CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5

[Dan in Chicago]

Thanks guys. But is it possible to say which month the Marquee and Emerald North were completed?

[denizen467]

The parking lot opposite 353 Clark is fenced off and its asphalt is being torn up (I think this hasn't been mentioned here yet). Someone break out the new parking garage render if you have it handy.

[harryc]

Ever wonder where bricks come from ? I had never seen a brick mine in operation before. Just scrape of the asphault and scoop out all the brick you need.

They were digging fairly deep holes, then reburying them.





Hitting something solid at the bottom. ( a sqaured off footer is in the upper right corner )

[aic4ever]

Originally Posted by harryc

Ever wonder where bricks come from ? I had never seen a brick mine in operation before. Just scrape of the asphault and scoop out all the brick you need.

The bricks come from the demolition contractors who tore down whatever was there before. It's typically referred to as brick batt. When they tear a building down, they've got to fill the site and bring it to grade. The city always requires clean fill on their projects, but for private parties, you will see bricks filling the site. It's far cheaper for the demolition contractors since it is WAY less trucking.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by denizen467

The parking lot opposite 353 Clark is fenced off and its asphalt is being torn up (I think this hasn't been mentioned here yet). Someone break out the new parking garage render if you have it handy.

via Friedman's site

[jc5680]

I thought Friedman had rentals planned for this site...or was that just for the smaller lot just north?

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Dan in Chicago

Thanks guys. But is it possible to say which month the Marquee and Emerald North were completed?

The Marquee was completed in late August

Also: Testing the water feature at Parkview West
09/09/08


Finally:
There was a soil testing truck on Ontario today just south of the old CBS Studio. I asked if this was for the proposed rental complex and the said that they thought it was.

[SolarWind]

September 9, 2008

[wrab]

Lexington Park as of 9/9







Neighborhood



A friendly couple now rents out the old auto showroom on the left above for receptions etc. Shades of Johnson Wax inside:





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[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

Finally:
There was a soil testing truck on Ontario today just south of the old CBS Studio. I asked if this was for the proposed rental complex and the said that they thought it was.

Yeah it was there a few weeks ago as well, I wonder why they are testing before they even tear the building down?

[aic4ever]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

Yeah it was there a few weeks ago as well, I wonder why they are testing before they even tear the building down?

You want to test before tearing the building down in most cases. Even if you test by drilling from inside the building this is the way to go. This lends general efficiency to the project from the beginning. Engineers will know the composition of the ground beforehand, and can design accordingly based on the tests. This allows time for drawings to be developed before work has to take place. While a demolition permit is attainable without a building permit, there's not much sense in taking a building down without having a project ready to put in its place. A lot of developers these days are buying with general ideas in mind, without knowing if their deals will work or not. So the preference is to leave the building in case they need to just unload the property again. The worst case is likely that they lose a bit in carrying cost.

Then, assuming the project is a go, come construction time, the demolition can be scheduled to roll right through to excavation, so that you avoid the kind of incoherent scheduling that occurred on Barney's, where the buildings were torn down and then the site was filled to grade with brick batt, which subsequently had to be re-excavated anyway.

[spyguy]

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=30938

Museum's former Streeterville site on the market
By Alby Gallun, Sep. 10, 2008

The former Streeterville home of the Museum of Contemporary Art is up for sale and is likely to draw interest from hotel and condominium developers.

Several potential buyers have already expressed interest in the property at 237 E. Ontario St., with one offering to pay $13 million, says owner Kari Blunda.

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ That's good as long as Northwestern doesn't get their filthy (or should I say sterile) hands on the site. I don't want to see the area get even more sterile than it is now.

[honte]

^ Sounds like a terrible thing to me. The existing building is very nice and Ontario is the coolest / funkiest block left in Streeterville. I'll be sad to see this happen.

Oh... I can hear the posse in the distance coming to beat me down for saying that...

Originally Posted by aic4ever

You want to test before tearing the building down in most cases. Even if you test by drilling from inside the building this is the way to go. This lends general efficiency to the project from the beginning. Engineers will know the composition of the ground beforehand, and can design accordingly based on the tests. This allows time for drawings to be developed before work has to take place. While a demolition permit is attainable without a building permit, there's not much sense in taking a building down without having a project ready to put in its place. A lot of developers these days are buying with general ideas in mind, without knowing if their deals will work or not. So the preference is to leave the building in case they need to just unload the property again. The worst case is likely that they lose a bit in carrying cost.

Then, assuming the project is a go, come construction time, the demolition can be scheduled to roll right through to excavation, so that you avoid the kind of incoherent scheduling that occurred on Barney's, where the buildings were torn down and then the site was filled to grade with brick batt, which subsequently had to be re-excavated anyway.

Yep. And it's kind of important to test for contamination and other unsavory things ahead of time. I personally would have done this kind of testing in due diligence on this parcel, given the area's history.

[aic4ever]

Originally Posted by honte

^ Sounds like a terrible thing to me. The existing building is very nice and Ontario is the coolest / funkiest block left in Streeterville. I'll be sad to see this happen.

Oh... I can hear the posse in the distance coming to beat me down for saying that...




Yep. And it's kind of important to test for contamination and other unsavory things ahead of time. I personally would have done this kind of testing in due diligence on this parcel, given the area's history.

Due Diligence?

Didn't you know the boom eliminated any such kind of thing? You would jump off a building if you knew how many construction projects I've budgeted for guys who bought buildings without diligence, and sometimes even sight-unseen!

[honte]

^ Even full city blocks in Thorium country? I'd call that pretty stupid. Oh well - I guess that's why I'm not a millionaire.

[aic4ever]

Originally Posted by honte

^ Even full city blocks in Thorium country? I'd call that pretty stupid. Oh well - I guess that's why I'm not a millionaire.

Hah...I suppose I haven't dealt with anyone buying entire city blocks just yet. And most of the time on bigger stuff they will usually ask for a conceptual number before they purchase. I just can't get over how many existing small building's I've put numbers to for conversion to retail where the developer just turns white because now, uh-oh, the deal won't make money because they never even peered through the window to see how bad the inside was.

But you know that's funny...we say that same thing here...I guess that's why we're not millionaires!

[spyguy]

http://chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=46&SubSectionID=139&ArticleID=5852&TM=66925.59

A gentler proposal for Grossinger site
JDL Development proposes mixed-use retail, residential with 255 parking spots

By BEN MYERS

...Letchinger hopes to build a 141-foot, 14-story mixed-use complex on the east side of Wells. Commercial retail shops and public parking would be in the first two stories, with remaining stories dedicated to rental properties. The residential portion would be set back from the street by 56 feet. The west side of Wells is still being worked on, but the latest plans call for six single-family luxury homes that would stand between 44 and 55 feet tall, in addition to a 10,000-square-foot retail space.

The biggest concern-per usual in North Side developments-is traffic congestion and parking. Letchinger has added 43 total parking spaces since the last time he addressed the community, with an increase from 242 to 255 spaces on the east side, and 30 new public spaces on the west side.


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^Looks like they're preserving part of the facade.

[wrab]

^Yeah - looks like they're keeping the auto showroom facade on the left side of the building.

[the urban politician]

^ Looks like the NIMBY tyrants aren't going to create too much of a ruckus about this, which is always good.