It’s time to go vertical, as the Hoxton Chicago erects a tower crane

Posted on September 25, 2017 by danieldschell

Chicago’s newest tower crane is at the Hoxton Chicago hotel in the West Loop.

The Hoxton Chicago hotel in the West Loop can start shooting upward toward its 12-story goal, now that Power Construction has installed a shiny new tower crane to do the heavy lifting. Power and Central Contractors Service spent most of the weekend putting up the Peiner SK-415 beauty on the lot at Lake and Green Streets in the ridiculously busy Fulton Market District.

The GREC-designed hotel got its tower crane permit from the City of Chicago back on August 4, so we had to wait awhile for this one. And, as usual, it was worth the wait.

: This is the view from the upper level of the Morgan Street L platform.

: Epic backdrop.

: Also a pretty decent backdrop.

: Sears Tower visitors had the best views over the weekend.

: The view from the Clinton L platform.

: The foundations looks to be shored up.

With Haymarket Monument back in place, EMME gets ready to open at 165 North Desplaines (Updated)

Posted on September 22, 2017 by danieldschell

The Haymarket Monument is back home at 165 North Desplaines, where it will greet residents of EMME.

It was 165 North Desplaines for most of its formative months, but now the name is EMME, and crews are putting the finishing touches on the new apartment building from Gerding Edlen in preparation for its first residents. One has already moved back home; the Haymarket Monument, moved off site to Union Park for safe-keeping during construction, is back in place on the sidewalk near the corner of Desplaines and Randolph.

*** Sept 25: We hear from Greystar Real Estate Partners that EMME has, in fact, already welcomed its first residents, who started moving in September 16. ***

EMME is a 14-story, 199-unit project designed by GREC Architects and built by Power Construction. Units include studios, one-bed, and two-bedroom units, and features include a rooftop pool, fitness center, an outdoor grilling area and a chef’s kitchen, and two produce gardens.

Essex On The Park is a Tower On The Rise in the South Loop

Posted on September 14, 2017 by danieldschell

Essex On The Park is starting to rise alongside its mother ship, the Essex Inn.

One floor at a time, Essex On The Park is starting to show itself along the Michigan Avenue Streetwall in the South Loop. Of course, we ain’t seen nothing yet. What’s pictured is merely a fraction of the eventual 56 stories that will house 476 new apartments. And that’s a good thing. It means we have lots of progress still to come, lots of watching still to do.

: I guess Dr. Drew’s gonna live here?

On October 20, we will all be teachers, as Chicago gets a shiny new Apple Store on our desks

Posted on September 13, 2017 by danieldschell

Consumers arrive by boat to get in line for the October 20 opening of the new Chicago Apple Store. Probably.

Multiple outlets have reported (honestly, everyone has mentioned it. Call your Aunt Susie, and I bet it’s the first thing she wants to talk about) that Chicago’s new Apple Store will open October 20 on the Magnificent Mile. When it does, it will be the place to go for fancy smart phones, computers, watches, and more. But what it used to be was *the* place to see a really low tower crane. You tower crane you could just about reach up and touch.

Power Construction continues to add finishing touches to the two-story glass box at Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River. Once complete, they’ll turn their attention to building the Apple Store 2S. (Not true at all.)

: The Chicago Apple Store will be remembered for this ridiculously low tower crane…

: …this cool construction barge…

: …and this crazy-looking glass installing machine.

: Photographing you photographing me.

Addison & Clark continues filling in its enormous Lake View space

Posted on September 12, 2017 by danieldschell

Curtis Waltz at Aerialscapes, killing the overhead shots at Addison & Clark.

That’s a big lot up that at Addison & Clark. And Addison & Clark is a big project. Seems like the prefect match, doesn’t it?

M&R Development and Bucksbaum Retail Properties are the co-developers on the sprawling mixed-use project, bringing 148 apartments and 146,000 square feet of retail space across the street from Wrigley Field. Power Construction is out there doing the heavy labor, and they’ve reached as high as the 5th floor, depending on which part of the site you look, of the eight floors in total. That includes lots of podium work, to be expected when the SCB design involves parking for 400+ cars.

