Peoria Green wants to squeeze its way into the West Loop

A ZSD rendering of Peoria Green, as it would be seen looking east from Mary Bartelme Park.

Remember NIMBY heads exploding in the West Loop when Illume wanted to plant itself in the parking lot at 111 South Peoria Street? (Remember the fancy numerals in the 111ume name?) “It will block views of the skyline from Mary Bartelme Park!” was the best line locals screamed in an effort to keep the builders at bay.

Well, Illume is open now. The tiny parking lot immediately to its south is open too. But the construction fence around it says maybe it won’t be open much longer.

This is ZSD’s rendering of the Green Street elevation.

Signage on the site says Peoria Green wants to wedge its way into the neighborhood. Peoria Green already has a website. Peoria Green already has a flyer box on the fence so passers-by can get the scoop. Peoria Green has a sales center (located at 112 S. Sangamon Street.) Peoria Green is a thing.

Apparently, this has been a thing for awhile. But when you’re not paying attention, stuff gets past you. Crain’s and Dennis Rodkin were all over this project back in March. And The Real Deal posted about Peoria Green’s approval back in June. They even mentioned it being “controversial” and receiving “heated opposition from some neighbors.” (See first paragraph above. I am the opposite of surprised.)

ZSD Corp is planning 25 condos here, all with at least 4 bedrooms. That’s a lot of bedrooms. A childless couple could AirBnB the heck out of one of these. The on-site brochure claims a Fall 2020 opening for Peoria Green. I’m still efforting to find an architect for this project, plus a GC. Keep your ears open, if not your empty lots. A fall opening means they’d need to get started right soon.

A neon-green banner announces Peoria Green.

Looking west to east, Peoria to Green, at the full length of the lot.

Peoria Green ZSD site plan

The site plan from ZSD shows Peoria Green’s unusual shape.

I made a fancy Google Maps site plan, with the Peoria Green footprint outlined in red. I should get a drone.

The tower crane comes down from Illume Chicago

We told you last week that Illume Chicago had topped out over in the West Loop. And topping out always means certain doom for tower cranes. Sure enough, over this past weekend the crane came down from the construction site at 111 South Peoria. We all got an up-close look from Instagram user @skyboom150 that you see above.

Then first thing Monday morning, Twitter user @WestLoopTom tweeted the photo below, showing the tower crane has been completely removed. Here’s hoping it finds another gig soon.

More topping out news, as Illume Chicago reaches max height

Last week, we shared word that a Pappageorge Haymes Partners project, 465 North Park, had topped out. Now you can add another PH design to the headlines, thanks to the above tweet shared November 17, as Illume Chicago has topped out at 111 South Peoria in the West Loop.

The topping-out comes as glass starts showing up on the exterior, so it’s milestones on top of milestones for this one.

Developed by LG Development, Illume Chicago is delivering 79 new condominiums to the red-hot West Loop neighborhood within the 10-story building, with 94 parking spaces underground and on the first floor.

 

The West Loop is in a tower-crane frenzy

West Loop tower cranes

You’ll have to look closely, but you can see (at least parts of) all 7 West Loop tower cranes in this photo from Halsted Street.

The West Loop is busy with construction. That’s the word we get from Captain Obvious, who sent an email to let us know. There are 7 active tower cranes in the neighborhood right now, with 2 more permitted and on the way.

McDonald's Headquarters west tower crane

The lone remaining tower crane at McDonald’s Headquarters still towers above the West Loop.

1. McDonald’s Headquarters

As you surely must know, McDonald’s used to have two tower cranes. East Crane is gone, but West Crane continues work on Sterling Bay’s future home for the fast-food giant.

Illume Chicago tower crane

The tower crane at Illume Chicago has been up since March.

2. Illume Chicago

Illume Chicago is a 10-story, 79-unit condominium building from LG Development, designed by Pappageorge Haymes Partners. It broke ground back in December 2016.

727 West Madison tower crane

The pretty yellow Liebherr tower crane at 727 West Madison.

3. 727 West Madison

Taking over the parking lot of the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 727 West Madison will be a 44-story, 492-unit apartment tower. This is the only active tower crane in the West Loop for Lendlease, which is very busy elsewhere in the city (One Bennett Park, Eleven40, and more.) But a second, at The Van Buren, is coming soon. Designed by FitzGerald, it’s a joint development from Fifield and F&F Realty.

Hoxton Chicago tower crane

The tower crane at the Hoxton Chicago, one of two cranes for Power Construction in the neighborhood.

4. Hoxton Chicago

One of two tower cranes in the West Loop for Power Construction, the Hoxton Chicago is a 12-story, 175-room hotel designed by local firm GREC Architects. It hasn’t begun to go vertical quite yet, but the foundation work continues.

900 West tower crane

The tower crane at 900 West is Power’s second in the West Loop. There’s only that one moon, though.

5. 900 West

900 West is the second Power Construction tower crane in the West Loop. 900 West is another condominium development, bringing 22 luxury units across its 9 stories.

Nobu Hotel tower crane

Centaur Construction’s tower crane at the Nobu Hotel.

