They grow up so fast, One Chicago Edition

Posted on July 28, 2021 by danieldschell

It doesn’t seem that long ago, when the parking lot across State Street from Holy Name Cathedral was being torn up, and foundation digging began.

Now, One Chicago is almost to that point where, if you want to see what’s happening with construction, you have to go inside.

Once again, this is your One Chicago team: JDL Development, with a hand from Wanxiang America, is the developer. Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and Goettsch Partners shared design duties. And Power Construction is the general contractor.

There are only a couple floors of curtain wall left to install on the east tower, but we still have one tower crane to savor here, so let’s make the best of the rest of our time together. (Cue dramatic music)

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A Sears Tower Tower Crane Survey

Posted on May 18, 2021 by danieldschell

Visits to Skydeck aren’t quite back to pre-pandemic normal. I usually go up there and spend a couple hours taking pictures of everything I see. Three times. Can’t do that anymore. So I got what I could remember I wanted to get.

Like tower cranes. Some of them, anyway.

One of the secrets to taking photos from Skydeck is avoiding the bad windows. Much of what looks like smooth, clear glass will distort your pictures. Short on time, I failed to be selective. I also failed to be prepared.

You’ll see what I mean.

Clarendale Six Corners is missing; it’s too far away. I also tried to see the tower crane in Oak Park, but had no luck. Oh for a tripod, more time, and something ridiculous like a 1000mm zoom lens.

320 South Canal is the easiest one to see. That booom just about touches the Sears Tower. Okay, not really. But it’s nearby.

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🏗 May begins in Chicago with 11 tower cranes in the air 🏗

Posted on May 1, 2021 by danieldschell

Remember that era of 30-something tower cranes?

Where are our tower cranes?

West Loop – 4
River North – 2
One each in: The Loop (320 South Canal); West Town (1454 West Randolph); Portage Park (Clarendale Six Corners); Gold Coast (Gild); Illinois Medical District (IL Health)

What are they building?

Residential – 5.5 (300 North Michigan is half res/half hotel
Office – 4
Medical – 1 (IL Health)
Hotel – .5 (300 North Michigan)

Who has tower cranes?

Power Construction – 6
5 GCs with one each: Ryan Companies (Clarendale Six Corners): Clark Construction (320 South Canal); Skender (609 West Randolph); Walsh Construction (Salesforce Tower); Pepper Construction (UI Health)

We still have a stub only at 2050 West Ogden. 354 North Union has begun caisson work; that should be getting a tower crane permit any day now. 1000M, 320 South Clinton, 345 North Morgan, and 178 West Randolph still have outstanding tower-crane permits.

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One Chicago is down to One Tower Crane

Posted on April 16, 2021 by danieldschell

Crews were able to remove one section of Tower Crane C at One Chicago Thursday.

Where there were three, there now is just one.

One Chicago once blessed the city with three tower cranes, but progress means we have to say goodbye to them one-by-one, and Tower Crane C has done all it can do to top out the west tower. So down it comes.

Congrats on the milestone to everyone involved: General Contractor Power Construction; Developer JDL Development; and Design Architects Goettsch Partners and Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. Not to mention those of you who’ll someday live in one of these shiny new beauties.

And now, more photos than you knew you needed of a tower crane being dismantled:

One Chicago dismantles Tower Crane C, April 16, 2021

One Chicago inches ever-closer to full height

Posted on March 30, 2021 by danieldschell

One Chicago takes the entire city block bounded by Chicago Avenue, Dearborn, Superior, and State Streets in River North.

One Chicago is coming.

The residential (condos and apartments,) office, and retail block from JDL Development is making its mark on Chicago’s skyline.

The 49-story western tower topped out back in January, while the 76-story condo tower should be really darn close to following suit, if it hasn’t already.

Here’s your One Chicago team: JDL Development, with a hand from Wanxiang America, is the developer. Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and Goettsch Partners have shared design duties. And Power Construction is the general contractor.

Want to see a whole bunch o’ photos from Monday? I knew you would.

An August walk-around at One Chicago

Posted on August 27, 2020 by danieldschell

All photos taken back on August 17. The way it’s going up, One Chicago might be finished by now.

CG: Power Construction

Developer: JDL Development

Design Architect: Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture

Design Architect: Goettsch Partners

I Like Big Builds and I Can Not Lie — One Chicago Square Has It All

Posted on January 6, 2020 by danieldschell

A rendering of One Chicago Square from the JDL Development website. Dang.

One Chicago Square has it all right now. Construction has started going vertical above street level, but there’s also still a giant pit. There are yellow and orange wooden forms and beams, with blue fencing all around. Classic Chicago architecture, including Holy Name Cathedral and 30 West Chicago Avenue, provides spectacular photo backdrops. Giant round shoring tubes are still visible in the northwest corner. Excavating equipment is still on site. Oh yeah, and THERE ARE THREE TOWER CRANES!

I don’t use the designation “mixed-use” very often. Everything has retail space in it these days, so calling a residential tower “mixed-use” because there will be a drug store at street level isn’t really mixed-use to me. But One Chicago Square certainly qualifies, as it will include apartments and condos, office space, and retail space, all combined into its own city block.

Some project data: One 76-story tower, and one 49-story tower. More than 700 apartments, and 77 condos. 55,000 square feet of office space. Nearly 200,000 square feet of commercial space. And parking? Oh, lots of parking. Over 800 spaces.

And the team? All-Stars. JDL Development, with a hand from Wanxiang America, is the developer. Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and Goettsch Partners have shared design duties. And Power Construction is the general contractor.

Yeah, One Chicago Square will be fun to watch for a long time. And then, it looks like it’ll be a fun one to live in. Stay tuned.

And now, a ridiculous number o’photos to keep you occupied. Scroll at your leisure: