CHICAGO: boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v4

[Chicago3rd]

Chicago and State had a Burger King on the corner and just east of that was the McDonalds. The Burger King burned down (around the same time most of that franchise went bankrupt...hmmmm). What is there now is better than most suburban McDonalds but still a huge disappointment. And I cannot believe no one has offered to lease the s.w. corner of that same intersection to get rid of that horrible Catholic Parking lot. You think they keep it clear so they get no shadow thrown on them from the west?

[VivaLFuego]

Leland Park could turn out decent, I don't think the rendering does the concept justice; but as always, the devil is in the details and the final finishes. I definitely agree on the red corner, it seems randomly tacked on. The glass could definitely turn out nice, but of course it's anyone's guess how the concrete treatment turns out. Regardless, it's another north lakeshore highrise, an area that somehow has managed to see very little action in this boom.

[Latoso]

Originally Posted by Chicago3rd

And I cannot believe no one has offered to lease the s.w. corner of that same intersection to get rid of that horrible Catholic Parking lot. You think they keep it clear so they get no shadow thrown on them from the west?

I believe that the parking lot itself is agnostic, although the owners may be Catholic.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Latoso

I believe that the parking lot itself is agnostic, although the owners may be Catholic.

Us Catholics are probably waiting to plop down another highrise on it once we are done with the Claire, ehh???

[Jaroslaw]

Originally Posted by pip

At what height generally do buildings require caisons?

To try and give you a more serious answer, I think usually no caissons are needed when you have up to four-five stories. The ground conditions are key, but at the U of C it's often sand 10 feet under the surface and they didn't do caissons for the Max P. dorms (4 floors) some years back...

It's really surprising how few "major jobs" it takes to run out of equipment, unless there is also some other work in the area besides our list, maybe some bridge somewhere?

[X-fib]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

I think that I will make photo compilation of every building that has been preserved in Cedarburg next time I am home and start a thread about well preserved small towns/small buildings.

Well Milwaukee and Chicago are probably the most connected big cities that don't actually melt right into each other, so its not all that surprising.

Though I will still root for the Bears today (I want them to win so I can see Chicago go buckwild) I am primarily a Packers fan. I love both my homes!

Cedarburg it a great town. I have friends that live on Covered Bridge Road. A thread would be good idea. Oconto has more than its share of historic buildings, including a National Historic District, but lacks the strength of Cedarburg's historic zoning ordinances. As a former Chicagoan I have strong feelings for the City (but I draw the line at sports!).

[Mr Downtown]

For the average 35-story highrise, is there a big cost difference between caissons and driving H-piles?

People are asking me why Burnham Pointe and 900 South Clark need H-piles when Printers Corner and Vetro used caissons.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

For the average 35-story highrise, is there a big cost difference between caissons and driving H-piles?

People are asking me why Burnham Pointe and 900 South Clark need H-piles when Printers Corner and Vetro used caissons.

I'm pretty sure there is a huge difference between the cost of driving piles and drilling cassions. Cassions require and assload of work and equipement while piles are a relatively simple concept, bang it into the ground and build something on it. So I would imagine that cassions are more expensive in the vast majority of cases.

When it comes to Burham Pointe and 900 S clark, vs Printers Corner and Vetro, its got to do with the soil. The ground around here is really screwed up so depending where you are in the city you could be building almost directly on clay, or on top of what is basically quicksand...

There, I hope that answered it, I'm no expert, but thats my understanding of it, correct me if I am wrong people!

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

For the average 35-story highrise, is there a big cost difference between caissons and driving H-piles?

People are asking me why Burnham Pointe and 900 South Clark need H-piles when Printers Corner and Vetro used caissons.

I'd assume that the local geotechnical conditions (as weighed against the actual weight and weight distribution of the building to be built) are the single biggest driver of what foundation technique is used. I mean, a given design on a given site basically dictates what you have to do from a foundation standpoint.

[Chicago Shawn]

^Yeah, pretty much. Soil conditions matter, unstable ground ups the cost of caissons due to extra steel needed for a casing to pour the concrete into rather than just an open shaft within the ground. Plus right now CASE and Revcon are pretty backed up with new construction starts, further increasing the cost of the work.

Walsh Construction, who seems to be putting up Burnham Pointe has an in-house Pile crew (they did the same at the Columbian), so when possible, its more cost and time effective to keep it under one contractor rather than outsourcing it, especially at a time with equipment shortages delaying project starts.

