Surprise! West Crane is first to be erected at McDonald’s HQ

Posted on February 21, 2017 by danieldschell

A piece of West Crane is hoisted into place at the new McDonald’s HQ in the West Loop.

East Crane went into the ground first. So obviously it gets set up before West Crane even gets planted. Right?

Wrong. Crews from Central Crane are busy Tuesday erecting a tower crane on the west side of the McDonald’s Headquarters construction site, leaving pour ole East Crane to watch and wait its turn.

: Poor East Crane, just sitting there. Waiting.

: The view from the B.U.C. HQ.

: NOPE

: Part of the boom being offloaded.

: The cab is ready.

: Boom.

: Another B.U.C. view.

625 West Adams transitions from concrete to steel

Posted on February 21, 2017 by danieldschell

Enough with the concrete, it’s steel time at 625 West Adams!

It’s been an enjoyable run, watching Power Construction pour yard after yard after yard of concrete at 625 West Adams in the West Loop. But the podium has reached its apex, and now steel is the main ingredient in the 20-story office tower’s progress.

From the B.U.C. HQ, we can see the six levels of concrete that have risen above what will be the two-story lobby facing north. Now, two floors of steel framing have risen on the northwest corner of the structure, with lots more iron being delivered to the site. Why, there’s even activity atop the core, which hasn’t been elevated in months.

: 625 West Adams at night.

: Arrrrr, that’s a Pirate flag, not a Steeler flag…

: NOPE

: Work atop the core.

: Cool night lights.

One South Halsted officially begins ripping holes in the earth

Posted on February 16, 2017 by danieldschell

The first (?) caisson has been started at One South Halsted.

Having spent the last few days flooding the lot at Halsted and Madison with foundation equipment, Case Foundation is officially on the case for One South Halsted, having begun its first caisson Wednesday.

: Thumbs up

: Rebaristas at work.

A night at 150 North Riverside

Posted on February 16, 2017 by danieldschell

There’s work yet to be done on the outside, and desk space to fill up on the inside, but 150 North Riverside is open, and its night game is solid. Have a look at what’s happening along the Chicago River, and a peek at what’s still in the making.

: The vertical lighting. I love it.

: The Lake Street Bridge got some new lights along the sidewalk.

: New lighting under the Lake Street Bridge as well, for the pedestrian crossing. Includes a stop light.

: The lower plaza.

: Outside looking in.

: The upper plaza is still under construction, and won’t be open for awhile.

: But it’s going to be worth waiting for.

As 150 North Riverside opens, a look back

Posted on February 13, 2017 by danieldschell

150 North Riverside, casting gorgeous reflections onto Randolph Place, though I’m sure condo owners aren’t pleased with their new views.

150 North Riverside is the first construction project that caught, and kept, my attention. I wandered past it daily when it was still a figment of someone’s imagination, curious about the oil-drilling-rig-looking thing sitting in an empty lot along the Chicago River. Of course, I’d learn later that I was looking at a soil-sampling rig, but that had no significance to me at the time.

Shortly after construction started, some genius in Public Relations came up with a fool-proof way to garner publicity; crews excavating soil form the site sank a barge. Sure, it *looked* like an accident, but suddenly 150 North Riverside was thrust into the spotlight. And there it remained, though it didn’t hurt bringing in a giant red floating crane to erect steel trusses that stopped pedestrian traffic on the Randolph Street Bridge.

That was 28 months ago. And now, on Monday, February 13, 2017, 150 North Riverside opens its doors to office workers. Had I not dropped a hard drive on the ground and lost them, I could show you at least 1,000 photos I’ve taken of this beauty in the last 2+ years. Instead, have a look at a select few along the way. Then, make sure you stop by the tower and check out the media stream.

The Team

Goettsch Partners: Design architects

Riverside Investment & Development Company: Developer

Magnusson Klemencic Associates: Structural engineer

Clark Construction: General contractor

150 North Riverside along the way

150 North Riverside today

A Sunny Day At: 1035 West Van Buren

Posted on February 13, 2017 by danieldschell

Okay, this one isn’t from a sunny day. I just really like the way 1035 West Van Buren looks at night. I won’t try to fool you again.

Another segment in the A Sunny Day At series. This time, it’s 1035 West Van Buren. With its new rows of glass, yellow forms, and red wraps, it begs to be photographed when the sun is out.

1035 West Van Buren works its way into Chicago’s western skyline.

A Tuesday update at One South Halsted

Posted on February 7, 2017 by danieldschell

Both excavators have been busy Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza parking lot/One South Halsted construction site.

If you didn’t think they were serious about moving your car out of the Crowne Plaza parking lot, it’s too late now.

Asphalt continues getting torn up at the future One South Halsted, even in Tuesday’s rain and fog. One interesting change, aside from the digging: the sidewalk protection on Halsted Street has been removed. It remains on the Madison Street (north) side.

: Halsted Street sidewalk protection, gone.

: It remains in place on Madison.

: The Halsted Street sidewalk protection of days gone by.

: UPDATE: A mini-excavator — with jack hammer — showed up for work just after lunchtime.

Breaking the Circle: The old Jane Byrne Interchange ramp comes down

Posted on February 6, 2017 by danieldschell

A bridge to nowhere hovers above the Circle Interchange, remnants of the Ryan-to-Eisenhower ramp.

Anybody remember that time I said construction on the Jane Byrne Flyover was silent?

Yeah, well that was construction. Let’s talk about demolition for a minute. Because for every reaction, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Granted, the reaction usually comes first. As in, something is demolished to make room for something new. But in this case, the ramp that used to connect the inbound Dan Ryan Expressway to the outbound Eisenhower Expressway was replaced before it was removed. Which crews are doing now. And for some reason, they’ve chosen to do a great deal of the jack hammering at night. Or should I say, overnight. Not a huge thrill for denizens of the West Loop, South Loop, and the Medical District. Part of that has to do with removing the beams over the expressway lanes at night, when there’s less traffic to be affected by periodic closures. But it’s loud. Really loud.

You’ll note in the photos that follow the presence of caisson equipment, including rebar cages. I can’t wait to see what that’s all for.

: Rebat tubes.

: Rebar tubes.

: From the underside of Congress Parkway, between the Circle and The Loop.

: Caissons.

: I see your industrial-size jack hammer down there.

: Closing the inbound Ryan at Roosevelt in the early morning hours of Feb 2.

One South Halsted ain’t messing around

Posted on February 3, 2017 by danieldschell

Twitter user @henjealy spotted the temporary sidewalks on Monday.

Disregard any talk you may have heard about One South Halsted taking its sweet time getting started. A week after the foundation permit was filed by the City of Chicago, the apartment tower from Fifield Companies and F&F Realty has emptied and cordoned off the parking lot, set up temporary sidewalks on Halsted and Madison Streets, and knocked down trees on the site. There are excavators on site, plus dump trucks, equipment trailers, even a cement mixer. And, as of 9:20 this morning, one of those excavators is tearing up the asphalt.

The former Crowne Plaza parking lot has been a flurry of activity all week. Yep, One South Halsted is ready to roll into the West Loop.

Construction Update: Soul City Church builds in the West Loop

Posted on February 2, 2017 by danieldschell

Soul City Church in the West Loop is building a three-story addition.

Soul City Church, at 1150 West Adams Street in the West Loop, filed a building permit with the City of Chicago back in October to complete a three-story addition next to the existing church. Now, Focus has erected the steel work for the 45,000-square-foot addition. When finished this summer, it will include a new auditorium, office space for church staff, and covered parking.