Construction Update: 30 East

Posted on July 28, 2016 by danieldschell

30 East s starting to show itself at the corner of Balbo and Wabash.

Ah yes, 30 East. This is a new concept for me. A rental tower aimed at the student population in the South Loop. Roosevelt University. Robert Morris University. Columbia College. East-West University. Heck, there were 170 kids in my high school graduating class, so Jones Prep looks like a college to me. Even DePaul has a campus nearby. All crammed within a few urban blocks. And those students — not all of them, but many — need places to live.

30 East, at 30 East Balbo Avenue, is going to be a 16-story apartment building catering to those students. 134 apartments, all furnished. 255 beds. No bring-your-own-mattress-and-desk here. There will be studio, convertible, one-, two-, three-, even four-bedroom units. There will be a service to match residents with roommates. Plus all the amenities you’d expect from today’s new residential construction.

Gilbane Development Company is responsible for the project. Solomon Cordwell Buenz designed the tower. Power Construction is the general contractor. Opening is expected in late summer of 2017, just in time for fall classes.

Have a look at the progress Power has made so far:

: You know what this is, right?

: Looking at the southwest corner of the development.

: Power construction workers scale the west wall.

: Do not tag the banners.

: Along Balbo.

: From the intersection of Balbo and Wabash.

: The city makes a nice backdrop for city construction.

: Looks deceiving, but the trains do not pass *through* 30 East.

1001 South State Approaches the Finish Line, Nails Its Mural Game

Posted on July 18, 2016 by danieldschell

These outdoor skylights seem to be all the rage lately.

1001 South State, the Solomon Cordwell Buenz-designed apartment tower in the South Loop, continues to hurtle towards completion. Developer and building manager Golub + Company plans to have residents moving into the 40-story tower before summer is over.

Walsh Construction has been working on the tower since December 2014. When completed, it will feature 397 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental units, with 248 parking spaces. The fifth level will feature an outdoor pool and sundeck, while ground level will contain 8,800 square feet of retail space.

: Shot of the Walsh tower crane and moon that I will forever include in every single 1001 South State post.

: The mural on the south wall.

: The podium and “front” of 1001 South State, looking up State Street.

: Usable space atop the north end of the podium, as well as the south end, where the pool and sundeck will be.

Demolition Update: Elevate Lincoln Park

Posted on July 18, 2016 by danieldschell

ELEVATE Lincoln Park isn’t technically being demolished. Lincoln Centre is being demolished, to make room for ELEVATE Lincoln Park. And there isn’t much of it left, as anyone who rides the Red, Brown, or Purple line can tell you.

Check One Off The List: 625 West Adams Plants a Tower Crane

Posted on July 14, 2016 by danieldschell

Setting the tower crane base, bright and early this morning.

It was an inadvertent Tower Crane Tuesday post. And here we are on Thursday, and it’s already obsolete. But in the good way. For no longer are there six tower crane permits awaiting actual tower cranes. No, my friends, now there are five.

https://twitter.com/BuildUpChicago/status/753393411969970176

https://twitter.com/BuildUpChicago/status/753580641397116929

625 West Adams trucked in the base of its new tower crane yesterday, and wasted no time this morning rooting it into the ground. It’s one of those pretty yellow ones, too. And it will be right outside my window. Thank you, Power Construction. You know the way to my heart.

Please let me know if there’s an angle of this crane you’d like to see that I haven’t included below…

: It was still sitting on the truck during last night’s storm.

: But it made it through unscathed.

: Final preps on the foundation…

: …as the base was being offloaded.

: And there it stands, along South Desplaines Street.

: Tower crane crew doing what they do.

: Proof that I stayed behind the fence.

: There’s more foundation work happening besides just the tower crane.

: Old St. Pat’s in the background. 625 West Adams is often referred to as “St. Pat’s Tower.”

30 East Continues Ground Work in the South Loop

Posted on June 21, 2016 by danieldschell

A bird’s eye view (if the bird parks its car) of construction work at 30 East.

