June 6, 2018: The City of Chicago was kind enough to raise half of the Lake Street Bridge so I could get a good view of Wolf Point East.
It was there, so I stopped. Sue me.
Prepare to be shocked: I went to Wolf Point East again
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Tag Archives: Hines
The two towers of The Lincoln Common continue their race to the top
The Lincoln Common’s two towers near topping out in Lincoln Park.
If my math is correct, I see towers of 18 and 19 stories at The Lincoln Common. Both those numbers are very close to 20, which is what we were expecting on the former Children’s Memorial Hospital site in Lincoln Park.
And it’s not just those two towers W.E. O’Neil is hard at work constructing. Belmont Village across Fullerton has started shooting upwards, 2380 North Lincoln (the old White Elephant shop) is getting some much-needed attention (finally!) and the six-story retail & office building at 2350 North Lincoln has risen fast. Heck, even the parking garage next to that is having work done. These are a busy couple of blocks in Lincoln Park.
A not-sunny-at-all day at an abandoned Wolf Point East
An idle day at Wolf Point East.
Not Spire-abandoned, of course. But rainy-and-it’s-Saturday-so-there’s-no-good-reason-to-go-to-the-site abandoned. This was Wolf Point East over the weekend, when it was chilly, gloomy, and empty.
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- Rowers by.
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- Passersby.
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The Pickard Chilton Boathouse we didn’t get
Rendering from Pickard Chilton of a proposed boathouse at River Point.
An innocent Wednesday-morning tweet led me down a rabbit hole, and I eventually climbed out through the website of Pickard Chilton, the New Haven, Connecticut-based architecture firm known in Chicago for designing River Point and 300 North LaSalle, plus one of my out-of-town favorites, the Northwestern Mutual Tower in Milwaukee.
One item on the Pickard Chilton projects page in particular caught my attention; The Boathouse. A proposed development for Hines, The Boathouse was designed to go where River Point Plaza stands now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not at all unhappy with either River Point or its plaza, but this boathouse would have been an awesome addition to the Chicago River. Maybe another location? It could look marvelous down on the South Branch too.
All of the following images of The Boathouse are from Pickard Chilton.
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- Rendering from Pickard Chilton of a proposed boathouse at River Point.
River Point Plaza, where The Boathouse would have been built. (B.U.C. image)
The Lincoln Common brings the pane
In the distance, the two towers of The Lincoln Common rise in Lincoln Park.
As the two 20-story towers of The Lincoln Common climb towards the sky, there’s considerable action down near the lower floors. Glass action. And the glass action suits this project just fine. Thank GC W.E. O’Neil for the shiny new panes.
The Lincoln Common is being co-developed by Hines and McCaffery Interests. Two architecture firms are involved in the design of the two towers as well: Skidmore Owings & Merrill, and Antunovich Associates. This portion of the old Childrens Memorial Hospital site will deliver 269 apartments in each tower.
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- In the distance, the two towers of The Lincoln Common rise in Lincoln Park.
A sunny day at Wolf Point East
You already know all there is to know about the Wolf Point East particulars. So here, enjoy a gallery of The Big Green W hard at work on a sunny April Thursday.
Stalking the Big Green W at Wolf Point East
Wolf Point East construction is great theater.
To be clear, I’m not the only one out at Wolf Point East staring down into the construction pit. And some (looking at you, Sun-Times) have just as much fun watching the watchers as they do watching the work.
So it’s just about time for another round of photos, as Walsh Construction continues working below grade on the future 60-story tower along the Chicago River.
Competition is fierce, as the two towers of The Lincoln Common rise in Lincoln Park
Somewhat of a side-by-side shot of two towers at The Lincoln Common rising in Lincoln Park.
Only in my own mind is there a raging competition at The Lincoln Common between W.E. O’Neil crews on the North and South towers. It’s only my imagination conjuring up images of hidden hammers and missing rebar, as the North Team does anything it can to infiltrate the South and sabotage their efforts. You simply can’t complete a 20-story building if one of your work boots is stolen every morning.
Yet somehow, both towers seem to be coming along quite nicely. As if everyone’s working together instead of getting in each other’s way. Novel concept, is it not?
Looking down at Wolf Point East going up
The fascinating construction pit that is Wolf Point East.
Let me tell you what I know about what’s going on down in the pit that is the Wolf Point East construction site.
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Okay, I have no idea what’s going on down there. But I do know there are a whole bunch of people doing a whole bunch of stuff, and it’s fascinating to watch. The best I can do, instead of confusing us all with words, is to let you see a few photos of The Big Green W at work.
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- The fascinating construction pit that is Wolf Point East.
As Wolf Point East digs out from Chicago River flooding, a tower crane permit arrives
One big pile of slop, waiting to be heaved into a truck and hauled away from Wolf Point East.
Just before this story went to the presses, a permit came through for a tower crane at Wolf Point East. A Liebherr 420 EC-H 16 to be precise. A SHINY YELLOW TOWER CRANE, to be technical.
Wolf Point East got a tower crane permit on Monday.
When I posted an update on foundation work at Wolf Point East at the beginning of November, there was one factor involved I hadn’t been aware of: flooding.
We were away in Australia (you may have noticed some posts from that trip) when torrential rains caused flooding along the Chicago River in October, and the construction pit at Wolf Point East took the brunt of it, filling with water completely. (You can scroll down this photo gallery from Curbed for a look at the deluge) That explains the mud that remains on site. I was back there over the weekend, and noticed just how sloppy things were, but that isn’t stopping work from continuing. You can see how much deeper work has gone, as Walsh Construction oversees progress on the six subterranean levels of the 60-story tower.
