West Loop’s Nobu Hotel (finally) plants a tower crane

Posted on July 26, 2017 by danieldschell

THERE IT IS! The Nobu Hotel has a tower-crane stub.

The biggest day in the history of the northeast corner of the intersection of Randolph and Peoria Streets on Restaurant Row in the West Loop has finally arrived.

13 months after breaking ground, nine months after receiving a tower-crane permit from the City of Chicago, one month after having that permit revised, and two weeks after having that revised permit revised yet again to relocate the tower-crane pad and caissons, the Nobu Hotel Chicago at long last has planted a tower crane.

And while there’s still a substantial amount of foundation digging to be done, the arrival of the tower crane signals a major step upward for the boutique hotel. With all the development ongoing in this part of the city, overnight accommodations had been sorely lacking, and Nobu’s 11-story, 119-room hotel will help fill that void. But first, it will have to fill the void left by all that foundation digging. Slow as it’s been getting started, Nobu still plans to have its first Chicago hotel open in 2018. Centaur Construction will do their best to reach that goal. (Nobu marks Centaur’s first tower crane on the official tower-crane count.)

: Tower-crane permit.

: Tower-crane permit, revised.

: Revision of revised tower-crane permit.

: Actual, unrevised tower-crane stub.

: Tower-crane foundation awaiting concrete..

: Still lots of digging to do.

Chicago’s official Tower Crane Count now stands somewhere in the 30s

Posted on July 12, 2017 by danieldschell

Monday morning, crews began lowering the tower crane at 625 West Adams.

I’m not very good at math, so let’s slow things down a tad this morning. As you may know, the B.U.C. HQ is in the process of relocating, consolidating into the South Loop Bureau. That means far more attention has been paid to taping and painting walls, packing belongings, and mislabeling boxes, than to construction. And it looks like we’ve missed quite a bit over the past week or so.

As for that vague “30s” tower crane count, I think we’re at 32. We’ve lost two cranes this week, as 625 West Adams and the Apple Store are both on their way down, and we’ve gained one, as Essex On The Park now has a Crane On The Count. (33-2+1=32.) But until I can find which box I packed my compass, crayons, and Kodachrome, I won’t be confirming that for awhile.

That leaves Nobu on the clock. Anyone walk by this week?

The Yellow Street Crane of Doom was dismantling the Apple Store tower crane Wednesday morning, just before the weather took a turn.

The Essex On The Park tower crane is up and lifting heavy stuff.

1326 + 1 = 33: 1326 South Michigan erects Chicago’s 33rd tower crane

Posted on July 3, 2017 by danieldschell

It’s the new math. 1326 South Michigan put up a tower crane last week, raising Chicago’s total to 33.

https://twitter.com/skenrou/status/881190910649933825

That tweet from Twitter used @skenrou Saturday morning confirmed the shiny yellow luffer (not fighter) was up and ready to do Walsh Construction’s heavy lifting. 1326 still looks like a barren lot, albeit with a tower crane now poking up through the north edge of the site. But that will all change quickly, as the 47-story tower can now begin to go vertical.

: In the distance, a tower crane.

1326 South Michigan is getting into the tower-crane game

Posted on June 24, 2017 by danieldschell

https://twitter.com/ChrisAHorney/status/878399659307347968

Shout-out to Twitter user @ChrisAHorney from Murphy Development Group, who let us know the tower crane stub spotted at 1326 South Michigan on Thursday, was planted on Friday. He also let us know full assembly will begin on Monday.

We’ve all seen Walsh Construction’s work around town, so it was pretty obvious they know a horizontal stub wasn’t gonna do them much good when building a skyscraper, but it’s nice to have photo confirmation anyway.

Walsh will put that tower crane to work erecting the SCB-designed 46-story, 500-unit tower that Murphy Development Group is bringing to the South Loop in partnership with CIM Group.

: The tower crane stub, wearing special lil booties, waiting to be planted.

: Yep, it’s a shiny yellow Liebherr.

: That’s a formidable tower crane foundation.

Essex On The Park plants a tower crane

Posted on June 23, 2017 by danieldschell

Essex On The Park has a Stub In The Ground.

Chicago’s tower-crane count is back down to 32, and Essex On The Park won’t stand for it. Thursday, Power Construction planted a stub in the South Loop ground. Surrounded for now by rebar, the foundation will soon (today?) be filled with concrete, which will cure before the full tower crane can be assembled. Let’s watch the middle part of next week for that.

🏗 Tower cranes up; tower cranes down. Chicago’s count returns to 32 🏗

Posted on June 23, 2017 by danieldschell

The boom giveth; the boom taketh away. After several weeks of activity in Chicago’s tower-crane skyline, what was as many as 35 active tower cranes has settled right back to 32, the same count we had in early May.

