Another new tower crane = more verticality, as 160 North Morgan sprouts from the ground

Posted on June 6, 2022 by danieldschell

160 North Morgan is starting to show above the fence line.

160 North Morgan is starting to protrude from the West Loop soil, as GC Walsh Construction begins utilizing that new tower crane they erected at the end of May.

A gentle reminder that 160 North Morgan, a project from Sterling Bay designed by bKL Architecture, will bring 282 apartments and 89 parking spaces in a neat 30-story package. And all of it is happening about half a yard from the Morgan CTA platform. Not to mention the Do-Rite Donuts (apple fritters!) right across the street.

Walsh Construction is on the build. They have received permits for:
– the tower crane on March 30
– the caissons on March 31
– the full build for 30 stories on April 20

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.

160 North Elizabeth brings the pane

Posted on June 5, 2022 by danieldschell

160 North Elizabeth on May 28. Don’t know if it had glass on it yet, but I love me some night photos.

Let’s recap some particulars on 160 North Elizabeth before we get to the pics.
Moceri + Roszak is the developer.
Thomas Roszak Architecture is the design architect
Clark Construction is the general contractor
Adjustable Concrete Construction is the concrete contractor
It will be a 27-story, 375-unit apartment tower
There will be 144 parking spaces across the first three levels

A demolition permit was issued 11/05/2021 to make space
A pile and foundation permit was issued 11/24/2021
A permit to build through the third floor was also issued on 11/24/2021
A tower crane permit was issued 11/30/2021
A full permit for 27 stories was issued 02/04/2022
A hoist permit was issued 02/09/2022

And now, lots of photos of a little bit of glass. But it’s not just any glass; it’s the first glass.

That new tower crane has Tandem’s 1044 West Van Buren going vertical

Posted on June 4, 2022 by danieldschell

1044 West Van Buren was part of Chicago’s mini growth spurt of tower cranes in late May. And it’s doing what tower cranes do: turning empty lots into new buildings. This one in particular, designed by Antunovich Associates for Tandem (with Adjustable Concrete on concrete duty), will rise to 18 stories and deliver 196 apartments to the south end of the West Loop.

Solar Junkyard wins approval for 33-story West Loop apartment tower

Posted on May 26, 2022 by danieldschell

Solar Junkyard can build their 33-story, 204-unit apartment tower in the West Loop/Fulton Market area. So says the Chicago Plan Commission, which approved the Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture-designed proposal during Thursday’s meeting. What’s significant about this is that Solar Junkyard might be the best name ever used by a local development firm, which in this case is Newcastle Limited. You know that name form Gild at State and Division. I mean yes, it’s also significant that we get to bulldoze another parking lot while adding another cool tower to the West Loop. But I love Solar Junkyard.

I took a couple photos of the proposed site at 210 North Morgan last week, where (for now) a single-story Maria Pinto store stands next to a surface parking lot. Since this blog is about photos, I needed to be sure I had a photo or two of my own to post, along with a couple of Hartshorne Plunkard’s renderings.. But really, this particular post is about the name “Solar Junkyard.” I wonder if there’s swag I could get. More importantly, where did the name come from?

Rendering of Solar Junkyard’s 210 North Morgan from Hartshorne Plunkard Architects

1044 West Van Buren erects the first of the week’s three tower cranes

Posted on May 23, 2022 by danieldschell

Tandem and Adjustable Concrete Construction got the tower crane in the air at 1044 West Van Buren early last week. It would kick off a very busy few days, crane-wise. And it means this 18-story apartment tower by Antunovich Associates can start going vertical. And we’re all about the verticality.

I got my first look at the new rig Thursday.

Demolitions are underway for 210 North Aberdeen

Posted on May 22, 2022 by danieldschell

Slo-mo Green Line Fly-by over 210 North Aberdeen

It’s tough to see the demolition work Taylor Excavating has started at 210 North Aberdeen (fences and angles and whatnot), so the video above, taken from an outbound CTA train, was the best chance to watch. Soon, Taylor Excavating will bust through the backs of the buildings along May Street for better spectating.

LG Group has approval for 210 Aberdeen, a NORR-designed 19-story, 363-unit apartment project in the West Loop. To make way for it, demolition permits were issued May 11 for 213, 215, and 221 North May Street (the aforementioned “backs of buildings) as well as partial demolitions for 210 and 214 North Aberdeen. The original Arthur Harris & Company building, which encompasses both those Aberdeen addresses, is being preserved. Only the small addition on the south end of the building is being removed.

The handsome Arthur Harris & Company building stays put.

There are piles of piles to drive at Embry

Posted on May 17, 2022 by danieldschell

Caissons are done, but foundation work continues for Embry at 21 North May in the West Loop. A 270-degree tour around the site last week shows piles have been driven into the ground, and a bunch more sat at the ready for their turn in the soil. That’s the firm of McHugh & McHugh (Construction & Concrete) on the job out there, getting this 16-story, 58-unit condo building from Sulo Development ready to go vertical. And remember, they’ll be getting a shiny yellow Liebherr tower crane soon, too.

732 West Randolph plants yet another tower crane along Randolph Street

Posted on May 16, 2022 by danieldschell

The base section of a tower crane was set in pace Thursday at 732 West Randolph.

What an embarrassment of tower-crane riches we’ve along Randolph Street in the West Loop. Even though recent rigs at 609, 1371, 1400 and 1454 are gone, we have cranes operating at the corners of Randolph and Peoria (900 Randolph), Randolph and Aberdeen (166 North Aberdeen), and Randolph and Elizabeth (160 North Elizabeth.)

And now, 732 West Randolph has entered the chat. Thursday, general contractor Maris Construction and concrete contractor Pepper Construction planted the base for a tower crane that will build an eight-story (plus basement) office building. Designed by Hirsch MPG, 732 will connect on its first six floors with 730 West Randolph next door, and will include a rooftop deck and basement fitness center.

732 West Randolph got its first construction permit way back on March 03, 2020, as a renovation/alteration permit to add the eight-story building to the aforementioned six-story building at 730 West. A revised New Construction permit was issued September 23 of 2022. Both of those permits were reinstated in August of last year, and the tower crane was permitted February 1 of this year.

As you can see, work is in progress. All that rebar around the base of the crane will be smothered in concrete for the crane foundation on Monday.

Progress Update: 166 North Aberdeen

Posted on May 16, 2022 by danieldschell

166 North Aberdeen is:
A 21-story, 224-unit apartment tower
A development from MCZ Development
A design by SCB
A build by Lendlease
A concrete project of Pepper Construction

It looks like progress is close to, if not at, level 10. Yep, right around the halfway mark. Math.

160 North Elizabeth hits the 15th floor

Posted on May 16, 2022 by danieldschell

A Linkedin post late last week from Thomas Roszak tells us concrete at 160 North Elizabeth has reached the 15th floor. This is a 27-story tower, so that’s more than halfway up. Because math. And I’m good at it. Clark and Adjustable are good at things too, because this building is flying upwards.

If you happened to make it outside Thursday, you noticed it was a sunny, gorgeous day. And sunny days are ideal for construction progress photos. So I took a few: