At 412 North Wells, a hole. At Centrum Hubbard, a whole lot more.

Posted on December 16, 2016 by danieldschell

Construction progress continues at Centrum Hubbard in River North, the 23-story, 193-unit residential tower in River North from Centrum Partners and Hirsch Associates Architects. 412 North Wells, on the other hand, the accompanying 9-story, 41,000-square-foot office building next to it, still redeems itself as a convenient material-staging site for the apartment tower construction. To be honest though, it’s easier to observe and keep tabs on one project at a time, don’t you think?

: With train.

: Without train.

Photo Gallery: The War On Wells, late-night edition

Posted on December 8, 2016 by danieldschell

It’s 640 North Wells vs The Gallery On Wells. may the prettiest under-construction tower win.

It’s time to rise and shine for Solstice on the Park

Posted on October 21, 2016 by danieldschell

Solstice on the Park, from Studio Gang.

Studio Gang is at it again in Hyde park.

Fresh off the success of City Hyde Park, Studio Gang’s latest South Side creation, Solstice on the Park, had a foundation permit issued by the City of Chicago Wednesday, after being approved by the Chicago Plan Commission back in February. Coupled with the demolition permit filed Monday to dig out the underground parking lot at 1616 East 56th Street, and Solstice on the Park is officially ready to rise. The Solstice team, as it did on City Hyde Park, includes developer Antheus Capital and general contractor Linn-Mathes.

You should expect the 26-story tower to include 250 apartments and a whopping 316 parking spaces. What you shouldn’t expect is to see anything resembling the former parking garage; Taylor Excavating has already transformed the site into a large hole. I hope you moved your car.

: City Hyde Park, the previous project from Gang and the gang.

The Gallery On Wells: No room for amenities? Build them next door.

Posted on October 13, 2016 by danieldschell

The Gallery On Wells will have its amenity deck next door, atop 640 North LaSalle.

Yes, that’s what 167 West Erie is called now: The Gallery On Wells. It’s one of the more unique construction projects in Chicago at the moment. Not because it’s pretty. Not because it’s racing floor-by-floor with 640 North Wells across the street. No, this one’s interesting because of where the amenities floor will.

Next door.

That’s right, the rooftop amenity deck for The Gallery On Wells will be atop 640 North LaSalle Street, home the huge Effen Vodka sign. (That means there are three street addresses associated with this project: 167 West Erie Street, 637 North Wells Street, and 640 North LaSalle Street.) A skybridge will connect the residential tower to the outdoor space. MAC Management is a co-developer of The Gallery On Wells, along with Magellan Development Group, and they own 640 North LaSalle. And not just any outdoor space: according to Magellan, the “largest outdoor deck in River North featuring lounge seating, cabanas and grills.” You’re going to want to make friends here.

: The renovation permit for 640 North LaSalle.

Centrum Hubbard digs itself a great big hole

Posted on October 11, 2016 by danieldschell

They’re digging down below grade for Centrum Hubbard.

The tower crane’s in place, and now Power Construction crews are really getting down to it. Literally. There’s a big hole in the earth from which the 23-story Centrum Hubbard residential tower will rise. On the other end of the lot, 412 North Wells….well, let’s just say its time will come.

Quick reminder on Centrum Hubbard: 23 stories, 193 apartments, 91 parking spots, and 6,000 square feet of retail space. The design is by Hirsch Associates; the developer is Centrum Partners.

: There’s been a bit of digging going on at 412 North Wells, too.

: Do you mind? Trying to take photos here.

In the War On Wells, 167 West Erie outglasses the competition

Posted on October 5, 2016 by danieldschell

Windows have arrived at 167 West Erie in River North.

Construction milestones. Let’s see, you have your first permit, groundbreaking, tower crane, topping off, and grand opening. And wedged in there between tower crane and topping off would be the first glass. Be it windows, cladding, skin, whatever your blueprints call it.

