Demolition of the former United Christian Church in Lincoln Park will clear space for The Base

Posted on October 21, 2024 by danieldschell

Demolition of the former United Christian Church is ongoing.

It’s all about The Base, ’bout The Base, no rubble, on the corner of Diversey and Seminary in Lincoln Park. That’s where the former United Christian Church is being razed for a new residential development called “The Base” from Contemporary Concepts. And, obviously, there’s lots of rubble.

The five-story building, designed by Studio Dwell, will contain 24 apartments with a roof deck atop them. There will be one off-street parking space, with access to the Diversey Brow/Purple line elevated platform just three blocks to the east.

A demolition for the church, at 2761 North Seminary, was issued on September 25, with Brophy Excavation handled demo work. The new construction permit, issued to 2763 North Seminary, was issued on September 4, with developer Contemporary Concepts also fulfilling general contractor duties for their own project.

The following gallery shows demolition progress as of October 20, with a few earlier images of demo work and some of the church before razing began:

Studio Gang’s Peoples Gas Pavilion reopens after renovation [Updated]

Posted on July 2, 2024 by danieldschell

The Peoples Gas Pavilion at the Lincoln Park Zoo just hit the refresh button.

One of Chicago’s most photogenic landmarks has reopened to the public after getting a makeover. The Peoples Gas Pavilion at the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Nature Boardwalk was closed so work could be done to restore it to its original luster.

According to Studio Gang, designer of the pavilion, the wooden structure was thoroughly cleaned and repaired, and new translucent shells with integral UV protection were installed. The metal hinge base plates at the feet of the structure were also cleaned and repainted.

A popular spot for wedding, quinceañera, and graduation photography, the pavilion can also be rented for events. And with the new renovation, photos will pop like never before.

*** Kudos to Coen Construction Services on a job *very* well done.

I strongly suggest finding a nice sunny day and heading to the Lincoln Park South Pond to see the renewed pavilion for yourself; evening is also a great time for a visit, when the built-in lights illuminate the structure. Suffice it to say, there’s never a bad time to see it.

“The Honeycomb” : The Poeples Gas Pavilion : : “The Bean” : Cloud Gate

*** This post has been updated to acknowledge the work of Coen Construction Services, the general contractor for the pavilion renovation.

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.

Demolitions near completion at 1960, 1962 North Fremont in Lincoln Park

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Demolition of 1962 North Fremont Street in Lincoln Park

The demolitions of two residential buildings in Lincoln Park, at 1960 and 1962 North Fremont Street, are all but complete. Both buildings were permitted for destruction by the City of Chicago on April 24, 2024.

1960 and 1962 North Fremont, fenced off for demolition.

A visit here the day after the permits were issued saw demo fencing already surrounding the two properties. I returned Wednesday the 15th to find 1960 completely gone, and 1962 torn open from the rear, with little remaining to be demolished toward the front of the house.

Demolition work moving toward the front of 1962 North Fremont.

Quality Excavation is doing the dirty work, while Power Construction’s Luxury Residence Group is the overall general contractor for the new building (mansion?) to come. Dennis Rodkin at Crain’s Chicago addressed these properties last year; whether the plan is the same, I can’t say. No new permit has been issued for these lots yet.

**Profile view of demolition, 1962 North Fremont**

1960 North Fremont before demolition began, April 25, 2024.

An ugly Lincoln Park lot finally gets a construction permit

Posted on April 29, 2024 by danieldschell

This is exactly what we talked about wanting to avoid on Sunday. A building gets demolished, then the lot sits empty for weeks or months or years before something new comes along. Such was the case at 2745 North Bosworth in the Lincoln Park Community Area. A demolition permit was issued here in December of 2021. I can’t say when exactly demolition work occurred, but the look of the lot (anyone need a double sink?), the overgrowth, the ragged fencing, tells me it’s been empty for far too long.

But not for much longer. On Tuesday April 23, a New Construction permit was issued by the City of Chicago for a three-story, two-unit building at 2745 North Bosworth. There will be a basement, as well as a detached two-car garage with a roof deck. But most importantly, there *won’t* be this eyesore of an empty lot.

The permit lists Bachula Development as the general contractor and Helen Liptak as the architect. Work, hopefully, will begin soon.

