Tag Archives: Tower Cranes

One of Chicago’s longest-running shows, No. 9 Walton lowers the curtain on its tower crane

Posted on by
Reply
No. 9 Walton tower crane

The tower crane at No. 9 Walton is slowly lowering itself to the ground, one segment at a time.

If you thought No. 9 Walton at 9 West Walton Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood topped out months ago, and that it seemed strange how long that hammerhead tower crane remained aloft, you were on to something. While we can’t confirm anything, we’ve got our suspicions that the $58.5 million sale for the top four floors may have had something to do with the longevity of the crane. (Dennis Rodkin over at Crain’s Chicago had the scoop back in January.)

The stub was planted at No. 9 Walton in March of 2016, after getting its permit on the first of February. By my calculations, that’s about two years ago. That’s a long time for a tower crane to be on a job site, especially one that’s “only” 38 stories high.

No. 9 Walton is a project from JDL Develoment. You may recall hearing that JDL’s president and founder, James Letchinger, had set aside a unit in this tower for himself. That’s a pretty good indication he’s paid very close attention to every facet of its construction.

The design was by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. Lendlease handled the GC duties.

Expect No. 9 Walton to be open in 2018.

Twitter introduces Chicago’s two newest tower cranes

Posted on by
Reply

Chicago started 2018 with 30 tower cranes in the air. Now, that number of 2018 cranes has risen to 32.

Recent tweets from Twitter users @WestLoopTom and @TheBigGreenW introduced me to the two latest cranes, at Hayden West Loop and Wolf Point East, respectively. For Walsh Construction, WPE marks their second currently operating crane in Chicago, along with 1326 South Michigan. Also celebrating their second crane is Macon Construction over at Hayden.

You can see the tweeted photos of the pretty yellow Liebherr cranes below:

🏗 Chicago rings in 2018 with 30 tower cranes on the skyline 🏗

Posted on by
Reply
Belmont Village

W.E. O’Neil’s tower crane at Belmont Village (700 West Fullerton) was the 62nd and final crane erected in Chicago in 2017.

Chicago had 62 tower cranes in the air during 2017. 2018 starts out with 30 of them. Sure, there are a bunch of jobs in the pipeline that will require a crane, but erecting 32 more of them to tie our record seems unlikely. But we can hope, right? Records are made to be broken, after all.

Let’s take a look at our initial 30 for 2018:

New since December 2017 count:

  1. Belmont Village (700 West Fullerton)

Gone since December 2017:

  1. Moxy Hotel
  2. Old Town Park
  3. Illume Chicago

Coming soon:

  1. Hayden West Loop (1109 West Washington – permit issued 09/07; stub planted)
  2. Wolf Point East (343 West Wolf Point Plaza – permit issued 11/20)

    Hayden West Loop stub

    Hayden West Loop, likely to be the first tower crane erected in 2018.

Who has tower cranes?

  1. Lendlease – 8
  2. Power Construction – 6
  3. McHugh Construction – 5
  4. W.E. O’Neil – 3
  5. 8 companies have one tower crane apiece: Walsh (1326 South Michigan); Centaur (Nobu Hotel); Leopardo (210 North Carpenter); Tishman (aLoft Chicago Mag Mile); Linn-Mathes – Wicker Park Connection); Macon Construction (No. 508); DLG Development (3833 North Broadway); M.A. Mortenson (Home2 Suites River North)

Where are they?

  1. West Loop – 6
  2. South Loop – 6
  3. Streeterville – 5
  4. Lake View – 3
  5. Lincoln Park – 3
  6. Lakeshore East – 2
  7. River North – 2
  8. Three neighborhoods have one tower crane each: Gold Coast (No. 9 Walton); Wicker Park (Wicker Park Connection; Uptown (Eight Eleven Uptown)

What are they building?

  1. Residential – 22
  2. Hotel – 6
  3. Medical – 1 (Simpson Querrey)
  4. Office – 1 (210 North Carpenter)

 

📸 The Year in Pictures: All 62 Chicago Tower Cranes of 2017 🏗

Posted on by
Reply
Chicago had 62 tower cranes in 2017

Chicago closes 2017 having had a record 62 tower cranes operating across the skyline throughout the year. Before 2018 takes over, let’s recap them all.

Who had tower cranes in 2017?

