Eight Eleven Uptown nears the top

Posted on February 23, 2018 by danieldschell

Eight Eleven Uptown is very close to topping out, as seen from North Broadway and looking straight up North Clarendon.

First of all, let me thank the Thursday-morning skies for clearing up just enough to get some sunlight and breaking clouds for these shots of Eight Eleven Uptown. It looked magnificent.

Also, thanks to Lendlease for labeling floor numbers on the hoist so theycan be seen from the street. Using the last-marked floor, 22, and counting upward, it looks like construction crews are working on the 26th level, while the core has reached 27. This being a 27-story tower, Eight Eleven Uptown is very close to topping out. That’s just math.

Designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, and co-developed by JDL Development and Harlem Irving Companies, the tower at 811 West Agatite in the Uptown neighborhood will deliver 381 apartments and 36,000 square feet of retail space upon completion, including a Treasure Island grocery store.

Essex on the Park enters the Roaring Twenties

Posted on February 20, 2018 by danieldschell

Floor markings on the skip show Essex on the Park progress has reached beyond the 20th floor.

Stories, that is. The 20s of the eventual 56 stories to which Essex on the Park will rise.

Power Construction has the new apartment tower at 808 South Michigan Avenue up to the 26th-or-so floor. We know this because level numbers can be seen on the “skip” hoist at the front of the site. That’s an ideal way for us looky-lous to track height progress. It also means Power is dangerously close to the half-way point of Hartshorne Plunkard Associates’ 56-story design.

One of Chicago’s longest-running shows, No. 9 Walton lowers the curtain on its tower crane

Posted on February 7, 2018 by danieldschell

The tower crane at No. 9 Walton is slowly lowering itself to the ground, one segment at a time.

If you thought No. 9 Walton at 9 West Walton Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood topped out months ago, and that it seemed strange how long that hammerhead tower crane remained aloft, you were on to something. While we can’t confirm anything, we’ve got our suspicions that the $58.5 million sale for the top four floors may have had something to do with the longevity of the crane. (Dennis Rodkin over at Crain’s Chicago had the scoop back in January.)

The stub was planted at No. 9 Walton in March of 2016, after getting its permit on the first of February. By my calculations, that’s about two years ago. That’s a long time for a tower crane to be on a job site, especially one that’s “only” 38 stories high.

No. 9 Walton is a project from JDL Develoment. You may recall hearing that JDL’s president and founder, James Letchinger, had set aside a unit in this tower for himself. That’s a pretty good indication he’s paid very close attention to every facet of its construction.

The design was by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. Lendlease handled the GC duties.

Expect No. 9 Walton to be open in 2018.

: This was a handsome tower crane.

: There’s the stub in March 2016, while excavation work continued.

: More of the stub, circa March 2016.

Atrium Village gets a permit for Tower #2

Posted on December 9, 2017 by danieldschell

The permit, issued Friday, for 39 stories at 202 West Hill Street.

We don’t know much, but we do know there’s a brand-spankin’-new permit for the second tower at Atrium Village in the Near North neighborhood. Just as Onni Group appears ready to take down the tower crane at Old Town Park, the City of Chicago granted a permit on Friday to begin foundation work on the second tower, at 202 West Hill Street, of the Atrium overhaul.

This one will be 39 stories high, with 428 units above a six-story podium, and some ground-floor retail space. As with Old Town Park, Onni Group will be their own general contractor, and Hartshorne Plunkard is the design architect.

Sure, we look forward to another tall building, but we’re more anxious to see Onni light up another tower crane!

Eight Eleven Uptown brings the pane

Posted on November 28, 2017 by danieldschell

Curtain wall installation has begun at Eight Eleven Uptown.

Lots of progress has been made at Eight Eleven Uptown. Not just in height, which appears to have reached a dozen or so floors. But also in glass. A walk around Lendlease’s construction site Monday revealed two levels of curtain wall installed on Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture’s 27-story apartment tower.

Eight Eleven Uptown is comprised of 381 rental units and nearly 300 parking spaces. Many of those parking spots will be used for the Treasure Island food store to be included in the 36,000 square feet of planned commercial space.

Onni Group lights up the Old Town Park tower crane. Again.

