Construction Progress: 625 West Adams

Posted on April 21, 2017 by danieldschell

625 West Adams, as seen from the B.U.C. HQ.

625 West Adams, the 20-story office tower from co-developers White Oak Realty Partners and CA Ventures, continues adding steel beams in the West Loop. After watching the elevator core shoot skyward well ahead of the rest of the building, the main floors are catching up now, so expect to see the core start growing again soon. As of today, Power Construction crews are adding beams to the 17th floor, while concrete gets poured onto the 11th. The SCB-designed tower is on schedule to open in Spring 2018.

: 625 West Adams rising in the West Loop.

: Core and Crane.

: Cold steel.

: Setting a beam in place Thursday morning.

: Stairs.

Caissons roll along at Essex On The Park

Posted on April 20, 2017 by danieldschell

Like a 4th-line forward in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Case Foundation goes to work in the corners at Essex On The Park.

Two weeks ago, Case Foundation started moving equipment onto the lot at 808 South Michigan Avenue, next to the Essex Inn. And now, they’re deep into full-blown caisson work for the new Essex On The Park apartment tower from Oxford Capital Group. Soon, the 56-story, 476-unit project by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture will have footing to stand on, allowing Power Construction to get about the task of sending it vertical.

: When space is limited, you store your rebar cages wherever you can.

It’s Marlowe time. 675 North Wells lands a permit

Posted on April 13, 2017 by danieldschell

Architectural rendering of Marlowe, 675 North Wells Street, from Antunovich Associates.

Are you ready for Marlowe? Because it’s ready for you.

The surface parking lot at 675 North Wells Street in River North that’s been closed off for several weeks will soon open up again. To construction equipment. Lennar Multifamily Companies (LMC) is the developer for the 15-story apartment tower that received a foundation permit from the City of Chicago on Wednesday. (You may know about Lennar from their Gateway West Loop building. It has pretty lights on the rooftop pool, so you know.)

Designed by Antunovich Associates, Marlowe will have 176 studio, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom apartments across its 15 stories, plus 11,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. Power Construction will be the general contractor.

The office of Brendan Reilly 42nd Ward has all the info you care to know about Marlowe, plus lots of pretty renderings of floor plans and such. You can see it all here.

The Foundation Permit, issued Wednesday April 12.

3Eleven has topped out, endangering yet another Chicago Tower Crane

Posted on April 12, 2017 by danieldschell

The top of the topped-out 3Eleven, at 311 West Illinois Street in River North.

Word came down from Power Construction that 3Eleven, the 25-story apartment tower from The John Buck Company, topped out this past Friday. Sure, that’s mostly good news. Good news in that the 245 apartments in the FitzGerald Associates-designed tower will are that much closer to being inhabitable. Good news in that the 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space can soon open to new businesses. Good news in that parishioners at Assumption Catholic Church will soon have parking again, after the church parking lot was removed to make room for 3Eleven.

But the topping out also means we lose another tower crane in Chicago. One of the pretty yellow ones, too. And you know how much I love those. Who else remembers August of last year, when the stub was first planted, like a newborn baby coming home from the hospital? Sigh. I promised myself I wasn’t going to cry….

Here are some photos of the topped-out 3Eleven. Look at them, while I try to compose myself.

: What a beautiful baby you were. Never forget.

: Rendering of 3Eleven from FitzGerald Associates.

: Selfie.

Addison & Clark reaches street level by Opening Day

Posted on April 10, 2017 by danieldschell

The tower crane at Addison & Clark stands stoic beyond the lights at Wrigley Field.

There will be a lot going on at the corner of Clark and Addison this week. Most of it will center around 1060 West Addison, to be precise. But expect plenty of activity at Addison & Clark as well.

Rendering of Addison & Clark from SCB.