Smack dab in the middle of all the murals in the Wabash Arts Corridor, Power Construction crews are hard at work on 30 East, a 16-story residential tower coming to the South Loop at 30 East Balbo Avenue.

Gilbane Development Company has its eye on the growing student population in this neighborhood. In that respect, 30 East will have 134 apartments ranging from studios to 4-bedroom units. Every unit will be furnished, ideal for student rentals. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, 30 East will also have 8,000 square feet of retail space at the ground level. Gilbane expects to have the tower ready for Fall 2017 classes.

: 30 Balbo is surrounded by fantastic mural art.

: There’s even a mural on the job site itself.

: The best way to not forget which tower crane goes with which construction site is to put a banner on them.

More Photos Than I Know What To Do With: The Sinclair

Posted on June 18, 2016 by danieldschell

The Sinclair, at Clark and Division Streets, designated 1201 North La Salle on permits.

Up at Clark and Division Streets in the Gold Coast neighborhood, crews are busy building a new Jewel-Osco store to replace the one torn down last year. But this is no ordinary Jewel. This one will have a produce department, dairy section, a bakery, and a 35-story, 390-unit luxury apartment tower known as The Sinclair.

Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, The Sinclair has quickly become one of the coolest construction projects in Chicago. You can thank McHugh Construction for that. But more important than making the project look cool, it’s McHugh’s task to have the tower ready for residents in Summer 2017.

: One of the tower cranes at The Sinclair.

: Yes, there are two of them.

: You remember the old Jewel store, don’t you?

Drillin’ and Fillin’ at 625 West Adams

Posted on June 16, 2016 by danieldschell

625 West Adams is a beehive of activity.

Monday, I showed you photos of foundation equipment being moved into the construction site at 625 West Adams Street that is soon to become 625 West Adams, a 20-story office tower from CA Ventures and White Oak Realty Partners.

Well, let me do some math for you: That was THREE DAYS AGO. And here we are on Thursday, and Power Construction crews are ripping holes in the earth for caissons like the foundation rigs are due back tomorrow. At this rate, the SCB-designed 625 West Adams might be move-in ready by Tuesday. (Well, not *this* Tuesday, I guess. But *a* Tuesday, for sure.)

: Foundation work is in full force at 625 West Adams.

: It’s like watching dancers. Costumes are kinda cool, too.

: testing the eastern-m ost limits of the lot.

: You know you’re at the edge when the fence has to be opened.

: Rebar teams a fashioning rebar cages to be sunk into the caissons.

: Here comes the cement.

: Cement is being poured into caissons as fast as they’re being drilled.

: Caisson inspection.

: Another delivery.

: Caisson equipment.

: Mounds of dirt are being created…

: …and trucked away.

: New equipment is constantly being delivered to the construction site.

: …and beng moved around. Turn your back, and everything’s in a new place.

Raquets Down, Racket Up as Demolition Begins for Elevate Lincoln Park

Posted on June 8, 2016 by danieldschell

Sorry, no more service here, Ace.

Tennis, anyone? Well, you’re a little too late. Those elevated tennis courts you saw on your Brown Line ride between the Fullerton and Diversey stops are no more. Game, set, match.

Taylor on the tear down; McHugh on the new construction.

In its place will soon be ELEVATE Lincoln Park, a mixed use project from Baker Development Company.

Approved by the Chicago Plan Commission back in July 2015, permits were filed for five addresses spanning North Lincoln Avenue from 2518 to 2534 between May 3 and May 5. Your plan commission says to expect a 10-story, 200-unit complex designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz that will also include 16,300 square feet of retail space.

The original schedule for ELEVATE Lincoln Park had designs on beginning caisson work by the first of this month, so progress is a tad behind schedule. But not to worry. Demolition is a pretty good sign things are well underway.

The taggers got to Lincoln Centre before Taylor demo crews did.

A commuter’s view, from a CTA Brown Line train.

Somebody feed that excavator, stat!

Soil sampling rigs showed up on site back in September. A good sign it’s time to sell your condo.

Another angle of the carnage.

A rendering of Elevate Lincoln Park from Baker Development Company.

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