Up on Wells Street in River North, there’s been a battle brewing on opposite sides of the street. 640 North Wells is the 23-story apartment tower on the west side of the street, and 167 West Erie, which sits at 637 North Wells Street, or thereabouts, competes from the east side with its 39-story endeavor. Both started construction about the same time, both erected tower crane just days apart, and have been racing ever since toward completion. (My money’s on the tower that’s just over half as tall. Duh.)

But we can declare a winner in the battle for window supremacy. (Side note: 167 West Erie won the tower crane race too, per this from the Chicago Architecture Blog) And it ain’t even close. 167 West Erie has installed glass on a few floors, while 640 remains as open to the elements as the day it was born.

: Sorry, 640 North Wells, but we can’t count those.

Tower Crane Update: Centrum Hubbard and 412 North Wells

Posted on September 30, 2016 by danieldschell

Centrum Hubbard 412 North Wells tower crane

The tower crane is real. And it is spectacular.

The stump has been planted, the foundation poured and cured, and all the parts are assembled in mid-air. The tower crane at Centrum Hubbard and 412 North Wells is ready to go.

That single tower crane will erect both the 9-story office building (412 North Wells) and the 23-story, 193-unit residential tower (Centrum Hubbard) in the lot at Wells and Hubbard. Both buildings were designed by next-door neighbor Hirsch Associates. And with it now in place, it’s time for digging some foundations. Not by the tower crane though. The excavation equipment will handle that task.

Gallery I: Tuesday assembly

Gallery II: The finished crane and the foundation dig.

Your late-night preview of the Centrum Hubbard tower crane

Posted on September 26, 2016 by danieldschell

In pieces for now, a future tower crane awaits assembly on the Centrum Hubbard/ North Wells lot.

A tower crane waits for no man.

Except for the men who have to assemble the crane. Which means the tower crane at Centrum Hubbard/412 North Wells will have to wait until Tuesday morning to continue climbing into the sky. But crews got a good start on Monday, stacking a few sections atop each other, while filling the lot with more crane parts, including the ever-important sky cab. Which is what I’m calling it, starting just now.

Have a look at the progress so far, night-vision style.

: Foundation work for the crane on Thursday the 22nd.

: The crane-building crane was on site Monday morning.

Centrum Hubbard and 412 North Wells get a tower crane to share

Posted on September 22, 2016 by danieldschell

Crews work on the foundation for the Centrum Hubbard/412 North Wells tower crane.

This is the time we find out just how well Centrum Hubbard and 412 North Wells get along.

One is an office building, and one is a residential tower. So right off the bat, you’d think there might be tension. They’re being built in a very confined space, at the corner of Hubbard and Wells in River North, so they won’t have much of a chance for alone time. And now, they’ll have to start sharing a tower crane.

Yesterday, crews were busy working on the foundation and base section of a nice red tower crane toward the back and center of the lot. That tower crane will pivot to both sides to service the needs of the two-structure project from Centrum Partners and Hirsch Associates.

Planet Hollywood a distant memory as 167 West Erie rises

Posted on September 8, 2016 by danieldschell

167 West Erie rises in River North.

Planet Hollywood? What, I’m just glossing over the old Gino’s location that occupied 167 West Erie Street most recently? Doesn’t matter. They’re both gone. You know this because the giant slices of pizza no longer litter the east side of the street along the 600 block of North Wells. Besides, Gino’s still exists in Chicago.

Instead, 167 West Erie is being erected on that site. It will be a 39-story, 440-unit apartment tower from Magellan Development. Designed by Chicago’s Loewenberg Architects, the building will also include about 130 parking spots, and some ground-floor retail space. Linn-Mathes is the general contractor.

I’d be willing to bet small amount of currency that 167 West Erie will have a non-address name in the near future. Considering its full-build permit was issued to the address 637 North Wells Street, there seems to be enough confusion about its location to slap a fancy moniker on it.