New to the list since May’s count:

Aloft Chicago Mag Mile
No. 508 (508 West Diversey)
Marlowe (675 North Wells)
One South Halsted
Cook County Central Campus Health Center (1950 West Polk)

Gone from May’s count:

171 Aberdeen
8 East Huron
DePaul School of Music
Hotel Zachary
3Eleven

Three projects have tower-crane permits:

Nobu
Essex On The Park (stub planted)
1326 South Michigan (stub on site, not planted yet)

Chicago’s 32 active tower cranes, from south to north (roughly):

: Solstice On The Park

: Triple-Branded Hilton (at McCormick Place)

: 1411 South Michigan

: One Grant Park

: 1136 South Wabash

: 1101 South Wabash

: Alta Roosevelt

: Ancora at Riverline

: Cook County Central Campus Health Center

: 625 West Adams

: Illume Chicago

: One South Halsted

: McDonald’s Headquarters

: Vista Tower

: The Apple Store

: Hubbard221 & 412 North Wells

: 465 North Park

: One Bennett Park

: Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center

: Aloft Chicago Mag Mile

: Marlowe

: No. 9 Walton

: Old Town Park (at Atrium Village)

: Wicker Park Connection

: Addison & Clark

: No. 508 (508 West Diversey Parkway)

: Elevate Lincoln Park

: Eight Eleven Uptown

Topped out, 8 East Huron drops its tower crane

Posted on June 15, 2017 by danieldschell

The tower crane at 8 East Huron fades away behind Holy Name Cathedral.

Chicago’s ever-changing tower-crane count has changed yet again, dropping to 34 as the crane at 8 East Huron comes down in River North. Perched high atop the intersection of State and Huron, the pretty yellow Liebherr crane did what it was born to do, and as of Thursday afternoon is halfway to the ground.

8 East Huron, the 26-story apartment tower from Harlem Irving Companies and CA Ventures, is on schedule to deliver 105 new units by early Fall 2017, with 31 parking spaces and about 2,800 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

This was Clark Construction’s only tower crane in Chicago, so here’s hoping we can get 145 South Wells on the books soon, and get Clark back on the board.

Chicago’s three newest tower cranes boost total to 35

Posted on June 12, 2017 by danieldschell

Chicago’s tower crane count stands at 35 this morning, thanks to three new rigs dotting the skyline.

Aloft Chicago Mag Mile

The tower crane at 243 East Ontario Street in Streeterville isn’t quite operational yet. A delay thanks to some stubborn counterweights held up assembly on Sunday; work will continue to finish up the crane Monday. The stub had been planted back in May.

: Looks complete, but it’s not ready to lift yet.

: The counterweights are being removed.

: Stacking counterweights.

No. 508

The crane at 508 West Diversey Parkway in Lake View went up to open June.

Marlowe

Assembly of the crane at 675 North Wells Street in River North began Tuesday of last week.

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.

Chicago Tower Crane Survey: John Hancock Center Edition

Posted on June 2, 2017 by danieldschell

Looking up to my host, 360 Chicago at the John Hancock Center.

A sunny-day excursion up to 360Chicago reveals most of Chicago’s 33 tower cranes, including all those I missed from the Sears Tower, where we conducted our most recent comprehensive search. Sorry, there are some really bad photos here. Doesn’t change the fact that being 94 stories in the air is a pretty darn cool way to spend an hour or two.

Unavailable for the team photo were: Eight Eleven Uptown, The Apple Store, Ancora At Riverline, Alta Roosevelt, and Hilton McCormick Place. And maybe No. 508, if it’s up.

: Hotel Zachary (right) and Addison & Clark (left)

: Elevate Lincoln Park (yellow) and DePaul School of Music (red)

: Atrium Village

: Wicker Park Connection

: No. 9 Walton

: Simpson-Querrey Center

: One Bennett Park

: 465 North Park

: 8 East Huron (Had to be patient to catch a glimpse of this one.)

: Hubbard221 and 412 North Wells

: Moxy Hotel

: Vista Tower

: McDonald’s Headquarters

: One South Halsted (yellow) and Illume Chicago

: 625 West Adams

: One Grant Park

: One Grant Park and a 1411 South Michigan photobomb

: 1101 South Wabash (left) and 1136 South Wabash (right, yellow)

: Solstice on The Park

: Honorable Mention: The stub for Marlowe’s tower crane had just been planted just on the other side of 676 North LaSalle. You can see the street crane.

There’s a new tower crane stub in town, and her name is Marlowe

Posted on June 2, 2017 by danieldschell

Hey, look over there! Marlowe planted a tower crane!

About a week after receiving a tower crane permit from the City of Chicago, Marlowe planted a stub at 675 North Wells Street in River North on Thursday. Having recently lost cranes at 640 North Wells, The Gallery On Wells, and 3Eleven, the neighborhood needed a burst of excitement, and what’s more fun than a new tower crane?

https://twitter.com/adjustableforms/status/870320994413666306

See? Don’t believe for a second I’m the only one out here excited about tower cranes. Adjustable Forms knows what’s up.

Now the Antunovich Associates-designed 15-story, 176-unit apartment building from Lennar Multifamily Companies can start going skyward, under the careful direction of Power Construction.