Hubbard221 | Building Up Chicago

You can get a train’s-eye view of 412 North Wells right now by taking a relaxing Brown Line ride from the Merchandise Mart up to the Chicago Ave stop. Linn-Mathes is pushing the 9-story office building skyward, now that the residential tower next door, Hubbard221, is nearly topped out. (Is that 22 stories I count?)

Hubbard221 is the 193-unit apartment tower from developer Centrum Partners and designer Hirsch Associates Architects, the team that just saw a tower crane rise on their Wicker Park Connection property. As for this tower crane, it now has double duty to pull, as it tops off the taller tower while beginning to stretch the smaller structure vertically.

: A play on words, with numbers.

A freshly-planted tower crane stub springs up at the Wicker Park Connection.

How’s this for quick. On Tuesday, the City of Chicago issued a tower crane permit for the Wicker Park Connection. That’s the 15-story, 140-unit Transit Oriented Development Centrum Partners is building next door to the T.O.D. they built at 1664 West Division Street, Centrum Wicker Park. The Wicker Park Connection is another collaboration with Hirsch Associates Architects, who also teamed with Centrum in River North on 412 North Wells and Centrum Hubbard (is it called “Hubbard221” now?)

Where was I? Oh yeah, tower crane permit. Anyway, general contractor Linn-Mathes wasted no time in getting the tower crane stub planted in the ground. Foundation work is still underway, but expect that new tower crane to start lifting heavy stuff off the ground in no time.