The McDonald’s HQ in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago.

Along with construction progress at the new McDonald’s Corporation Headquarters in the West Loop comes signage for available retail space, which Sterling Bay has dubbed @1045. An homage to its north frontage at 1045 West Randolph Street, @1045 is 48,000 square feet of ground-floor space, divisible to 2,000-square-foot parcels.

But enough of the real estate talk. What matters here is that McHugh Construction continues to push off the ground and into the sky. The @1045 signage is a nice touch, but construction is the real attraction.

The second floor is showing at the new McDonald’s Headquarters in the West Loop.

Life happens quickly. What did you expect from two tower cranes?

To no one’s surprise, the new McDonald’s Corporation Headquarters in the West Loop has lifted off the ground. After weeks of attending to ground-level matters (they’re still at it) McHugh Construction has started going vertical. That mostly good news, because now we can see what’s going on above the perimeter fencing, but bad news because no one with an adjacent balcony or rooftop has offered their vantage point to me for looking downward onto progress. Stuff is harder to see as it gets higher, you know.

Night work on caissons, McDonald’s Headquarters in the West Loop.

Caissons continue to sink into the West Loop soil at the new McDonald’s HQ. And not just by the light of day. (Like we’ve had any light during the day around here lately anyway…) Crews were burning the early-evening oil Tuesday night, in addition to their usual shift under the harsh light of another cloudy Chicago day.