The plan is to have residents and shoppers alike enjoying Addison & Clark in 2018. Progress looks well on the way to that goal.

Progress continues on Sterling Bay’s topped-out 4-story C.H. Robinson HQ

Posted on September 8, 2017 by danieldschell

https://twitter.com/SOM_Design/status/893523011860664320

Gone is the red monster crawling crane that helped 1515 West Webster top out in early August. But there’s still a lot to see, including a crane on a barge, as Power Construction continues working on Sterling Bay’s new office building along the North Branch of the Chicago River.

Destined to become the new home of C.H. Robinson, the four-story, 60-foot-high structure is a design from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and will grow to over 200,000 square feet when finished next year.

Progress on 1515 West Webster is seen from the 46th floor of 150 North Riverside.

Our robot demolition overlords are tearing apart 1450 North Dayton

Posted on September 6, 2017 by danieldschell

The robots are on their way, and they’re coming after our infrastructure.

Along the emerging Clybourn Corridor in the Goose Island neighborhood, Alpine Demolition (KnockItDown.com — I like it) is knocking down the 3-story brick building at 1450 North Dayton Street. Curbed had the story back in August about the planned demolition.

In its place will be a mixed-use building of office and retail space called, for now, the Big Deahl at Kingsbury and Blackhawk. If that name doesn’t make immediate sense, know that Kingsbury runs past the rear of the site, and to its north. Danny Ecker at Crain’s had the story about the new development last month.

DO NOT LOOK THE DEMO DEMON IN THE EYE.

But I want to talk about that demolition robot. Those two bright eyes look like they could pierce masonry, let alone the built-in jackhammer. If these aren’t readily available to the public, maybe Alpine will let me control theirs for awhile.

: Bid Deahl rendering from cwchicagoretail.com

: The Demo Permit.

Power Construction plants a tower crane at 900 West

Posted on September 6, 2017 by danieldschell

Is that what I think it is, peeking over the construction fence? Yep. 900 West has a tower crane stub.

Not all of the tower crane news coming out of the West Loop is bad.

A tower crane stub has been planted at 900 West Washington Boulevard, the site of 900 West. You may recall our mid-August visit when we stopped by to check on Caisson work. At the time, Power Construction had just received the full-build permit from the City of Chicago to erect the entire 10-story, 22-unit condominium project from Taris Real Estate.

One week later, on August 24, another permit came through, this time for the tower crane. Now, we don’t know exactly when the stub was planted (August 26 was the most recent day we’ve walked by until now) but lo and behold, there was the fresh stub on Tuesday. So, expect Power to send 900 West rocketing skyward now that they’ve got the heavy lifting covered.

: The Tower Crane Permit.

: No crane here August 26. Just caissons to be filled.

: 900 West rendering from Taris Real Estate.

GEMS World Academy Upper School begins work next to its famous neighbor

Posted on August 22, 2017 by danieldschell

No longer a staging area for Vista Tower, site prep is underway for GEMS World Academy Upper School. It will fill the space between to Vista and Coast.

As if we didn’t have enough to watch along East Wacker Drive.

A couple weeks back – on August 4 to be precise – GEMS World Academy Chicago announced the start of construction on the Upper School, which will be built right up against the underway Vista Tower. (You may have heard of that.) Designed, as was the original GEMS building, by bKL Architecture, the Upper School will be a 17-story, 240,000-square-foot facility accommodating more than 1,400 students.

For now, site prep is underway, with Power Construction serving as general contractor.

You can read the August 4 press release from GEMS here.

: Interior rendering of GEMS World Academy Chicago Upper School.

Touring the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center with Power Construction

Posted on August 21, 2017 by danieldschell

Northwestern University’s Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center.

Great big huge Thank You to Brian Tuffy and Power Construction for a tour Friday of the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center in Streeterville. Now topped out with the ceremonial purple beam in place, the 14-story Phase One can expect lots of curtain wall installation in the coming weeks.

As for those two tower cranes, they’ll be around for another month or so. Phase Two, which will see 16 additional stories added to the current phase, won’t begin anytime soon, and tower cranes ain’t free just because you aren’t using them.