Brace for an entire Summer of a Loop without a tower crane

Posted on June 28, 2017 by danieldschell

The now-empty lot at 145 South Wells. Case Foundation will begin caisson work in September.

The Loop, Chicago’s central business district, has been without a tower crane since 151 North Franklin dropped its crane back in April. And it looks like The Loop shall remain craneless until late summer/early fall.

A Facebook post from Case Foundation on June 22 lets us know they’ll begin caisson work for Clark Construction in September at 145 South Wells, the office tower project from developer Moceri + Roszak and design architect Thomas Roszak Architecture.

There aren’t many jobs on the immediate horizon for The Loop, so it’s highly unlikely anything else will get started before 145 South Wells. Of course, we should keep our eye on the empty lot at 130 North Franklin, just to be safe.

There are no tower cranes in The Loop. Will 145 South Wells end the drought?

Posted on May 10, 2017 by danieldschell

Rendering of 145 South Wells from Thomas Roszak Architecture. Yep, that’ll need a tower crane.

For all the development in Chicago, none of it includes a tower crane in The Loop. The two most recent cranes, at Linea (215 West Lake Street) and 151 North Franklin, have been gone since December and April, respectively. So who will swoop in to save us from this wretched cranelessness?

145 South Wells could be the right candidate. After receiving a demolition permit in mid-March to tear down the small parking garage on site, the lot looks clean and ready to be prepped for the latest project from developer Moceri + Roszak: a boutique office building that will re-team them with design architect Thomas Roszak Architecture. (They worked on Linea together.) Renderings show a tower somewhere in the 15-20-story range. That’s sure tower-crane territory. As for when construction gets underway (looks like Clark Construction will be the general contractor) that remains to be seen; permits have yet to be issued to start construction.

: That’s nice scaffolding and all, but it won’t do a tower crane’s job.

: My hunch about the GC is based on this sign.

That really cool tower crane at 151 North Franklin is coming down

Posted on April 9, 2017 by danieldschell

Eye-to-eye as the tower crane comes down at 151 North Franklin.

An email from Alderman Reilly’s office confirmed what we already knew; the tower crane at 151 North Franklin is coming down this weekend. Randolph Street between Lake and Franklin is closed as crews from Central Contractor Services use the roadway to load up red tower crane parts and haul them off to their next assignment.

Initial confusion over what kind of crane would be utilized at 151 North Franklin soon turned into joy, as Lendlease engineered a spectacular steel frame over the Randolph Street sidewalk, in effect floating the tower crane above pedestrians’ heads. A luffer rather than a fighter, it made the Best Of 2016 list, served its purpose, and now moves on. Chances are good we see that same crane pop up downtown soon, on another site.

: Lendlease celebrated like they normally do; by hanging more cladding.

The topped-out 151 North Franklin drops the tower crane

Posted on April 4, 2017 by danieldschell

Those skies on Saturday! You almost don’t notice the tower crane has sunk below the top of 151 North Franklin.

You knew 151 North Franklin had topped out; The John Buck Company told us when they tweeted from the ceremony a month ago. And now comes the next sign that the future CNA Center is getting closer to completion: the tower crane started coming down this past weekend.

Luckily, a tower crane permit was issued yesterday for Eight Eleven Uptown, so things will even out soon. We’ve also got cranes on the way for One Grant Park (planted), 1101 South Wabash, and One South Halsted.

: I hope that’s wind damage, and not someone who thinks they’re good with a brick.

: Ditto

145 South Wells returning to dust from whence it came

Posted on March 20, 2017 by danieldschell

The dramatic video above, taken from a Monday morning Purple Line train, lives as proof that Brandenburg Industrial Service crews ain’t wasting a minute reducing 145 South Wells Street to waste. Approved for demolition Thursday of last week, the four-story parking garage is being pummeled out of existence to make room for a new 20-story office tower from Moceri + Roszak. (You can see a whole boatload of renderings of the new building by following ^^ that link to their website.)

As they did for Linea at 215 West Lake Street, Thomas Roszak Architecture handled the design for 145 South Wells, which is being billed as more than 200,000 square feet of “boutique loft offices.”

: A rendering from Thomas Roszak Architects of the future 145 South Wells.

: A sign of things to come.

: 145 South Wells, as it used to be.

The John Buck Company’s 151 North Franklin tops out

Posted on March 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Watching the beam rise at today's #151NFranklin topping out pic.twitter.com/ctX999RXrw

— The John Buck Company (@TheJohnBuckCo) March 2, 2017

And there it goes. Thanks to The John Buck Company for sharing news that 151 North Franklin topped out, and for capturing the moment the final beam rose skyward in photos. I stopped by Randolph and Franklin later in the afternoon to find Lendlease celebrating the event by hanging more glass.

You can see more photos from TJBC’s on its Facebook page here.

Linea is just about as glassy as it gets

Posted on February 10, 2017 by danieldschell

Linea, 215 West Lake Street in The Loop, is all glazed over. Yes, that’s a tree up there.

Save for one little corner that looks like it may not get windows at all, Linea is a glass that’s full. The 33-story apartment tower at 215 West Lake Street from Moceri + Roszak has been glazed over thoroughly, as work continues on the interior as well. A design by Thomas Roszak Architecture, Linea brings 265 apartments to the heart of Chicago’s Loop. Clark Construction has been on the build since breaking ground, a really old building, and a parking garage beginning late in 2015.

: A lone level of glass remains un-glazed.

: But it has to get windows eventually…right?

: More trees.

: Linea Chicago and 151 North Franklin have grown up together.

: Standing on tippy-toes, each trying to be taller than the other.

If you’re clad and you know it… you might be 151 North Franklin

Posted on January 16, 2017 by danieldschell

There’s an embarrassment of riches of new glass around Chicago these days. The latest to show up for the party? 151 North Franklin. But you have to look carefully. There are a few panels visible from the corner of Franklin and Randolph, and then a couple rows along Couch Place (aka the alley between Randolph and Lake.)

Have a look:

: The glass along Franklin…

: …is hidden under the corner of Franklin and Randolph.

: Alley glass, from an unsafe angle.

: Alley glass.

Construction Update: 151 North Franklin

Posted on December 16, 2016 by danieldschell

The tower crane that isn’t a tower crane at 151 North Franklin still soars high above Randolph Street.

I missed the memo that said 151 North Franklin would be growing like a weed in spring, despite Chicago heading into winter. On the lot that only yesterday still seemed to anchor that worn-out old Walgreen’s store, the future CNA Center already appears to be about 18 stories into the sky. You can credit Lendlease for that miracle growth, for even in Thursday’s inhuman temperatures, there was still a construction crew on site. That’s not just a core shooting up through the center of The John Buck Company’s 820,000-square-foot office tower, that’s hard-core.

Here are a few shots on 151 North Franklin, which has outgrown all the adjacent parking garages, and their prime vantage points.

: Lendlease. Still Flying The W!

: last time we stopped by here, there were tower crane pieces awaiting assembly.

Linea gets out of the Chicago cranes business

Posted on December 7, 2016 by danieldschell

No more tower crane atop Linea at 215 West Lake Street. But the curtain wall is starting to work its way down.

Tower cranes, that is. Linea, the residential tower by Thomas Roszak Architecture at 215 West Lake Street in The Loop, still has a baby crane on the top level to help finish off the building. But it’s topped out and getting more glass by the day. In fact, curtain installation has been working from the top, down, as well. Once known as Level Apartments, Linea is a 33-story, 265-unit development with about 150 parking spaces. Clark Construction is the contractor tasked with having Linea move-in ready in 2017.