Tag Archives: McHugh Construction

Why won’t the Wanda Vista tower cranes joust? Because they’re luffers, not fighters

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Wanda Vista Tower two cranes

The two tower cranes of Wanda Vista Tower.

Wow. You clicked on this story, even after reading that headline? I owe you a drink or something.

Wanda Vista Tower has its two tower cranes up and running. Both are luffing cranes, with jibs that angle toward the sky, rather than staying parallel to the ground at all times.

Down at ground level, there’s enough rebar being installed in the foundation mat. If you feel the earth tilt a little extra in the coming days, it’ll be from all the concrete being poured into that thing.

There’s no sun anyway; might as well do McDonald’s HQ caisson work at night

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McDonald's Headquarters

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.

 

The Sinclair is getting along just fine with only one tower crane

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The Sinclair

The Sinclair rises into its place in the Chicago skyline.

Remember when The Sinclair thrilled us all by installing two tower cranes for erecting the 35 stories worth of sparkling new apartments in the Gold Coast? Alas, one tower crane made quick work of the podium toward the northeast side of The Sinclair grounds, and was soon gone from sight. But that second crane is still hard at work, helping McHugh Construction hoist the heavy lifting.

Designed by SCB, The Sinclair will have a 350-space parking garage and a 55,000-square-foot Jewel-Osco store in that aforementioned podium, replacing the Jewel at Clark and Division that was demolished to make room for the project. There will be 390 apartments, from studios to three-bedroom units.

Putting the “Elevate” in Elevate Lincoln Park

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Elevate Lincoln Park

A sea of rebar at Elevate Lincoln Park.

On the heels of a big demolition, and then lots of digging, Baker Development’s latest project has finally risen to street level.

Elevate Lincoln Park will eventually rise 10 stories above Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park, bringing with it 191 luxury apartments, three levels of parking, and ground-floor retail space. SCB took care of designing for Elevate Lincoln Park, while McHugh Construction has been seeing to the general contracting duties. The original goal was to have the apartments ready for tenants this summer, but since construction got started a tad behind schedule, that might not be attainable.

Construction Progress: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Chicago

There are bricks in the wall at the new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Near North. The 7-story design by Dixon + Associates of Salt Lake City, Utah has already climbed to the sixth floor. McHugh Construction has been on the job since May of last year.

Before we head to the photos, here’s a reminder of what David Dixon of Dixon + Associates sent us last summer:

The new building in Chicago is unique for the Church. While they typically complete a new standard single-story meetinghouse every day somewhere in the world, this project is specifically designed for Chicago.  Following the Neoclassical Romanesque Revival style of architecture, the building will incorporate the traditional red brick and limestone appearance that is prevalent in this area of Chicago.  It will be six stories above grade (three meetinghouse and three parking levels) with a partial story of parking below grade.  The building will open in about a year with a two-story chapel and associated classrooms. The top floor can accommodate another smaller chapel and classrooms in the future.  Three or four congregations from the downtown area will utilize the building with staggered meeting schedules.  A unique feature of this building is a landscaped courtyard on the fourth story.  The courtyard provides semi-private outdoor space that could be used for receptions, mingling between meetings, or children’s activities.  Plans were presented to the local neighborhood and were very well received.

 

McHughtel construction gets underway in the South Loop

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123 East Cermak Road McHughtel

Caisson equipment as far as the eye can see.

McHugh Construction crews are rolling rebar cages and digging holes and trenches at the site of McHugh’s new hotel project at 111-123 East Cermak Road in the Prairie District, and that means construction is underway.

The 23-story, 466-room hotel is a design by Antunovich Associates. The City of Chicago  filed the building permit back on December 19, and the lot has been filling up with materials ever since. Now, holes are being dug, the aforementioned rebar is being twisted, and caisson equipment is stacked and ready to be sunk into the earth. McHugh, of course, is the general contractor.

One Grant Park caisson work rolls along

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One Grant Park caisson work

A gorgeous rendering of One Grant Park from Rafael Viñoly Architects.

When it rains, it pours. Cement into caissons, that is.

Add One Grant Park to the list of skyscrapers getting busy in Chicago. Permitted for foundation work back in October, the empty lot bounded by Michigan Avenue, Roosevelt Road, and Indiana Avenue finally saw some action in December, when crews started site prep. Now, the familiar blue and gold of Case Foundation is on the scene, drilling holes into the South Loop soil to support the 76-story, 792-unit Rafael Viñoly Architects design.

That foundation permit includes twelve (!) levels of parking, so we could see a lot of time and concrete trucks pass between now and the full building permit. But it’s all good; we can kill time running back and forth between One Grant Park and another McHugh Construction supertall in progress, Vista Tower.

Vista Tower Crane Update: East Crane is planted as West Crane blooms

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Wanda Vista cranes

Even when they’re on the ground, tower cranes are cool.

West Crane will always be able to sneer at East Crane with a knowing, I-Was-Born-First smirk. But only by a couple of days. No sooner had construction crews rooted the first crane into the ground, the second one found a rebar bed of its own.

As one does when it’s about 10 degrees outside, dedicated skyscraper nerds (skyscraperds?) hung around Thursday afternoon to watch West Tower reach sky-cab status. Meanwhile, Eastie’s resting comfortably in place, waiting for concrete to be poured into its foundation.

There’s also the matter of the large hole in the middle of the site, that everyone but me seemed to be allowed to climb into. Unfair.

 

 

How about a McDouble? There will be a pair of tower cranes at McDonald’s headquarters

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McDonald's headquarters tower cranes

That tower crane obscured by all the caisson equipment doesn’t belong to the McDonald’s HQ site. But soon, there will be two of them here.

By now you know, tower cranes are a favorite of mine. Two tower cranes? I can barely contain my bliss. We’ve seen them here in Chicago within the past 12 months at The Sinclair, the Simpson-Querrey Biomedical Research Center, and most recently, at Vista Tower. And coming soon, McDonald’s HQ. (HQ stand for headquarters, not headquarter-pounders)

On December 15, the City of Chicago filed permits for the two cranes at 110 North Carpenter Street in the West Loop, and look what they did! They’ve already named them West Crane and East Crane! Which really takes the pressure to come up with clever crane monikers off me.

They’re still busy with caisson work at the new Home of the Golden Arches, so don’t expect cranes to sprout right away. But they’ll be here soon enough. Now, if that completes your order, please pull up to the next window.

McDonald's headquarters tower cranes

East Crane.

McDonald's headquarters tower cranes

West Crane.

Obvious Update: Driving piles at McDonald’s headquarters is noisy

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Crank up the volume on your pc/tablet/phone, and you’ll be able to enjoy what West Loopers are hearing, as piles are driven into the ground at the new McDonald’s headquarters at 110 North Carpenter Street.

But don’t worry. Locals know the importance of bringing such a high-profile company to the neighborhood, so they’re willing to put up with the noise for a few days. Besides, all major construction projects are noisy, and the folks on adjacent properties are always understanding of the temporary inconveniences.

Right?