Ironically the design work behind that concept was used to inform the design of Ascent in Milwaukee which is now about halfway framed out. Just took some pictures of the construction today, pretty impressive. Will be the tallest heavy timber building on earth when complete. Check out the video about it here:

https://www.thorntontomasetti.com/project/ascent

I understand why a timber parking garage is a bad idea, but it still feels like Ascent is cheating with a concrete podium...

Tower crane going up for The Reed.

Sept 7









New com-ed vault for the tower and new rowhouses.

05.10.21
https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/render...&ts=1631435083


08.30.21
https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/render...&ts=1631434762


09.10.21
https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/render...&ts=1631434860

https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/render...&ts=1631434880

https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/render...&ts=1631434914


09.11.21
https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/render...&ts=1631434941

https://uniim1.shutterfly.com/render...&ts=1631434970

Awesome stuff.

Which of the 8 towers is this crane for?

The Reed, which will be 447 feet tall (41 stories).


Also, any word on what CMK is thinking about their piece of the puzzle south of River City? Would be awesome to see that start.

CMK seems to be in a "one project at a time" mode right now. They probably have reduced staff from their peak 10-15 years ago. And they've been focused on overseas development (Turks & Caicos) just as much as Chicago. I don't think Colin wants the headaches of juggling multiple Chicago projects at once. Right now their next project seems to be 1400 S Wabash, so that will proibably keep them busy for the next 1-2 years at least...

I know several years ago they were planning a large townhouse development for the riverfront site, but the townhouse market hasn't been super robust for years. They're probably waiting for that market to improve, so they can sell a super-premium product (like the townhouses on South Water St by the old Spire site). The sale of the north half of Riverline to Lendlease probably gave CMK enough financial cushion to sit on the south half for years, if need be. A lot depends on The 78 too - if Related can make something big happen there once the new road opens, then CMK will probably look to jump in too even if they need to reconsider their townhouse plans.

I just went on a boat ride yesterday with friends and was thinking how the South Branch still seems just as barren as when I took an architecture cruise in 3rd grade, 20 years ago. There are several new buildings visible from the river, but all set back by a block. The only real improvement fronting the river itself is the Riverline park.

I feel like we are right on the cusp of having the south branch see some very rapid change.

Its unfortunate that literally all the changes will be on the east bank of it, though. Hopefully one day the air rights over the Amtrak/BNSF/Metra railyards on the west bank can be acquired by a developer, although the logistics of building over them is probably going to be quite a feat to overcome.

Tower crane is fully installed, as Harry's pictures indicate.

There's also a new installation in the park courtesy of PORT and the Chicago Architecture Biennial (rendering here: https://chicagoarchitecturebiennial....tributors/port).

I was looking at Sloopin's article on The Reed and realized there's one last undeveloped lot between Alta Grand Central and the future 40 story building. I highlighted in red the lot, there should be just enough room to squeeze in another highrise: http://www.sloopin.com/2021/09/check...velopment.html

https://i.imgur.com/ufI3LVql.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nLqAYwGl.jpg

Pd 1298
 

Where would updated plans for PD 1298 be?

This development was originally supposed to have 5 high rises.

I can only find the the original information from 2015.

https://gisapps.chicago.gov/gisimage...pds/PD1298.pdf

I was looking for the plans that Sloopin might have seen that only show 4.

^ That is the most up to date version of the PD. There are documents from a few months ago showing the changes in The Reed's design. If they do move forward with submitting a change to remove a highrise, the PD will have new documents to reflect the change

That's part of Area C. Here's a colorized version I made of the PD site plan:

https://i.imgur.com/gRThQnp.jpg

^ Subarea C in the PD corresponds to the 40 story highrise listed in Sloopin's diagram. The empty lot in red is a part of the same underlying DX-7 zoning that Alta Grand Central shares

That version with the townhomes you're referencing still included the 3 highrises, right? If I recall, 2 at around 20 stories and one at maybe 35 or so.

I don't know, I only saw it briefly and at the time it did not include highrises. But that was years ago, I do not know their latest plans for the site...

Obviously I would prefer a version without townhomes (except maybe as liner units), everything north of ~18th along the river is part of downtown and should be developed accordingly. If developers want to build townhomes further south on the Bridgeport or Pilsen waterfronts that's perfectly appropriate - actually there are some in the little pocket of Bridgeport around the Jeanne Gang boathouse.

The Reed at Southbank - 234 W Polk
 

September 27, 2021

The Reed at Southbank - 234 W Polk
 

October 13, 2021