be a 12-story office building, I asked around, and sure enough, the fine Power Construction folks told me they topped out Thursday.
And now, a gallery form Topping Out Day +1, and a couple from earlier in May with great sunlight. I like the sunlight.
May 17
May 11
May 11
May 11
1043 West Fulton, May20, 2021
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