HUGO begins rising from its dual excavation sites

Posted on May 13, 2022 by danieldschell

An active day at 411 West Chicago, the east “half” of HUGO

Foundation work is complete at River North’s HUGO residential development, and now developer-slash-general-contractor LG Group is beginning the groundwork for the two nine-story buildings designed by NORR.

The west half of this project, 751 North Hudson, got a hoist permit Wednesday; the 411 West Chicago side got one a day prior. Building permits were issued (751) July 14 and (411) August 5, 2021.

You can see photos of work at both sides of the HUGO equation below, along with the Pesky Building In The Middle (previously known as 415 West Chicago) they’ll surround.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

HUGO digs a pair of foundations in River North

Posted on April 7, 2022 by danieldschell

The pesky 415 W Chicago via Google Streetview

What do you do when there’s a building in your way? HUGO around it.

That’s what LG Group is doing at HUGO in River North. There’s a pesky three-story structure at 415 West Chicago Avenue that LG won’t let get in the way of this dual-building development.

On the east side is 411 West Chicago. On the west side is 751 North Hudson. The two roughly-L-shaped nine-story buildings will combine for 227 apartments and 19,000 square feet of retail space. NORR is the design architect, while LG Group is doing their own build. Yep, a double-duty tower crane and a double-duty developer/GC. HUGO, LG!

Full building permits were issued for each half of HUGO: 411 West Chicago got one on 8/5/2021, and 751 North Hudson on 7/14/2021. The tower crane permit came through on 2/9/2022.

Foundation work is in progress, as evidenced the two large holes in the earth on either side of aforementioned existing structure.

61 West Erie rising in River North

Posted on May 25, 2021 by danieldschell

What was once to be a humble 10-story condominium building (I thought at some point it was to be a hotel, too) at 61 West Erie in River North is now a 5-story apartment building, and it’s construction is underway.

LG Development is developing and building the design by Jonathan Splitt Architects. It will deliver 28 units and two parking spots when complete, with ground-floor retail space. LG plans an opening before the end of the year.

Enjoy a bit of a timeline in photos, starting with the empty lot back in March of last year.

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides, Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, and comfortable walking shoes are adding up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

Do soil sampling rigs signal the start of Equis of Old Town?

Posted on April 25, 2018 by danieldschell

No. No they do not. Permits would signal the beginning of Equis of Old Town. But soil sampling rigs are a great sign. Heck, one is a good sign. Two must mean the condominiums on the former site of Noble Horse Theater and Stables are very close to beginning.

LG Development Group (Illume Chicago, The Ronsley) is bringing 1, 2, and 3-bedroom condos and residences, 175 units in total, to the now vacant lot bounded by Sedgwick, Schiller, and Orleans Streets. There are no permits yet, so we don’t know when construction will actually begin, but this is one to keep an eye on.

The tower crane comes down from Illume Chicago

Posted on December 11, 2017 by danieldschell

View this post on Instagram

That’s all she wrote #chicago . #cranelife #lookingupatcranes #chasing_cranes

A post shared by Raymond (@cloudcatcher150) on Dec 10, 2017 at 3:31pm PST

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.

@BuildUpChicago The crane at 111 S Peoria came down on Sunday. The street is still blocked. pic.twitter.com/wNoxA3W6TQ

— T_Slik (@WestLoopTom) December 11, 2017

More topping out news, as Illume Chicago reaches max height

Posted on December 4, 2017 by danieldschell

First we Topped Out, now we're Topping Up 😉 PH Associate Joe Villanti (center) celebrating this week's milestone for @illumechicago with the @norcon661 @LGDevelopment team! https://t.co/lAIhhhG7gW pic.twitter.com/xY8GzVlasx

— Pappageorge Haymes (@PappagHaymes) November 17, 2017

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.

Illume Chicago rises to 7/10 of its ultimate height

Posted on October 4, 2017 by danieldschell

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.

: The view from Mary Bartelme Park.

The Ronsley plants a rooftop garden

Posted on September 26, 2017 by danieldschell

A yellow crane in front of a yellow building draws attention.

A shiny yellow street crane in River North caught my eye last week. Usually, that signifies a tower crane being planted. But this time, the planting was strictly by a crane, not for a crane.

Trees were being dispatched to the rooftop garden atop The Ronsley, a good indication LG Construction + Development is nearing the home stretch in their ambitious, Antunovich Associates-designed renovation of, and addition to, the existing building at 676 North Kingsbury, which brings 41 condos over nine stories to the neighborhood.

The Ronsley takes the gold at Taste of River North

Posted on July 24, 2017 by danieldschell

The Ronsley provides a colorful backdrop as revelers twist the weekend away at Taste Of River North.

Whether you’re looking for a new home or not, if you made it to the Taste Of River North over the weekend, you couldn’t help but notice The Ronsley. The renovation at 676 North Kingsbury Street is an undertaking of LG Development (LG Construction is the general contractor) with design work by Antunovich Associates. The party vibe during the festivities could only be enhanced by the bright yellow building materials that dominate the north and east elevations.

Illume Chicago is sprouting out of the West Loop soil

Posted on June 7, 2017 by danieldschell

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.