A crane grows at Illume Chicago

Posted on March 25, 2017 by danieldschell

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Norcon, Inc. (@norcon.inc)

If you were watching your Instagram feed Friday, you may have noticed the above photo from Norcon, showing the beginning of work on the tower portion of the new tower crane at Illume Chicago in the West Loop.

The tower at Illume Chicago went up Friday. The crane will follow.

You can (kind of) see the tower in the photo above, taken from the B.U.C. HQ. Judging by the forecast for Saturday, it’s very possible Norcon’s plan to assemble the crane over the weekend might be washed out. If that’s the case, expect them to try again next weekend. (Weekday assembly isn’t a possibility because of the need to close off Green Street.)

Continue reading →

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.

Digging Case Foundation’s One South Halsted digging

Posted on March 24, 2017 by danieldschell

Once you start pouring concrete into a caisson, you have to finish. Sometimes One South Halsted stays active into the evening hours.

Case Foundation is still on the case at One South Halsted, and it’s because caissons don’t dig themselves. As you may recall, One South Halsted went from permit to really busy in about two heartbeats, and work hasn’t let up since. The official caisson count from the B.U.C. HQ vantage point is “bunches and bunches,” with the assumption that they’ll be wrapped up very soon. Then, Lendlease can take over the vertical portion of the 46-story apartment tower by FitzGerald Associates Architects.

Co-developers Fifield Companies and F&F Realty are bringing 492 rental units to the Greektown section of the West Loop. Situated alongside the Kennedy Expressway, the curvy, highly visible tower will be fully loaded with amenities that it will share with the Crowne Plaza hotel next door. Which is only fair, considering One South Halsted commandeered Crowne’s parking lot for its own site.

: Put your toys away.

: It’s magic.

McDonald’s goes three-dimensional. And I’m lovin’ it

Posted on March 22, 2017 by danieldschell

The second floor is showing at the new McDonald’s Headquarters in the West Loop.

Life happens quickly. What did you expect from two tower cranes?

To no one’s surprise, the new McDonald’s Corporation Headquarters in the West Loop has lifted off the ground. After weeks of attending to ground-level matters (they’re still at it) McHugh Construction has started going vertical. That mostly good news, because now we can see what’s going on above the perimeter fencing, but bad news because no one with an adjacent balcony or rooftop has offered their vantage point to me for looking downward onto progress. Stuff is harder to see as it gets higher, you know.

Anyone else ready for Nobu caissons? (corrected)

Posted on March 22, 2017 by danieldschell

Yes, let’s get that thing put together and rip up some earth!

*** STOP THE PRESSES!

Too late? Twitter user and follower @Rjoyce21 informs me that I’m not looking at the assembly of a caisson rig, but rather a “quad sheet press.” So, still a step toward foundation progress, but no caissons. Bummer.

Thank you, Ryan. ***

Because I sure am.

Construction of the Nobu Chicago Hotel at 854 West Randolph Street in the West Loop has been a roller coaster ride at best, a roller coaster ride where you stood in line for two hours and then they closed the ride for repairs just as you got to the front of the line at worst.

All exaggeration, of course. But it’s been interesting. Ground was broken in June. Soil was sampled in July. Then additional height was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission in September, and caisson material was delivered to the site. Then, those materials were gone. Then everything was gone. A foundation permit was issued December 1st, but still no action.

Finally, earlier this month, a crew from Taylor Excavating showed up and started digging. And now yesterday, folks from Hayward Baker were on site setting up a caisson rig. So it looks like the 11-story, 119-room hotel is really happening.

Illume Chicago plants a tower crane in the West Loop (Updated)

Posted on March 21, 2017 by danieldschell

Wait…is that…IT IS! It’s a tower crane at Illume Chicago!

Floating somewhere within the universe that is the City of Chicago’s building permit database that hasn’t updated since Friday, there lies a tower crane permit for 111 South Peoria Street in the West Loop. How do I know this? Well, it isn’t because I’m smart. No, it’s because I wandered past the Illume Chicago construction site, and was greeted by a tower crane stub sticking up out of the ground.

According to Norcon, the general contractor at Illume, full tower assembly will occur this weekend, weather permitting. And if weather doesn’t permit, it will be rescheduled for next weekend. That way, Green Street (at the east end of the site) can be closed for two days without impacting weekday traffic.

Look what popped up Tuesday afternoon: The tower crane permit, issued yesterday. The site finally updated.

P.S. A quick shout-out to Norcon, for strategically installing their crane between the two towers of Emerald Lofts, so I get a clear view of of it from the B.U.C. HQ. This one brings the total to six tower cranes I cold easily zipline to from here.

: Build it!

: Tower crane erection crew.

: Tower crane foundations are the best foundations.

165 North Desplaines goes craneless

Posted on March 6, 2017 by danieldschell

You are in no danger of losing your jobs to me. I’ll be fine down here on terra firma.

This past weekend at 165 North Desplaines in the West Loop was spent dismantling and hauling away the tower crane that had been erecting the rental development since June of last year. The 14-story building topped out in late January, and now it’s a matter of buttoning up the exterior, and getting to work on 199 apartment interiors.

: Saturday morning, and disassembly begins.

: Moon and crane.

: Saturday night, a partial crane remains.

: Back at it Sunday morning.

: Lots of NOPE here

: Top o’ the Tower.

: Flying The W until the very end.

: Down the road it goes.

Dig this: There’s action at Nobu. (No, really, there is!)

Posted on March 4, 2017 by danieldschell

https://twitter.com/MalcolmMossman/status/837021488054222849

Just when we were starting to believe the Nobu Hotel project might be kaput, there appears to be whole-scale excavation happening on the lot at Randolph and Peoria Streets in the West Loop.

Twitter user @MalcolmMossman tweeted the above photo on Wednesday, after wandering past the site and noticing Taylor Excavation’s equipment peeking out above the secretive fencing. And sure enough, a closer inspection shows some real-live digging. Foundation work? Let’s hope so. It’s nice to see some ground move after it was broken way back in June.

: A machine that makes big dirt small. Cool.

: Not seeing any action at Nobu was getting tired, so this makes sense.

165 North Desplaines tower crane comes down this weekend

Posted on March 3, 2017 by danieldschell

A friday-night look at the 165 North Desplaines tower crane, which comes down this weekend.

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.

The West Loop got two new tower cranes within the past week, and on the same lot to boot, when McDonald’s erected a pair at 110 North Carpenter. But now we’ll have to give one back.

165 North Desplaines topped out over a month ago — on January 26th, to be exact — and now all the heavy lifting is done, and it’s time for this tower crane to move on. An email from the 42nd Ward tells us that happens this weekend.

As you shed a tear for the departing tower crane, remember we should have one soon at One South Halsted. And perhaps the Nobu Hotel, should this week’s excavation work be the real deal.

My iPhone and I stopped by 165 North Desplaines on the way home tonight, to take one last look.

: Crews were clearing access to the tower crane base Friday night.

Quick Look: Both tower cranes are up at McDonald’s

Posted on February 28, 2017 by danieldschell

West Crane and East Crane are both assembled at Sterling Bay’s new McDonald’s Headquarters in the West Loop. East Crane gave us quite a ride, as it started up Saturday, only to have the tower top and cab removed Sunday. But Monday it was erected in full.

Monday evening’s view.

Tuesday morning’s view, with brief sunshine.

Building Up Chicago

An Eye on Chicago Construction.

Tag Archives: West Loop