  1. Power Construction – 13
  2. Lendlease – 13
  3. McHugh Construction – 11
  4. Linn-Mathes – 4
  5. Walsh Construction – 3
  6. W.E. O’Neil – 3
  7. Clark Construction – 2
  8. 13 companies had one tower crane in 2017: Pepper Construction (Moxy Hotel); Macon Construction (No. 508); Centaur Construction (Nobu Hotel); Onni Group (Old Town Park); Optima (Optima Signature); M.A. Mortenson Company (Home2 Suites River North); Norcon (Illume Chicago); Bulley-Andrews (DePaul School of Music); Clayco (Cook County Central Campus Health Center); Novak Construction (171 Aberdeen); Leopardo Companies (210 North Carpenter); Tishman (aLoft Chicago Mag Mile); DLG  (3833 North Broadway)

Where were they?

  1. West Loop – 13
  2. South Loop – 11
  3. River North – 9
  4. Streeterville – 8
  5. Lincoln Park – 5
  6. Lake View – 4
  7. Near North – 2
  8. Gold Coast – 2
  9. Lakeshore East – 2
  10. Six neighborhoods had one crane each in 2017 – The Loop (151 North Franklin); Illinois Medical District (Cook County Central Campus Health Center); Uptown (Eight Eleven Uptown); Hyde Park (Solstice on the Park); River West (Spoke); Wicker Park (Wicker Park Connection)

What were they building?

  1. Residential – *40.5
  2. Hotel – 10
  3. Office – *5.5
  4. Medical – 3
  5. There was one Church (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Meetinghouse) one School (DePaul School of Music) and one Commercial building (The Apple Store)

* One crane built Hubbard 221 (residential) and 412 North Wells (office) hence the half-crane in those two categories. The two tower cranes at Vista Tower are building residences and a hotel, so one crane goes to each of those two categories.

And now, photographs of all our 2017 Chicago Tower Cranes:

Gallery On Wells

Enjoying the photos? Metra and CTA rides (and Amtrak trains to Milwaukee), Zipcars, Divvy Bikes, camera lenses, domain fees, snacks & energy drinks, and comfortable walking shoes add up. You can help offset expenses by making a greatly-appreciated donation to Building Up Chicago.

The tower crane comes down from Illume Chicago

Posted on by
Reply

We told you last week that Illume Chicago had topped out over in the West Loop. And topping out always means certain doom for tower cranes. Sure enough, over this past weekend the crane came down from the construction site at 111 South Peoria. We all got an up-close look from Instagram user @skyboom150 that you see above.

Then first thing Monday morning, Twitter user @WestLoopTom tweeted the photo below, showing the tower crane has been completely removed. Here’s hoping it finds another gig soon.

https://twitter.com/westlooptom/status/940227771502071808

Chicago’s 62nd (and final?) tower crane of 2017 is up at Belmont Village

Posted on by
Reply

Belmont Village tower crane

This shiny red tower crane is ready to lift heavy stuff at Belmont Village.

Unless you’re a big Tunch Ilkin fan, the number 62 might not mean all that much to you. But it’s somewhat of a landmark here in Chicago, as we’ve reached 62 tower cranes for the year.

And while we still have a stub planted in the ground (at Hayden West Loop) we don’t have a date on that tower crane going up, so Belmont Village may very well be our final tower crane of the year.

Chicago surpassed its all-time high (heh — high) in tower cranes back in September, when the Mayor’s office announced we’d erected our 54th crane of the year. But we didn’t stop there.

The crane at Belmont Village, the 7-story senior living facility being built at 700 West Fullerton, marks the third tower crane for The Lincoln Common, GC W.E. O’Neil, and for Lincoln Park. They make a handsome trio.

If indeed this is our final tower crane of 2017, it deserves a big photo gallery of assembly. So here you go, taken over the course of three days (Dec 6-8)

Belmont Village hides a tower crane stub in Lincoln Park

Posted on by
Reply

Belmont Village tower crane stub

Deep down, that’s a very nice tower crane stub at 700 West Fullerton for the Belmont Village project.

It’s there, the tower crane stub that will soon grow into W.E. O’Neil’s third tower crane at The Lincoln Common development on the old Children’s Memorial Hospital site in Lincoln Park. But you have look hard.

The red stub is planted along the east side of the new Belmont Village senior living site, along Orchard Street, at 700 West Fullerton. But it’s rooted so deep into the foundation that, until the rest of the crane is erected, it goes largely unnoticed.

We expect the tower crane to be erected in full this week, which would make it our 33rd active tower crane in Chicago, and #62 for 2017.