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

Anyhow I agree with what was said about that area needing a nice little park. There really are no parks at all in that area except for Water Tower Square and the parks on the lake. I would like to see a nice quarter block little park somewhere over there, but not right on the Chicago stop, those sites are too valuable.

Ask and ye shall receive. The '80s post office a few blocks to the south is targeted to become a city park.

[honte]

^ That post office was designed by Myron Goldsmith (SOM). I forget the date, but I believe it's not later than 1975. Terrible loss for a park, IMO.

The really nice modern fire station on Illinois was also being targeted, last I heard.

They should instead target fugly River North spots, such as the McDonalds, Rainforest, &c. Those surely will all become tower sites someday, so there wouldn't be much difference in terms of the cityscape. Plus, if they put a park in that area, it might hurry-up the replacement of some of the remaining suburbanized ventures with urban towers.

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

I would imagine that cassions are more expensive

If that's true, why are pile foundations hardly ever used in Chicago, even for a little 11-story building like One Place?

[Tom Servo]

What is everyone's favorite building from the current boom, either U/C or proposed?

My fav. is either Park Michigan or Block 37.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by honte

^ That post office was designed by Myron Goldsmith (SOM). I forget the date, but I believe it's not later than 1975. Terrible loss for a park, IMO.

The really nice modern fire station on Illinois was also being targeted, last I heard.

They should instead target fugly River North spots, such as the McDonalds, Rainforest, &c. Those surely will all become tower sites someday, so there wouldn't be much difference in terms of the cityscape. Plus, if they put a park in that area, it might hurry-up the replacement of some of the remaining suburbanized ventures with urban towers.

Agreed, I mean on the one hand the site is somewhat underutilized, but with so many surface parking lots still throughout River North, its a waste to ditch a functioning building with some architectural distinction. Why doesn't the city buy one of the many parking lots and turn that into a park? That said, if we got another park a la Washington Square, that would be very beneficial to residential development in the area.

Related question: The post-fire Italianate 3-5 story buildings around and along Clark st. in River North; are they landmarked? I'd hate to lose more of those, it's a nice glimpse of River North's past before it became a giant parking lot.

[Sir Isaac Newton]

Didn't someone mention on this board a few months ago that there used to be some sort of underground tunnel, or something to that effect, nearby South Clark? I think this was mentioned when there was some soil-testing work done on the site of the Curve, and it was mentioned that the soil conditions in the area were very poor, due to the underground tunnel or whatever that had been around previously. I would guess that this is why they are doing pile-driving at Burnham Pointe and 900 South Clark (and perhaps would do this at the Curve, as well).

[Mr Downtown]

There are old freight tunnels under the 900 South Clark and Curve sites, which Walsh plugged before beginning any other foundation work. No freight tunnels under Burnham Pointe, but there's an old water tunnel that runs east-west under that site.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

If that's true, why are pile foundations hardly ever used in Chicago, even for a little 11-story building like One Place?

Because everything in Chicago is basically built on quicksand, mud, or infill, so you need the relatively heavy duty Cassions for anything remotely heavy.

[Dan in Chicago]

Originally Posted by Mr Downtown

If that's true, why are pile foundations hardly ever used in Chicago, even for a little 11-story building like One Place?

Apparently soil conditions in the South Loop are much more favorable for piles than elsewhere. In the current boom 11 buildings have used pile foundations, and they are all in the South Loop or Near South Side. Vetro and Printers Corner are probably too close to the river (swampier ground) for piles.

Originally Posted by AdrianXSands

What is everyone's favorite building from the current boom, either U/C or proposed?

Aqua. Optima Old Orchard Woods is 2nd, or Skybridge if you allow completed buildings.

[X-fib]

Originally Posted by AdrianXSands

What is everyone's favorite building from the current boom, either U/C or proposed?

My fav. is either Park Michigan or Block 37.

I like Waterview, 300 N LaSalle and 340. 340, mainly because of the impact is has on the location in helping inflate the wall along the north end of the park. I will probably change my mind once construction pics of some of the others are posted, Aqua, Legacy and CS in particular. I didn't care much for Trump in the renderings but now after seeing the early const pics I think its going to be a class addition to the river front, dispite its owner!

[a chicago bearcat]

Originally Posted by AdrianXSands

What is everyone's favorite building from the current boom, either U/C or proposed?

My fav. is either Park Michigan or Block 37.

aqua and spertus