6. Nobu Hotel

The only Chicago tower crane for Centaur Construction, the Nobu Hotel got off to a slow start, but has now grown above street-level, on its way to 11 stories. It’s the other of two hotel projects underway in the West Loop.

210 North Carpenter tower crane

Leopardo Companies’ only tower crane on the Chicago count is this brand-spankin’-new one at 210 North Carpenter.

7. 210 North Carpenter

The West Loop’s newest tower crane, and another Sterling Bay project, 210 North Carpenter will be the new home of the general contractor building it, Leopardo Companies. The 12-story office building is expected to open next year.

Coming Soon:

The Van Buren tower crane

The tower crane stub at The Van Buren has its own, adorable house.

The Van Buren

The Van Buren, a 12-story apartment tower at 808 West Van Buren from Loukas Development and bKL Architecture, is one of two permitted tower-crane sites in the West Loop yet to be erected, though the stub has been planted. This is Lendlease’s second West Loop tower crane.

Hayden West Loop tower crane

Hayden West Loop has a tower-crane permit, but no stub yet, as foundation work continues.

Hayden West Loop

Hayden West Loop is awaiting its tower-crane stub after receiving a permit on September 7. When erected, it will be the second Chicago crane for Macon Construction, the first being No. 508.

 

Illume Chicago rises to 7/10 of its ultimate height

111ume Chicago

Progress on Illume Chicago has reached the underside of the 8th floor.

LG Development’s 10-story West Loop condominium project, Illume Chicago, at 111 South Peoria, continues to progress upward, on its way to delivering 79 luxury condos next to Mary Bartelme Park. Designed by Pappageorge Haymes Partners, Illume Chicago broke ground in December 2016. It will feature residences on floors 2 through 8, with duplex condos spanning the 9th and 10th floors, with 94 parking spaces on the first floor and underground. Illume’s website shows it to be more than 60% sold.

Illume Chicago is sprouting out of the West Loop soil

111ume Chicago

That’s a serious tower crane presiding over Illume Chicago.

It seemed Illume Chicago spent forever working on subterranean things that will never be seen again. There were caisson to drill, piles to drive, and a foundation to dig. But now there are signs of life at street level, as Norcon continues its work on the West Loop condo building. Soon, LG Development’s 10-story, 79-unit Pappageorge Haymes design will start taking shape at 111 (the reason you’ll sometimes see “111ume” spelled with three 1s) South Peoria Street.

111ume Chicago

A cool rendering from the Illume website, showing how the B.U.C. HQ will look from the new condos.

The Crane Doctor to make a house call at Illume Chicago

Illume Chicago

Putting the Ill in Illume…The tower crane at Illume Chicago needs some repairs.

Expect a street closure Thursday in the 100-block of South Peoria Street, as a street crane sets up to make repairs on the tower crane holding court above Illume Chicago. Weather permitting, repairs shouldn’t last more than a day, and Peoria Street will be back in business Friday.

Illume Chicago puts down roots in the West Loop

111ume Chicago

Springtime at Mary Bartleme Park. With tower crane and Sears Tower.

It’s been exactly one month since Norcon grew a tower crane at its Illume Chicago site in West Loop. Now, that crane is contributing to the foundation being shored up for the new condominiums from LG Development.

Located at 111 South Peoria Street, Illume Chicago will be ten stories containing 79 condos, with parking in the basement and first floor, designed by Pappageorge Haymes Architects.

 

A crane grows at Illume Chicago

If you were watching your Instagram feed Friday, you may have noticed the above photo from Norcon, showing the beginning of work on the tower portion of the new tower crane at Illume Chicago in the West Loop.

Illume Chicago tower crane

The tower at Illume Chicago went up Friday. The crane will follow.

You can (kind of) see the tower in the photo above, taken from the B.U.C. HQ. Judging by the forecast for Saturday, it’s very possible Norcon’s plan to assemble the crane over the weekend might be washed out. If that’s the case, expect them to try again next weekend. (Weekday assembly isn’t a possibility because of the need to close off Green Street.)

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Illume Chicago plants a tower crane in the West Loop (Updated)

Illume Chicago Tower Crane

Wait…is that…IT IS! It’s a tower crane at Illume Chicago!

Floating somewhere within the universe that is the City of Chicago’s building permit database that hasn’t updated since Friday, there lies a tower crane permit for 111 South Peoria Street in the West Loop. How do I know this? Well, it isn’t because I’m smart. No, it’s because I wandered past the Illume Chicago construction site, and was greeted by a tower crane stub sticking up out of the ground.

According to Norcon, the general contractor at Illume, full tower assembly will occur this weekend, weather permitting. And if weather doesn’t permit, it will be rescheduled for next weekend. That way, Green Street (at the east end of the site) can be closed for two days without impacting weekday traffic.

Illume Chicago tower crane

Look what popped up Tuesday afternoon: The tower crane permit, issued yesterday. The site finally updated.

P.S. A quick shout-out to Norcon, for strategically installing their crane between the two towers of Emerald Lofts, so I get a clear view of of it from the B.U.C. HQ. This one brings the total to six tower cranes I cold easily zipline to from here.