🏗 Chicago begins meteorological winter (December) with 32 tower cranes on the job 🏗

Posted on by
Reply
32 December Chicago tower cranes

A few of Chicago’s 32 tower cranes, as we head into the winter months.

As the calendar turns toward another dreaded Chicago winter, it’s time for another Chicago Tower Crane Survey.

Chicago currently has 32 tower cranes in the air around town.The further crane north remains Eight Eleven Uptown. But with this week’s removal of the triple-branded Hilton Hotels at McCormick Place, our new southern-most tower crane is now 1326 South Michigan. And that’s not very far south. Now, for the statistics.

New since November’s count:

  1. Home2 Suites River North (110 West Huron)
  2. Renelle on the River (403 North Wabash)
  3. 3833 North Broadway

Gone since November’s count:

  1. Simpson Querrey North Crane (303 East Superior)
  2. McDonald’s HQ West Crane (110 North Carpenter)
  3. Triple-branded Hilton Hotels (123 East Cermak)

Coming soon:

  1. Hayden West Loop (1109 West Washington – permit issued 09/07; stub planted)
  2. The Bentham (146 West Erie; permit issued 09/11)
  3. Belmont Village (700 West Fullerton – permit issued 11/15)
  4. Wolf Point East (343 West Wolf Point Plaza – permit issued 11/20)

Who has tower cranes:

  1. Lendlease – 8
  2. Power Construction – 6
  3. McHugh Construction – 5
  4. W.E. O’Neil – 2
  5. 11 construction companies have a single tower crane: Walsh (1326 South Michigan); Centaur (Nobu Hotel); Leopardo (210 North Carpenter); Pepper (Moxy Hotel); Tishman (aLoft Chicago Mag Mile); Onni Group (Old Town Park); Norcon (Illume Chicago); Linn-Mathes – Wicker Park Connection); Macon Construction (No. 508); DLG Development (3833 North Broadway, Chicago’s newest tower crane, and our 61st of 2017); M.A. Mortenson (Home2 Suites River North)

Where are they:

  1. West Loop – 7
  2. South Loop – 6
  3. Streeterville – 5
  4. Lake View – 3
  5. River North – 3
  6. Lincoln Park – 2
  7. New Eastside – 2
  8. Four neighborhoods have one tower crane apiece: Gold Coast (not Australia – No. 9 Walton); Near North (Old Town Park); Wicker Park (Wicker Park Connection; Uptown (Eight Eleven Uptown)

What are they building:

  • Residential – 23
  • Hotel – 7
  • Office – 1
  • Medical – 1

Here are Chicago’s 32 tower cranes, as of December 1, 2017:

Fun Fact: The 7 West Loop tower cranes were photographed from the same spot on the Washington Street Bridge. Didn’t even have to move my feet.

Getting to know Chicago Tower Crane #60

Posted on by
Reply

Renelle on the River

McHugh Construction’s tower crane at Renelle on the River, from East Upper Wacker Drive.

We’d only gone by the new tower crane at Renelle on the River once since McHugh Construction erected it back in the second week of November. It famously became Chicago’s 60th tower crane in the air for this calendar year. The Mayor was there. It was a big deal. It was also dark, so I didn’t get a great look at it

Of course, Tuesday was kind of a dud as far as weather goes, but that didn’t stop us from getting a few more angles on the shiny yellow Liebherr 200 HC model. Aside from standing in the plaza just outside Trump Tower, where you can look straight up at the beast, we suggest East Wacker Drive and the Michigan Avenue Bridge as the best crane-gawking spots.

3833 North Broadway puts up Chicago’s 61st tower crane of 2017

Posted on by
Reply

3833 North Broadway tower crane

A pretty sight at the 3833 North Broadway site, as DLG Management erects a tower crane.

We all made a big deal earlier this month about Chicago reaching 60 tower cranes for this calendar year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t erect any more of them. Just ask 3833 Broadway, the Jonathan Splitt Architects-designed, 8-story, 134-unit residential project from DLG Management at the intersection of North Broadway and West Sheridan Road.

I was up there Friday morning, and the tower crane wasn’t complete yet. But another visit Monday showed Central Contractors Service putting the finishing touches on the pretty yellow Liebherr 316 EC-H 12 Litronic machine. As they’re providing their own general contractor service as well, this marks DLG’s first entry into our Chicago Tower Crane count, so congratulations!

Here are a few (it’s never just a few) shots from Friday and Monday: