14 months ago, I called this the most unique construction project in the city. No one told me I was wrong.
The David M. Rubenstein Forum on the University of Chicago campus is done and open and really darn cool.
Congrats to the whole team on this one: The University of Chicago; architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro out of NYC and Chicago’s own Brininstool + Lynch, and general contractor Turner Construction.
The 369 Grand Opening is fast approaching. See what I did there?
369 Grand, the 41-story, 365-unit apartment building developed by Onni Group in River North, is on the verge of welcoming tenants. Designed by Brininstool + Lynch, the tower will also provide parking for 250 cars, and include ground-floor retail space.
For more on the opening, let’s welcome Urbanize Chicago to the city, and check out their story before we roll the photos of 369 Grand as she stands today, and a few construction shots.
1454 West Randolph is the second of Marquette Companies‘ apartment developments currently testing the boundaries of what I think of as the West Loop. Yes, West Town may be more suitable for this one, as it’s located west of Ogden Avenue. But I shamelessly admit the West Loop is my favorite of Chicago neighborhoods, even though it’s not one of our official community areas.
1454 West Randolph will be an 11-story, 242-unit apartment building. Brininstool + Lynch is the design architect. Power Construction is the general contractor. Marquette plans to welcome tenants early next year.
1400 West Randolph will deliver 278 apartments to the far reaches of the West Loop.
Marquette Companies has a pair of residential developments under construction at the outer reaches of the West Loop. This one, 1400 West Randolph, should make quite a statement when rises to its full 26-story height.
1400 West Randolph is situated on the corner of Randolph and Ogden. It 278 rental units (studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments) and 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Construction has been underway since last year, when foundation, tower crane and full-build permits were all issued.
Brininstool + Lynch is the design architect.
Below you’ll see progress photos from December 2020 and March 2021 visits. That’s Power Construction on the build. Marquette plans an early 2022 opening.
The Mason is a 13-story, 263-unit apartment building in the West Loop that began its life known as 180 North Ada. The L-shaped structure was designed by Brininstool + Lynch for Marquette Companies, with Power Construction on the build. The Mason opened to residents in Spring 2019.
Last week, the Chicago Plan Commission unanimously approved a zoning change for The Mason:
The Applicant is proposing to rezone the property from the current Planned Development #1384 to Planned Development #1384, as amended, to allow for a restaurant and tavern use to be established on the ground floor.
Helping move Restaurant Row further west in the West Loop is a good thing for hungry Chicagoans.
First Glass Post for 369 West Grand.
Last time I walked by 369 West Grand, I caught a milestone; Onni Group was jumping the tower crane. And here it is another week, and another milestone achievement for the Canadian developer/builder: the first few pains of glass have been installed for the tower’s curtain wall.
As is almost always the case, I have photos to prove it:
We have a winner for Most Unique Construction Project in Chicago right now.
The David M. Rubenstein Forum is being built by the University of Chicago on its Hyde Park campus. **Most of the campus may be in Hyde Park, but this particular project is south of the Midway Plaisance, placing it in the Woodlawn neighborhood. Sorry, my mistake.** It’s part Jenga tower, part shipping container park. There’s a lot of concrete, a ton of glass, and when it’s finished, it will have lots of ways for U of C students to utilize it.
The school describes it, in part, this way:
The ground floor includes the main lobby and a restaurant, with stairs leading to the building’s largest multipurpose event space, capable of accommodating groups up to 600. Immediately above the base is a 285-seat auditorium. The top floor of the tower features a flat-floor multipurpose space, which can accommodate meetings of 75 and other events.
The Rubenstein Forum is a collaboration between design architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro out of NYC, and Chicago’s own Brininstool + Lynch. On the build is Turner Construction. I’m grateful to them for the Facebook photo of the tower cranes included in the photo gallery. (The bird joke is theirs, not mine.) I didn’t get down to Hyde Park when they were still in the air.
If you click on all those links I’ve provided above, not only will you find everything you need to know about the Rubenstein Forum, but you’ll also see a ton of great renderings, plus some stellar drone footage.
The sun (THE SUN!) was shining on 369 West Grand Sunday.
Tower cranes are cool. Putting them up is cool, and even taking them down is cool. But the coolest phase of tower cranedom might be The Jump.
Onni Group has a tower crane out at 369 West Grand, and Sunday they were adding sections to it. Guess what? I snapped a few shots.
369 West Grand is a 41-story, 365-unit apartment building going up on the site of the former Clark & Barlow Hardware store and Grand Avenue and Orleans Street in River North. It is being developed by Onni Group, the Canadian developer also currently working on the Old Town Park project. Onni also built The Hudson, a residential tower about six blocks north of 369 West Grand. Designed by Brininstool + Lynch, the tower’s podium will provide parking for 250 cars, and include ground-floor retail space.
“Onni” is Vancouverian for “It’s lit”
You never tell your children one of them is your favorite. That’s Parenting 101. It’s equally dangerous to announce personal affection for any one particular tower crane. But in a city where lighting tower cranes doesn’t really seem to be a thing, Onni Group once again shines through with their workhorse high overhead at Old Town Park Tower III. Watch for it next time you ride a Purple or Brown Line train between Chicago Avenue and Sedgwick. It’s pretty darn close to the tracks, so look up, or better yet, ride in the rear car and watch out the back window.
Onni’s put on this show before, not only at previous phases of Old Town Park, but also a few blocks away at The Hudson. They’re also working at 369 West Grand, but I forgot to look west from the train to see if that tower crane was glowing as well. Someone let me know, please?
Building Up Chicago 