18 stories and 80 units permitted for 450 West Belmont

Posted on June 9, 2018 by danieldschell

Demolition at 450 West Belmont at the end of May.

Developer CA Ventures received a permit yesterday for the start of construction on an 18-story residential tower at 450 West Belmont in the Lake View neighborhood. Demolition of a pair of three-story residential buildings 450 and 454 W Belmont) and a detached garage were permitted to clear the site, allowing for foundation work to begin.

Antunovich Associates designed the building for CA Ventures, whose Design Build arm will also act as general contractor; Pepper Construction looks to be the concrete contractor and will operate the tower crane.

There’s a plethora of information on 450 West Belmont here, at the 44th Ward website. It’s from back in 2016, so consider some of this out-of-date.

: Rendering of 450 West Belmont from the 44th Ward presentation.

: Rendering of 450 West Belmont from the 44th Ward presentation.

: The Foundation Permit, issued June 8.

: 450 West Belmont demo permit, issued April 19.

: The 454 West Belmont demo permit, issued April 19.

: The garage was demolished on its own permit, issued March 23.

UIC’s Harrison Hall clads without glass

Posted on June 4, 2018 by danieldschell

That’s not glass on Harrison Hall, but we’re clad to see it anyway.

There’s no glass on UIC’s Harrison Hall yet, but swing by the site these days and you’ll notice the exterior getting a new outfit. Pepper Construction is cladding the outer layer, just not with windows. And most impressively, they’re doing it without the tower crane, which is down from the site already. Just one more surprisingly-fast step in progress on the new academic & residential center.

Lendlease drops the tower crane at 1101 South Wabash

Posted on May 21, 2018 by danieldschell

The tower crane sinks below the top of the 2 Hiltons in the South Loop. You know that means doom.

The Hilton Homewood Suites and Hilton Garden Inn aren’t finished yet, but the tower crane is. We got word last week that the tower crane would be removed any day now, and sure enough, crews from Central Contractors Service, Lendlease, and Pepper Construction (as the concrete contractor, it’s technically their crane) were out there Sunday, taking sections down and hauling them off the site.

There remains quite a bit of work to do to make this tower a hotel. Or two. But now the heavy lifting will be up to the skip hoist.

Foundation work is in full swing at the Columbia College Student Center

Posted on May 14, 2018 by danieldschell

The Columbia College Student Center at 8th Street and Wabash Avenue in the South Loop is a reality, as crews from Pepper Construction continue to work on the foundation. The Gensler design, when finished will provide 114,000 square feet of space for students over five levels.

UIC’s Harrison Hall to top out concrete this week

Posted on April 24, 2018 by danieldschell

Solomon Cordwell Buenz designed the complex, which marks the first new dorm facility for UIC since 2007. Included in the residential hall will be 550 student beds, with 16,000 square feet of community space for scholars to share, a top-floor sky lounge, and 1,600 square feet of retail space. — Harrison Hall, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

We can expect Pepper Construction to top out concrete at UIC’s Harrison Hall this week. That comes as no surprise when visiting the site, and seeing how quickly this project has climbed.

Solomon Cordwell Buenz designed the residential/academic complex, which marks the first new dorm facility for UIC since 2007. Included will be 550 student beds, with 16,000 square feet of community space for scholars to share, a top-floor sky lounge, and 1,600 square feet of retail space. UIC plans to open Harrison Hall in Fall 2019.

Caisson work has begun at the Columbia College Student Center

Posted on March 31, 2018 by danieldschell

Columbia College Student Center March 2018

This rendering from Gensler shows the sweet 5-story Columbia College Student Center just getting started in the South Loop.

We can confirm there won’t be a tower crane, but that won’t make the glass-encased Columbia College Student Center any less fun to watch. Case Foundation is out at the corner of Wabash and 8th in the South Loop as we speak, drilling caissons into the soil, and that work never requires a tower crane anyway.

57 rock caissons are precisely what Case is on the case for, according to a post from them back in February. After that, Pepper Construction starts sending the five-story, Gensler-designed facility vertical. Columbia College plans to have their new center open before 2018 closes.

Construction Progress: UIC’s Harrison Hall

Posted on March 25, 2018 by danieldschell

Pepper Construction’s progress at UIC’s Harrison Hall.

I took a boatload of photos last week at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s new Harrison Hall construction site (there’s a live-stream!) Apparently, it’s been longer than I remembered since I’ve stopped by. Either that, or Pepper Construction is looking to break some sort of speed record.

Wanna see the pics? Cool. Here ya go.

The University of Illinois at Chicago has its own tower crane

Posted on February 28, 2018 by danieldschell

Central Contractors Service was on the UIC campus Tuesday, schooling the masses on proper tower-crane assembly procedures.

What a teaching tool it could be, that big yellow tower crane across the street from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Higher learning, or something like that.

Anyway, tower-crane assembly at the academic/residential complex UIC is building on West Harrison Street between Peoria and Morgan began Monday, and Tuesday saw the jib lifted into place. A few gears and cables will be attended to Wednesday, and it should be ready to go as we enter March.

This marks Pepper Construction’s first tower crane in town since they removed the self-erecting crane from the Moxy Hotel job in River North.

Normally, the photo gallery below would include the building permit for that shiny yellow crane. However, this project isn’t being built on city land. Therefore, the City of Chicago doesn’t issue any permits at all for it. UIC is responsible for making sure the tower crane is erected properly and safely.

: The rebar is for a different job.

The Columbia College Student Center is underway

Posted on February 20, 2018 by danieldschell

Pepper Construction began site prep last week at the new Columbia College Student Center in the South Loop.

A permit issued Friday sets the stage for work to begin on the Columbia College Student Center at Wabash Avenue and 8th Street in the South Loop. That would explain why a crew from Pepper Construction was on site last week, installing sidewalk protection and getting the lot prepped for activity.

Monday, Case Foundation posted on its Facebook page that they would begin drilling 57 rock caissons in March. With a little cooperative weather, Columbia plans to open the Gensler-designed student center late this year.

Despite the relatively wide footprint, at five stories, it’s not likely the new facility will require use of a tower crane, but we’ve reached out to Pepper to find out for sure. We should know soon.

: The foundation permit, issued February 16, 2018.

: Site prep.

: Gensler render.

: Gensler render.

: Gensler render.

: Gensler render.

University of Illinois at Chicago plants a tower crane for its new Academic/Residential Complex

Posted on January 21, 2018 by danieldschell

The University of Illinois at Chicago is building a 10-story academic and residential complex, and this tower crane will help.

There’s no substitute for walking the streets of Chicago on a regular basis. Otherwise, you’re going to miss things. For example, the new 10-story residential & academic complex being built by the University of Illinois at Chicago. It looks, according to the Chicago Tribune, like construction started way back in December. But darned if I can find any building permits for it. But sure enough, the surface parking lot is gone, Revcon is on site drilling caissons, and there’s a bright yellow tower crane stub planted in the middle of the site, at Harrison and Morgan Streets.

Solomon Cordwell Buenz designed the complex, which marks the first new dorm facility for UIC since 2007. Included in the residential hall will be 550 student beds, with 16,000 square feet of community space for scholars to share, a top-floor sky lounge, and 1,600 square feet of retail space. Pepper Construction is the general contractor, and that tower crane will be their first in the Chicago sky since the removal of the crane at the Moxy Hotel in River North. Construction is expected to extend into Fall 2019.