817 West Lake Street to Become West Loop’s Latest Eatery

Posted on June 21, 2016 by danieldschell

This two-story brick building at 817 West Lake Street will be a bar/restaurant.

LG Development, already busy in the West Loop, has a permit on file with the City of Chicago as of yesterday to turn the two-story brick building at 817 West Lake Street into a bar and restaurant.

Got it.

The permit calls for “adaptive re-use” using designs from Jay Keller of Space Architects + Planners. Space has done work on the brand new Federales in the West Loop, as well Half Acre Beer Company and Bleeding Heart Bakery.

LG, meanwhile, looks to be busy for the foreseeable future in the West Loop. It has a big project coming up at 111 South Peoria Street, Illume, and numerous other projects around town, including 1101 West Randolph, where a third story is being added to a two-story building under renovation.

: The new bar and restaurant at 817 West Lake Street will be at the foot of the soon-to-open Parker Fulton Market.

: The Permit.

: 817 West Lake Street would like you to know something…

: LG’s rendering of Illume, 111 South Peoria.

: LG’s renovation at 1101 West Randolph Street

165 North Desplaines Gets a Foundation Permit

Posted on June 14, 2016 by danieldschell

152 North Jefferson. It remains, and is being renovated.

The long, three-story building at 152 North Jefferson stays, but the additions it spawned in the back lot have been leveled into a smooth, blank canvas. And now there’s a foundation permit on file with the City of Chicago, as of yesterday, to start construction on the new 14-story residential tower at 165 North Desplaines Street in the West Loop..

Our permit tells us to expect 199 apartments, with 99 parking spaces and some ground-floor retail. Power Construction is on the clock as your general contractor. Donald Copper from GREC Architects of Chicago did the design chores. Gerding Edlen is the developer.

This officially puts us on Tower Crane Alert!

: A rendering of 165 North Desplaines from GREC Architects.

: What the “back lot” used to look like…

: …before Heneghan Wrecking came in.

: The Haymarket memorial along Desplaines Street.

: It was packed up and moved to avoid damage during construction. It will be back.

: Another GREC render, showing the Haymarket memorial back in place.

: Even the rubble is gone now.

: Blank slate.

Foundation Toys Take Over 625 West Adams Site

Posted on June 13, 2016 by danieldschell

Caisson drill bits arrived by truck Monday morning.

It’s move-in day at 625 West Adams in the West Loop.

No, they didn’t build a 20-story office tower over the weekend. It’s not tenant move-in day; it’s foundation equipment move-in day.

Another truck, more foundation materials.

Bright and early Monday morning, Case Foundation could be seen flooding the 625 West Adams work site with materials and gear they’ll use to begin work on the joint development from CA Ventures and White Oak Realty Partners.

On its way to Chicago is a 20-story office building with 400 parking spaces on levels 1-5, 2,500 square feet of retail space, and three outdoor terraces mixed into the upper floors. Designed by architect Martin Wolf of Solomon Cordwell Buenz, 625 West Adams was approved way *way* back in November of 2012, and developers have decided now is the time to build, and they’ll sign on tenants as they go. The City of Chicago filed a foundation permit last month, and the arrival of all that equipment means things will be very busy at Adams and Desplaines for quite awhile.

: As Old St. Pat’s stands watch, “St. Pat’s Tower” equipment awaits unloading along Desplaines Street.

: Waitin’ for something to do.

: Lots fill up fast when the big gear starts showing up.

: Case Foundation equipment at the ready at “Old St. Pat’s Tower” site.

: Caisson drilling equipment.

111 South Peoria, By Any Other Name

Posted on June 9, 2016 by danieldschell

Illume (11ume?) Chicago, now with its own signage.

Would still be controversial?

Doesn’t matter anymore.

Never Forget

Try as they might (you can read all about the contentious road this project took here at chicagoarchitecture.com) to quash the project at 111 South Peoria, West Loop NIMBYs (mostly from the two adjacent condo buildings, then just one at the Plan Commission meeting) failed to prevent the brand new condominium development from happening in the current parking lot at the same address.

And now that the contentious plan has met the approval of 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr. and the Chicago Plan Commission, 111 South Peoria has a new name as it moves towards fruition: Illume. But fancy, with three 1s instead of an i and two Ls. But a small 1 and two big 1s. 111ume? Yeah, it’s hard to type it that way.

Illume Chicago was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission back in March. It gave the okay for 79 condos in a 115-foot-tall building. Designed by architecture firm Pappageorge Haymes Partners, Illume is expected to be ready for occupancy in 2017. Along with being the developer, LG will be the general contractor as well.

The rendering of Illume Chicago presented by LG Development at the March Plan Commission meeting.

This parking lot will soon be Illume Chicago.

The very same parking lot, as seen from the Up Chicago office.

1400 West Washington Blvd is a Hole in the Ground.

Posted on June 6, 2016 by danieldschell

A large hole in the ground where 1400 West Washington used to sit.

Hasn’t always been that way, of course. What used to be the “Plumbing Industry Center” (among other uses) building at 1400 West Washington Boulevard in the West Loop was a nice looking structure. But someone wanted it gone, so down it came. No word on what, if anything, will take its place. Maybe they just needed more room for the Randolph Street Market next door.