As Wolf Point East digs out from Chicago River flooding, a tower crane permit arrives

Posted on November 22, 2017 by danieldschell

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.

Two towers of The Lincoln Common are starting to rise

Posted on November 20, 2017 by danieldschell

One of two cores that will become 20-story towers at The Lincoln Common.

Cores for the dual 20-story towers at The Lincoln Common are starting to rise from the deep excavations along Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park. W.E. O’Neil has a pair of tower cranes working on-site, so we’re going to assume there’s a little friendly competition going on over there over which tower grows faster.

We’ve pointed this out before: The Power Of Two is hard at work at The Lincoln Common.

There are 2 developers: Hines, and McCaffery Interests
There are 2 design firms: Antunovich Associates, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
There are 2 initials in general contractor W.E. O’Neil’s name
There are two 20-story towers, each containing 269 units
There are two tower cranes (this is the most improtant pair, of course)

There were a couple newsworthy events at other phases of The Lincoln Common last week. First, a tower crane permit was issued for Belmont Village at 700 West Fullerton. Later in the week, a full permit was issued for the 6-story office building at 2350 North Lincoln, directly across the street from the dual towers. W. E. O’Neil is the CG on those two projects as well.

: Dual tower require dual tower cranes.

: No left turn into construction site. Please.

Wolf Point East digs in for the long haul

Posted on November 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Excavation crews work atop the trestle bridge as digging continues at Wolf Point East.

Wolf Point East was one of my first stops upon returning to Chicago. Mostly to see that trestle bridge in action, but also to see how much progress Walsh Construction has made on one of the city’s newest skyscrapers. No surprise that the bridge is being used to help with the deep excavation going on now. Truckload after truckload of dirt and mud and Chicago River muck is being hauled away, while diggers great and small eat away at the earth between the bracing.

We should be keeping an eye out for a tower crane permit at Wolf Point East. It could be coming any day now.

Hey, how about more of that trestle bridge at Wolf Point East?

Posted on October 7, 2017 by danieldschell

You know, because it’s cool. Ridiculously cool.

: The Beast.

: We watch. All day.

: Oh, so it’s like a jigsaw puzzle?

The Big Green W is building a bridge at Wolf Point East, and I can’t get over it

Posted on October 2, 2017 by danieldschell

Walsh Construction is building a trestle bridge at Wolf Point East to give equipment easier access the site.

It’s not a building permit you see every day.

CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPORARY TRESTLE BRIDGE FOR CONSTRUCTION PURPOSES ALL WITHIN PRIVATE PROPERTY.

As part of the Wolf Point East tower project, Walsh Construction is building a trestle bridge. Why? Well, they can, for one. But seriously, they gave a much better explanation on Twitter:

Looking like trestle will allow access to adjacent property for job site construction traffic.

— Pete Doherty (@dohertytweets) September 17, 2017

There you have it. Equipment needs to get to the site one way or another. Sometimes, you just have to build “another.”

: A permit you won’t see often.

It’s Craning Day Part II at The Lincoln Common

Posted on September 18, 2017 by danieldschell

North Crane’s stub is set in its foundation, and the rest of the crane is being erected starting today.

Out at The Lincoln Common in Lincoln Park. W. E. O’Neil and Central Contractors Service are back at it again, erecting the second tower crane for the dual-20-story-tower mixed-use project from Hines and McCaffery Interests.

The site was blessed with a pair of tower-crane permits back in July and August. The South Crane (The permits call them “East” and “West.” This is a struggle for me.) was erected in late August. And this morning, work is starting on the North Crane. Funny, North got its permit first, yet was erected after South, but that means nothing at all, so it isn’t worth mentioning, even though I did anyway.

As for construction itself, the south tower is starting to go vertical, with the core reaching above street level. Meanwhile, the north tower area is still mostly underground. You’ll notice, in particular, the tower-crane foundation is well below street level. Which is further proof this will be a fascinating site to watch.

Walsh Construction and Case Foundation keep doing stuff at Wolf Point East

Posted on September 13, 2017 by danieldschell

Chicago Water Taxi cruises past Wolf Point East on Tuesday.

I thought the caissons were done. I guess they’re not quite. Sheeting might be done, because the pile driver is folded up like it’s driving away soon. But maybe not. I don’t know.

The Big Green W and Case Foundation are doing work at Wolf Point East, and I have no idea what it is. But they have cool toys, and they all seem to know what they’re doing. So I took some photos and now you can see them too.

The end.

: I ain’t the only one out here.

With caissons done, Walsh Construction drives piles at Wolf Point East.

Posted on September 8, 2017 by danieldschell

Walsh Construction drives piles at Wolf Point East, as seen (humble brag) from the 35th floor of 150 North Riverside.

If you’re in Chicago’s Loop, you don’t need to be told that Walsh Construction is driving piles deep into the ground at Wolf Point East. It creates quite a ruckus. But it also creates quite a foundation. And 60-story towers need good foundations. So please forgive the noise for a little while longer, and be thankful the city doesn’t allow work to be done around the clock on a regular basis. The weather just got to where we can keep the windows open at night; pile-driving isn’t particularly conducive to that.

Here’s some video; turn up the volume and enjoy.

If you don’t already know, or if the din has clouded your memory, Walsh is building the 700-unit apartment tower for the joint effort of Hines and the Kennedy Family, which owns the land. Also a joint effort is the design, handled by architect-of-record Pappageorge Haymes Architects and designer Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. It is the second of three towers planned for the confluence of the Chicago River, with Wolf Point West already inhabited, and Wolf Point South slated for future construction.

W.E. O’Neil erecting Chicago’s 31st tower crane at The Lincoln Common

Posted on August 25, 2017 by danieldschell

The Lincoln Common south tower crane makes its appearance in the Lincoln Park skyline.

It’s almost here.

Chicago’s 31st (and, eventually, 32nd) tower crane is just about ready to lift the heavy stuff at The Lincoln Common in Lincoln Park. W. E. O’Neil and Central Contractors Service have been on the site since Wednesday setting up the South Tower Crane. That means crew members are climbing around at scary heights, fastening what needs to be fastened, tightening what needs to be tightened. By the looks of progress, there’s no reason to believe Southy won’t be operational for work on Monday.

Still no sign of North Tower Crane, but I don’t want to sound greedy. We can just enjoy one for now.

: Sorry folks, street’s closed. The moose out front shoulda told ya.

First of two tower cranes begins at The Lincoln Common

Posted on August 24, 2017 by danieldschell

The south tower crane starts to rise at The Lincoln Common, seen from the Fullerton “L” platform.

On the red, purple, or brown line today? Take a look to the east from the Fullerton station, and you’ll see the first of two tower cranes being erected at The Lincoln Common. That’s where I spotted it from, because for some reason, I wasn’t staring at my phone as we pulled up. I jumped out and walked over to take a look.

And Twitter noticed. Users @kgburke3 andi @ChiBuildings (too early for a #FollowFriday? You should be following Chicago Cityscape for all things Chicago development) pointed out the street closure of North Lincoln Avenue between Belden and Fullerton Avenues through Friday for the big event.

https://twitter.com/ChiBuildings/status/900581897985810432

https://twitter.com/kgburke3/status/900526288670216192

There’s still a lot of foundation work going on for this dual-tower, 540-unit mixed use project. W.E. O’Neil is the general contractor, and they’ve got a busy site in the works. You’ll see that in the photos below. No word yet though on when to expect the north tower crane to arrive.