Onni Group’s Christmas Crane returns to light up Chicago

Posted on December 5, 2016 by danieldschell

Onni Group, developer and general contractor on the Atrium Village redevelopment in the Near North, is lighting up the Christmastime skies over Chicago for the second year in a row. The shiny blue neon adorning the tower crane above Atrium Village is a dead ringer for the tower crane Onni lit up last Christmas at The Hudson.

The Christmas Crane, and a view of progress at Atrium Village, from Twitter user @joecarpita

In the meantime, the pretty crane still has a job to do, and that’s piling parts on top of pieces to bring this 31-story tower to fruition. Pictures of progress, and a few more angles of the neon crane, follow:

Atrium Village Christmas crane

: This was the Christmas Crane at The Hudson from Christmas 2015.

: Couple things: 1. The lights are impressive. 2. The crane extends across Wells Street. Also impressive.

Quick Look: An overview of Atrium Village construction

Posted on October 6, 2016 by danieldschell

This look at Atrium Village construction is courtesy of Joe Carpita.

Joe Carpita of Chicago (@joecarpita on Twitter) sent in this elevated view of Atrium Village construction Wednesday. Not only is it a great shot of those Fields of Gold from last week’s post, but it also provides a new perspective on just how high The Sinclair (in the background) has risen.

Thanks, Joe!

Atrium Village plants Fields of Gold, and it Stings so good

Posted on September 30, 2016 by danieldschell

There’s gold in them there excavations!

I don’t know quite what to make of the yellow field Onni Group has put down in its Atrium Village construction site, but I know I like it.

This is Phase One of the Atrium Village project, which will be a 31-story apartment tower designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architects. It will have 400 rental units, ground-floor retail, and some 300+ parking spaces.

: Gratuitous tower crane shot.

Before you build a building, you have to build a building-building crane

Posted on August 2, 2016 by danieldschell

A shiny yellow LaGrange Crane crane helps assemble a pretty red All Crane.

And you’ll need a crane-building crane to help you build that building. Which is what Onni Group is doing right now at Atrium Village in the Near North neighborhood. Now that it looks like the massive foundation digging is mostly complete, Onni can start going skyward on the 31-story tower. They put up the stem yesterday; today, they were adding pieces and parts.

And you can see more photos of the some-assembly-required tower crane and the big dig down below:

: They were trucking in tower crane parts faster than they could put them together…

: …or maybe you’ve got to have all the parts on hand…

: …so you *can* put them all together.

: And all those parts will go up there.

: Cranes helping cranes.

: They did a lot of digging here.

: A little more love for LaGrange Crane.

: DO NOT BUMP THE TOWER CRANE!

Quick Look: Atrium Village (almost) has a tower crane

Posted on August 2, 2016 by danieldschell

Here, through a scratched, filthy CTA window, is the Atrium Village tower crane.

I did what I could from a fast-moving Brown Line train Tuesday evening to capture an image or two of the tower crane being set up at Atrium Village in the Near North neighborhood. That’s where Onni Group is building a 31-story apartment tower designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architects.

That’s one of the two tower cranes at The Sinclair in the background.

The Tower Crane Pipeline Still Runneth Over [Updated]

Posted on July 12, 2016 by danieldschell

Last week, I got pretty excited (okay, way excited — overstimulated even) about the three tower crane stubs being set in the ground around Chicago. One was for the DePaul School of Music, one for the new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ meetinghouse at 822 North Clark Street, and the third at 8 East Huron Street in River North. But lest you think that puts a wrap on what to watch for, think again.

We still have half a dozen projects out there with tower crane permits itching to climb into the sky. They are:

Atrium Village

Atrium Village received a tower crane permit last week to erect a 31-story apartment building.

Atrium Village, which I also posted about last week, will rise soon in the Near North. The 31-story rental tower, which is Phase One of the multi-phase project by Onni Group to rebuild the entire Atrium Village development, got its tower crane permit July 5th.

625 West Adams

625 West Adams is a busy lot again this morning, following a slow weekend after wrapping up caisson work.

625 West Adams in the West Loop got its tower crane permit on June 28th. The 20-story office tower from CA Ventures and White Oak Realty Partners is happening right outside the buildingupchicago office.

165 North Desplaines

Caisson work is ongoing at 165 North Desplaines in the West Loop.

Also in the West Loop, Gerding Edlen’s 165 North Desplaines continues caisson work, while waiting to install its tower crane. The permit was filed on June 28th, the same day as 625 West Adams. Two brand-spankin’ new tower cranes four blocks apart. Nice. 165 North Desplaines will be a 14-story apartment building with 199 units.

3Eleven

3Eleven still looks like that movie “Holes”

In the early stages of construction, 3Eleven still looks like just a random series of holes. Soon, it will be a 23-story apartment tower from the John Buck Company at 311 West Illinois Street in River North, in what, up until a couple weeks ago, was the parking lot for Assumption Roman Catholic Church.

Apple Store

The new Apple Store at 401 North Michigan Avenue, both upper and lower.

Does Chicago need a new Apple Store? Or just an Apple Store with more space for people to camp out overnight for each new iPhone? Well, Chicago is getting both. At 401 North Michigan Avenue, in Pioneer Court. And it’s getting a tower crane as well, permitted on May 23rd.

171 North Aberdeen

171 North Aberdeen in the West Loop.

The West Loop is a busy place. But you knew that. 171 North Aberdeen is another project in the early stages. They’ve done some scraping, but it may be a while yet until it gets the tower crane it was permitted to have back on May 10th. 171 North Aberdeen, from MCZ Development, will be a mid-rise, mixed-use building combining luxury apartments, retail space, office space, and parking.

[Curiously, the tower permit is the only permit on file so far. No foundation permit has been issued as yet.]

That sentence from the original story is completely, thoroughly wrong. 171 North Aberdeen received a foundation permit on June 6th. I missed it. Sorry for my mistake.

As Atrium Village Foundation Work Continues…A Tower Crane

Posted on July 6, 2016 by danieldschell

Onni Group works on the foundation for Atrium Village.

Ready for another tower crane in Chicago?

Onni Group sure is. Onni is up at 1140 North Wells Street in the Near North neighborhood, working on the redevelopment of Atrium Village. It’s a huge, multi-phase plan to transform the entire development. And Phase One is in full effect.

Onni has been digging through the dirt since February, when the City of Chicago filed a foundation permit for Phase One, which will be a 31-story apartment tower designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architects. It will have 400 rental units, ground-floor retail, and some 300+ parking spaces.

And since it’s a high-rise, it’ll need a tower crane, which was permitted by the City of Chicago yesterday. If you’re familiar at all with Onni Group, then you probably already figured it’s the general contractor on this development as well.