Imprint, Chicago’s punniest residential tower, is making an impression in the South Loop

Posted on January 21, 2020 by danieldschell

Imprint rises at 717 South Clark St in the South Loop.

This is my first edition dedicated to Imprint. The name Imprint is a novel idea, an homage to the history of the South Loop’s Printers Row neighborhood. You should book a tour; nothing is binding until you sign a lease. I tried to talk to one of the workers on site, but the wind was too strong, creating a rough draft that had chapter lips. She wasn’t able to page someone else, despite my attempt to press.

That’s it; I don’t have any more printing puns. <HITS PUBLISH>

Imprint will be a 30-story, 349-unit rental tower. A three-story, 55,000-sq-ft former office building at 719 South Clark is being renovated and integrated as amenity space for the new residents.

CMK Companies, responsible for a lot of what’s being built in the South Loop, is the developer. Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture is the design architect, and Lendlease is on the build. They’re all working toward a Spring 2020 opening.

Alta Grand Central nears its debut in the South Loop

Posted on January 10, 2020 by danieldschell

It’s been more than 18 months since we’ve checked in on Alta Grand Central in the South Loop. That was in June of 2018, just after Alta Grand Central had been announced on Instagram. Not surprisingly, it has gone from dirt lot to near-completion in that amount of time.

The two 14-story, Pappageorge Haymes Partners-designed apartment towers contain 346 units. Wood Partners is the developer and Walsh Construction the general contractor, just like they were around the corner at Alta Roosevelt.

Alta Grand Central looks move-in ready from the outside, but we still need to wait a bit for the opening.

The Alta Grand Central construction site during our last visit, June 2018.

410 South Wabash has a permit for 25 stories and 344 units in the South Loop

Posted on January 3, 2020 by danieldschell

The parking has been locked down, and a lone piece of construction equipment stands at the ready on the future site of 410 South Wabash in the South Loop.

College students don’t need parking lots. College students do need beds. That might be a little oversimplified, but that’s how I prefer to look at 410 South Wabash in the South Loop.

A foundation permit issued by the City of Chicago beck in December launched the beginning of 410 South Wabash. Developed by Lennar Multifamily, or LMC, this new residential building in the South Loop promises to deliver 344 dwelling units in a 25-story, 260-foot-tall tower.

The site sits at the foot of the T intersection of the CTA’s elevated train lines at Wabash Avenue and Van Buren Street, offering future residents unlimited opportunities to take cool Instagram shots of the L coming and going into and out of The Loop. Orange, Pink, Green, Brown, and Purple Line trains all pass through here, and when the Christmas Train passes by at night, lucky tower dwellers will be directly above the action.

4th Ward Alderman Sophia King held a community meeting in May, from which there comes a veritable cavalcade of information on 410 South Wabash. Floor plans show a mix of 1-bed, 2-bed, and 3-bed units, plus studios, convertibles, and micro-apartments. Though no indication is given that this tower is targeting the South Loop student population, those smaller units sure seem to be good options for the college kids.

410 South Wabash will also include 103 parking spaces, which goes against my thoughts on students needing to park, but definitely fits in with 3-bedroom homes. There will also be about 8,000 square feet of commercial space.

Antunovich Associates is the architect of record; Pepper Construction is the general contractor.

That little yellow dynamo pictured above may or may not start tearing up the parking lot at any minute. As always, sooner is better than later.

The Lot

The Lot, with Pink Line train

The Lot, from under the L

The foundation permit, issued 12/17/2019

Foundation work is underway at 1000M in the South Loop

Posted on December 10, 2019 by danieldschell

Foundation work has begun on the Helmut Jahn’s 74-story 1000M in the South Loop.

1000M did an unusual thing for its groundbreaking celebration: it broke ground before ground was actually broken. You know, like an actual breaking-of-the-ground party to kick off construction. And now stuff’s getting done.

The JAHN-designed tower for Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood is getting its foundation on, thanks to the labors of Stalworth Underground and general contractor McHugh Construction. When all the work is complete, some time in 2022, 1000M will have risen to 74 stories and 832 feet. That’s 11.24324 feet per story, which is way more math than was at all necessary. Or relevant. I just like numbers. The building permit to start foundation work was issued November 29, so crews haven’t been wasting time. We’re waiting patiently for a tower crane permit.

Wanna see some iPhone photos of what’s going on? Here ya go:

: Rendering of 1000M from JAHN.

: The foundation permit, issued November 29, 2019.

: That’s a sexy model.

June must be 50s month in Chicago; Essex on the Park reaches another milestone

Posted on June 19, 2018 by danieldschell

46…47…you do the math. But that’s *at least* 50 where I was schooled.

Must be something in the water. All the spring rain, perhaps. Whatever it is, 50 seems to be a popular number in the Chicago skyline these days, as our population of new skyscrapers continues to grow up.

A close look at the numerals stenciled into the front of Essex on the Park show that it too, along with recent 50-achievers Vista Tower and NEMA Chicago, has reached the 50th level. For a 56-story apartment tower, that’s pretty darn close to topping out.

Congratulations to the team of Power Construction, Oxford Capital Group, and Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, on achieving the milestone. Just a handful of floors to go.

McHugh Construction Instagrams NEMA Chicago’s 50th

Posted on June 18, 2018 by danieldschell

View this post on Instagram

More love for our NEMA Chicago project this week! Decking for floor 50 has begun – only 26 more floors to go!

A post shared by James McHugh Construction Co. (@mchughconstruct) on Jun 15, 2018 at 1:30pm PDT

There was another Golden Anniversary of sorts to celebrate last week, as McHugh Construction posted the above photo to their Instagram page announcing the start of Floor #50 at NEMA Chicago. The South Loop tower by Rafael Viñoly Architects, which started life as 1200 South Indiana, became One Grant Park, and has now settled in as a member of Crescent Heights’ NEMA franchise, will eventually grow to 76 stories.

: This will always be my favorite view of NEMA.

Views of Chicago, from the18th Street Bridge

Posted on June 13, 2018 by danieldschell

My town, Chicago, as seen from the 18th Street Bridge.

I walk across the South Loop’s 18th Street Bridge once or twice a year, whether I need to or not. And that’s a shame. It’s a great perspective of the city, including the skyline and the magnificent St. Charles Air Line Bridge. For six months, it was all in my back yard. Now that I’m gone from the neighborhood, I realize how unappreciative I was of my proximity to it.

I need to get here more. A lot more.

I may have gotten a tad carried away with cropping photos into panoramas here. Indulge me. As usual, I couldn’t decide which ones *not* to include.