A combined effort from developers M&R Development and Bucksbaum Retail Properties, Addison & Clark will be a mixed-use project consisting of 148 apartments, a 405-space indoor parking garage, and a whopping 146,000 square feet of commercial space. SCB designed the development; Power Construction is the general contractor.

With the foundation dug out (heh — dugout) work has risen to about even with the sidewalk along Clark Street, while the most noticeable feature along the Addison Street side are the huge mounds of dirt.

625 West Adams holds its first day of glass

Posted on April 10, 2017 by danieldschell

A car parked along Adams Street is reflected in the shiny new curtain wall at 625 West Adams.

625 West Adams reached another construction milestone last week, installing the first few panes of the curtain wall facing Adams Street. As if all that steel above the podium wasn’t distracting enough, now I have all this glass to look forward to. Thanks, Power. Now I’ll get even less done around here.

: Night vision.

: A blue car passes by…

: Crews celebrated the new glass by installing a second hoist.

Permit in hand, Case Foundation takes over Essex On The Park

Posted on April 6, 2017 by danieldschell

Case Foundation assembles a caisson rig at Essex On The Park, 808 South Michigan Avenue.

The pool, garage, and everything else that was next door to the Essex Inn is gone now, and work is revving up to replace it with Essex On The Park, the latest Chicago project from Oxford Capital Group.

The City of Chicago issued a foundation permit on Monday, and Case Foundation is now on the scene (you thought I was gonna say “on the case, didn’t you?) setting up caisson equipment. Power Construction is the general contractor here, tasked with stacking 56 stories atop one another. Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture did the design work on the 476-unit apartment tower.

The South Loop is a very busy place. Essex On The Park joins One Grant Park, 1411 South Michigan, and 1101 South Wabash as already-in-progress joints, while 1326 South Michigan just received a foundation permit as well this week, and there’s lots of buzz about 1000 South Michigan (1000M) firing up soon. Get the lawn chairs and coolers ready, SLoopers. It’s going to be a fun summer!

: All renderings of Essex On The Park are courtesy of the construction fence, but probably belong to Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture.

Life is a glass at 465 North Park

Posted on April 3, 2017 by danieldschell

465 North Park rises up in Streeterville.

465 North Park, the 48-story, 444-unit apartment tower from Jupiter Realty Company, continues to grow at East Illinois Street and North Park Drive in Streeterville. Power Construction has been working on the Pappageorge Haymes-designed tower since July of last year.

Work has climbed as high as seven stories now, but that’s not the best feature. That distinction belongs to a few windows lined up along the west facing. Unusual this early on in construction? Maybe. Am I complaining? Nope.

Chicago’s new Apple Store is taking the glass box to 2 whole new levels

Posted on March 31, 2017 by danieldschell

What says “glass box” better than an actual glass box? That’s pretty much what Power Construction is building in Pioneer Court these days. And while some use the “glass box” description as criticism, the new Apple Store at 401 North Michigan Avenue along the Magnificent Mile sure is making it work.

: Glass-wall views to and from the Chicago River.

: Those lights scream PARTY BARGE.

: Still no cab, Abe?

Looking down on 625 West Adams progress

Posted on March 24, 2017 by danieldschell

Nope, that’s not a misplaced beam. The angle will help form the 11th-floor terrace at 625 West Adams.

You get a good look at the 11th-floor terrace in this rendering from the 625 West Adams website.

Maybe it won’t be called the 13th floor, depending on the superstitions of those in charge of such decisions, but 625 West Adams is up to the 13th floor these days. Along with all the iron beams and metal flooring being added to the 20-story office tower, the 11th-floor terrace is taking shape, what with its angled beam overhead. The word from Power Construction is to watch for another terrace at the 19th floor.

By best guestimate, the core looks to be stuck at about the 17th floor, but that will be rising soon as well. Co-developers CA Ventures and White Oak Realty Partners plan on having 625 West Adams open for tenants to start moving in their fax machines and dot-matrix printers and setting up shop in March 2018.