Posted on November 27, 2017 by danieldschell

The moon and the glow crane were out Sunday evening at Old Town Park.

For the second year in a row, Onni Group has strung some serious lights on the tower crane hovering above Old Town Park in the near North neighborhood. Of course, it was still Atrium Village at this time last year. Not to mention construction had barely risen above street level. But now, Old Town Park is topped out at a full 31 stories, and glass has reached the 25th floor, or thereabouts.

Folks, let me just tell you that glow-in-the-dark tower cranes are THE. BOMB. Chicago needs more of them. I would love to see this become a trend here. But at least Onni gets it right. Two years ago, they also lit up the tower crane at The Hudson for the holidays. So kudos to them for their three-year streak. Will we see another this time next year when the next Atrium Village phase is underway?

: Last year’s glow crane.

: Onni Group’s glow-in-the-dark crane at The Hudson, December 2015.

Essex on the Park gets ready for a tower crane jump, begins cladding installation

Posted on November 17, 2017 by danieldschell

If you pretend all those supports are trees, you can envision the winter garden taking shape on the 7th floor of Essex on the Park.

Big milestones in the life of Essex on the Park, the 56-story, 476-unit apartment tower at 808 South Michigan Avenue in the South Loop. After receiving a permit from the City of Chicago on November 8 to jump the tower crane, Power Construction will do just that this weekend.

Also appearing on site are the first few panels of cladding on the exterior. Most of it is hidden at the north, rear corner of the tower, but there are a few small panels installed right out in front. You can also see the extra-tall 7th floor taking shape. That’s where Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture included the infinity pool and winter garden in the design. Hence, the extra space.

Oxford Capital Group is developing Essex on the Park, along with renovations of its namesake hotel next door, the Essex Inn. Work is expected to conclude in 2019.

Old Town Park is topped out; is the second Atrium Village tower about to rise?

Posted on November 6, 2017 by danieldschell

The topped-out top of Old Town Park in Near North.

With the 32-story, 405-unit Old Town Park at 1140 North Wells Street in Near North topped out, ground work is going deep to its south, and it looks like the start of the Phase 2 tower is imminent. No permits exist for that building yet, but the lot has been cleared and leveled, tress along Hill Street have been chopped down, and there are deep excavations where Atrium Village foundations once stood. Or sat.

Onni Group is developing and building the Hartshorne Plunkard-designed redo of Atrium Village. We’ll keep an eye out for a permit, which will also include a new tower crane, as the second tower isn’t close enough to the first one for the current crane to reach.

: Digging up old foundations.

: Rebar work…for caissons?

: From Skydeck at Sears Tower.

Essex On The Park is becoming Noticeable In The Skyline

Posted on October 11, 2017 by danieldschell

See it over there? Essex On The Park is starting to show through the trees of Grant Park.

From the east side of Grant Park, looking west, you can see Essex On The Park beginning its slow creep into the Chicago skyline. That’s what going vertical can do for a 56-story tower.

The giant, shiny, 476-unit project by Hartshorne Plunkard Architects will add 476 apartments to the Michigan Avenue streetwall. Oxford Capital Group, Essex On The Park’s developer, plans to have the residences open for move-ins in 2019. Remember that this project also includes the upgrading of the Essex Inn next door, expanding its capacity to 281 guest rooms.

That short red stubby tower crane Power Construction is using to build the apartment tower is fast becoming one of Chicago’s most photogenic. Take a walk around Grant Park, by by changing your location, you can use different buildings as a backdrop. Or, walk through the South Loop to the west, on Wabash or State Street, and get clear blue skies behind the tower crane. I know, I sound obsessed, but try it. You’ll see.

: Sears shots.

: Wait…are you Ceres right now?

Essex On The Park is a Tower On The Rise in the South Loop

Posted on September 14, 2017 by danieldschell

Essex On The Park is starting to rise alongside its mother ship, the Essex Inn.

One floor at a time, Essex On The Park is starting to show itself along the Michigan Avenue Streetwall in the South Loop. Of course, we ain’t seen nothing yet. What’s pictured is merely a fraction of the eventual 56 stories that will house 476 new apartments. And that’s a good thing. It means we have lots of progress still to come, lots of watching still to do.