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.

The earth is turning under 1326 South Michigan

Posted on April 19, 2017 by danieldschell

That’s a serious hunk of concrete.

There’s no mistaking the former surface parking lot at 1326 South Michigan for a current surface parking lot. That’s because Walsh Construction is on the scene with Zenere Companies, excavating the site for the 46-story, 500-unit tower from Murphy Development Group and CIM Group.

There’s enough topography on site now to make for a decent par-three golf course, what with the undulating mounds of soil, piles of rock and debris, and deep bunkers. There’s also a giant concrete block right smack dab in the middle of the lot that could present quite the hazard should you slice your tee shot.

: Rendering of SCB’s 1326 South Michigan from CIM Group.

: Rendering of SCB’s 1326 South Michigan Murphy Development Group.

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.

1326 South Michigan lands a foundation permit in the South Loop

Posted on April 6, 2017 by danieldschell

Rendering of 1326 South Michigan from CIM Group.

1326 South Michigan, the new 500-unit residential tower from Murphy Development Group along with CIM Group, scored a foundation permit Wednesday from the City of Chicago. The permit calls for a 47-story building, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz. Walsh Construction is named as the general contractor.

The surface parking lot at 1326 has been closed for a couple weeks now, in anticipation of work on the tower beginning. Expect to see the approved foundation work get started very soon.

: Rendering of 1326 South Michigan from Murphy Development Group.

: The Foundation Permit

: The surface parking lot at 1326 South Michigan Avenue was closed in March, and the attendant hut torn down.

: Not any more.

Construction Progress: Elevate Lincoln Park

Posted on April 4, 2017 by danieldschell

The old tennis courts with junk strewn about them long since demolished, Elevate Lincoln Park continues to grow along North Lincoln Avenue in (of course) Lincoln Park. Where once stood condos and retail shops will soon be Baker Development Corporation‘s mixed-use project. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, Elevate Lincoln Park will deliver 191 rental units, plus three levels of parking and a whole bunch of ground-floor commercial space. McHugh Construction is on the job as general contractor.

You’ll see signage in the following photos telling you to expect Elevate to be ready this summer. A delay getting started set that back, but Baker Development still hopes to have Elevate Lincoln Park open before 2017 closes.

: Gratuitous tower crane shot.

At The Sinclair, glass is almost up, and the tower crane is almost down

Posted on April 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Tower cranes aren’t supposed to be lower than the top of the buildings their servicing. Unless they’re being removed.

The tower crane started coming down from The Sinclair last week. That may seem like sad news, but the glass is also more than half full, which is good news. So they cancel each other out.

McHugh Construction has been working on the Fifield Companies apartment tower since Winter 2015. Now, after two tower cranes and lots of concrete, the 35-story, 390-unit tower looks certain to make its Summer Opening goal.

: A tower craned section is loaded onto a truck.

: Hey, Dude.

: Your cab is a bit hung up.

: The Sinclair has a booboo.

: Installing cladding on the east wall of the podium.

: There goes some of the tower crane.

Quick Look: The Sinclair tower crane is coming down

Posted on March 29, 2017 by danieldschell

I wasn’t fast enough on the draw to capture the tower crane at The Sinclair coming down this morning as the Purple Line passed by. But I recovered in time to get this shot between the Sedgwick and Armitage stops. That rooftop crane will handle the rest of the heavy lifting from here on out.

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.

: Bright flashes are common. Watch your foot though.

: Core work.

: The Adams Street facing.

: From the Monroe Street 7Bridge.

625 West Adams transitions from concrete to steel

Posted on February 21, 2017 by danieldschell

Enough with the concrete, it’s steel time at 625 West Adams!

It’s been an enjoyable run, watching Power Construction pour yard after yard after yard of concrete at 625 West Adams in the West Loop. But the podium has reached its apex, and now steel is the main ingredient in the 20-story office tower’s progress.

From the B.U.C. HQ, we can see the six levels of concrete that have risen above what will be the two-story lobby facing north. Now, two floors of steel framing have risen on the northwest corner of the structure, with lots more iron being delivered to the site. Why, there’s even activity atop the core, which hasn’t been elevated in months.