A fly-by view will have to do. 2700 North Sheffield has ditched the tower crane

Posted on April 8, 2022 by danieldschell

The tower crane adding a third building to the Edith Spurlock Sampson Apartments has come down, not before I snapped an iPhone shot from a passing Brown Line train, but before I got to the site on foot. There remains a lot of work to be done though, so I still got to see construction.

Leopardo Companies, in a joint venture with Ujamaa Construction, is the general contractor on a six-story building between the CHA’s two existing pieces of the complex. The new middle tower, designed by RATIO Architects, will bring 80 apartments and two floors of amenities.

The link above to Leopardo has a wealth of information about both the new building and the renovation of the existing tower. Check it out before you take a look at a short gallery of photos.

Stuff That’s Done: Elevate Lincoln Park

Posted on January 31, 2020 by danieldschell

Elevate Lincoln Park, 930 West Altgeld in Lincoln Park.

Elevate Lincoln Park is an 11-story horseshoe-shaped apartment building along North Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park. If you’ve ridden the Brown, Purple, or Red Line CTA trains between Fullerton and Diversey, you’ve brushed right up against it.

Developed by Baker Development and designed by SCB, it delivered 191 new apartments, plus 16,000 square feet of retail space and 160 parking spaces, upon its opening in July 2018. McHugh Construction was the general contractor.

The Orchard is growing condos at The Lincoln Common

Posted on January 27, 2020 by danieldschell

This ridiculous sunrise shot from the tower crane, from Gilbane Building Company, taken at The Orchard.

Located next to the recently-opened matching towers of The Lincoln Common, The Orchard is a seven-story, 32-unit condominium building on the rise in Lincoln Park. There are two developers: McCaffery Interests and Hines. The design architect is Antunovich Associates. Gilbane Building Company is the general contractor.

The condo building has reached its final height of seven floors. There’s still a lot of exterior work to be done, and then there’s the matter of getting 32 condominiums move-in ready. The Orchard is on track to open later this year.

Stuff That’s Done: The Apartments at Lincoln Common

Posted on January 27, 2020 by danieldschell

The two apartment towers that anchor the new Lincoln Common development in Lincoln Park opened to residents in Spring 2019. The Apartments at Lincoln Common fill the pair of 20-story towers with 538 apartments, featuring studio, one-bed, two-bed, and three-bedroom units.

The sprawling complex is built on the grounds of the former Children’s Memorial Hospital, which was demolished after the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago was constructed in Streeterville. Children’s patients were moved there in the spring of 2012.

This phase of The Lincoln Common could have been called Noahville, because everything about this project came in pairs:

There are the two towers.

The two towers were erected by two tower cranes.

There are two developers: Hines and McCaffery Interests.

There are two design architects: Antunovich Associates and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Alas, there only needed to be one general contractor in charge of putting it all together; W.E. O’Neil filled those duties.

Included in the photo gallery below are a couple more pieces of the Lincoln Common puzzle:

A five-story boutique office building at 2350 N Lincoln.
A row of single-story retail spaces from 2316-2348 N Lincoln
The renovated “power station” buildings at 2355 N Lincoln
A new Chase Bank in the recreated building at 2377 N Lincoln

Updates to come: The Orchard, a seven-story condominium building currently under construction, and Belmont Village Senior Living, a completed seven-story residential facility at 700 West Fullerton.

Congratulations to all involved in the ongoing establishment of a great new neighborhood on Chicago’s north side.

: This is nice to see.

: Its original home.

: The power station.

: The old new Chase.

: The office building.

: Retail spaces 2340-2348

: Retail spaces 2318-2322

Belmont Village Lincoln Park rises above street level

Posted on June 11, 2018 by danieldschell

A rendering from Antunovich Associates of Belmont Village Lincoln Park.

Lincoln Park as a whole might not be terribly busy with construction, but the couple blocks surrounding the old Children’s Memorial Hospital site sure is. And W.E. O’Neil is the driving force behind most of that work.

One project they’re working on is the Belmont Village Lincoln Park. On the site formerly occupied by the Nellie A. Black Memorial Pavilion, Belmont Village Lincoln Park, like the huge Lincoln Common development across Fullerton Parkway, is a design by Antunovich Associates.

Developed by Belmont Village, the Lincoln Park facility will rise eight stories high and contain studio and one-bedroom apartments, plus parking below grade. Opening is anticipated in Summer 2019.

The two towers of The Lincoln Common continue their race to the top

Posted on June 8, 2018 by danieldschell

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.