Projects and opportunities Mac Property Management plans 27-story Hyde Park apartment project

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Mac Property Management has outlined at a Hyde Park community meeting its plans for a residential development at the northwest corner of 53rd St. and Cornell Ave.

The 27-story high-rise designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) would contain 250 units, a fifth-floor amenity space with an outdoor pool, and 10,000 sq. ft. of ground floor retail space.

Retail space would take up the first floor of the building (approximately 10,000 sq. ft.), which Eli Ungar, the founder of Antheus Capital and its affiliate, Mac Properties, said would be a continuation of the bustling 53rd St. on the other side of the Metra tracks.

“The activation of that space in the ground level is one of the most important aspects,” he said at the meeting, held at East Hyde Park Tower, 5242 S. Hyde Park Blvd.

Above the retail space would be a four-story parking garage with 160 spaces, both for residents of the building and for retail guest parking. The entrance to that parking garage would be on Cornell Ave.

            DNAinfo reports that while the tower at 1600 E. 53rd St. will require city of Chicago approval to proceed, the developer hopes to break ground roughly one year from now and open in the summer of 2019.

SCB associate My-Nga Lam said the designers were inspired by other buildings in the area for the exterior of 1600 E. 53rd.

“We wanted to create a rich collaboration of the unique architectural styles that make up Hyde Park,” she said.

Lam said buildings like the Del Prado, 5307 S. Hyde Park Blvd., and the Rapp and Rapp-designed building, 5490 S. Shore Dr., inspired them.

About 20 community members attended the Dec. 20 meeting, Curbed Chicago has reported. Some of them asked questions about affordable housing and the fate of the vacant six-flat building that sits directly north of the East Hyde Park Tower.

Crescent Heights starts South Loop apartment tower construction

Construction has started on One Grant Park, a 76-story rental tower at 1200 S. Indiana Ave. in the South Loop.

Chicago building permit documentation says the city issued a $7.3 million foundation-only permit in October under the direct development pilot program. A public relations agency for the developer says construction started in December. James McHugh Construction Co. is the project’s general contractor.

The building is owned by S Loop Chicago Development II, LLC, associated with Crescent Heights, a trademark used by a group of limited liability companies and partnerships.

The Rafael Viñoly designed building (the building permit architect of record is Jay Bargmann) will include 792 luxury apartments overlooking Grant Park and, at 829 feet, be one of the city’s tallest residential buildings. The project will be completed by early 2019.

“We’re excited to begin construction on a building that will deliver an exceptional living experience befitting – and named after – this coveted location alongside Grant Park,” said Bruce A. Menin, managing principal at Crescent Heights. “Rafael Viñoly is an architectural icon, and David Rockwell’s experience in creating memorable environments is unparalleled. Working with just one of them would have been a privilege, but developing a project with both to create One Grant Park has been one of the most extraordinary experiences of my career.”

“To have the opportunity to bookend this remarkable open space is a responsibility that we continue to be aware of every day,” Viñoly said in a statement. “One Grant Park takes on the structural clarity, and the logic of purpose, that characterizes Chicago’s great high-rise building tradition.”

“We are thrilled to be part of One Grant Park’s creative team,” said David Rockwell, founder and president of Rockwell Group, which designed the building’s interiors. “We hope to capture Chicago’s rich history of modernism and spirit of creativity and innovation in our design.”

Once completed, the development will represent one of the final pieces within the Central Station master plan, a development that was previously stalled by the recession. The 3-acre site was purchased by S Loop Chicago Development, LLC in 2012.

“Our firm has enjoyed a presence in the Chicago market since 1999,” said Tomer Bitton, Crescent Heights’ Chicago based principal. “Over the past 18 years, it has been an honor to create inspirational residential communities in many of Chicago’s most sought after neighborhoods, from the South Loop, to the Gold Coast, to the West Loop. We look forward to continuing that tradition with One Grant Park, demonstrating our continued commitment to the prosperity and architectural legacy of this great city.”

Crescent Heights’ current portfolio in Chicago includes the recently acquired North Harbor Tower, Burnham Pointe, Park Michigan, Astoria Tower, Echelon at K Station and The LEX.

Addison & Clark project in Wrightville receives $65.7 million building permit

Chicago has issued a $65.7 million building permit to M&R Development for the new Addison & Clark Wrightville project at 1025 W. Addison near Wrigley Field, designed by SCB.

The permit says: “New construction. Full permit submittal to include partial basement level parking garage, underground utilities, foundation and ground floor slab for a new eight-story mixed use residential/commercial development.”

            ChicagoArchitecture says these two sentences don’t do the project justice.

It will include 148 apartments, 150,000 sq. ft. of retail space, 405 parking spaces, and a 10-screen cineplex as close as possible to Wrigley Field

As well, the neighborhood’s new projects will go a long way toward developing year-round retail and entertainment opportunities to supplement the baseball surges.

The building permit data says the general contractor is Power Construction. Key subtrades include: Electrical, Bonus Electric; masonry, Concrete Structures of the Midwest; plumbing, Ewing-Doherty Mechanical, Inc.; refrigeration and ventilation, Heatmasters Inc.

Emmett St. parking lot: Open air market or 100 percent affordable housing project?

Plans to redevelop the Emmett St. parking lot next to the Logan Square Blue Line station are gaining momentum — but not everyone agrees on what to build there, Curbed Chicago reports.

Architect and Logan Square resident Josh Hutchison has outlined a conceptual proposal to have an open air market built at the site, where others are pitching a 100 percent affordable housing development.

Hutchison says that he and the staff at his firm, 34-Ten Architecture, have been working quietly on drafting the concept, but were going to wait until this year to unveil it. However, as chatter regarding another plan for the site grew in December, Hutchison said that he felt that he had to get it out sooner, so they released their vision in late 2016.

“In my mind, it seems like the alderman has his mind made up,” Hutchison said in regards to the proposal from United Neighbors of the 35th Ward to erect a 100 percent affordable housing development at the site.

Hutchison doesn’t believe that any type of housing is the best use of this city owned property. Instead, he and his colleagues have put forth an idea for a year-round market. The draft concept reveals a market that could have an open roof during warmer months and then close when it is cold, allowing tenants and residents access and comfort all year.

Meanwhile, members of the United Neighbors of the 35th Ward say they want an affordable housing complex.

            Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa supports an affordable housing complex because it’s what an “overwhelming” number of residents said they wanted during a series of community meetings and surveys in 2014. More than 500 people filled out surveys as part of the community process, which was led by then ald. Rey Colon and the Metropolitan Planning Council.

“I think that the fact that it’s such an opportunity is why we need affordable housing here,” Logan Square community organizer and affordable housing advocate Daniel La Spata said. “There is no better way to give back to the community than having it be 100 percent affordable housing.”

However, Hutchison believes that there should be an open discussion on how to use this land.

“People need to see other proposals,” Hutchison says. The local architect believes that building private residences on the property only benefits the few residents who get to live there. “I strongly, strongly believe that public land remain public land for public use.”

Ramirez-Rosa said he’s been approached by several developers interested in the site since he took office in February, 2015. So far, none of the proposals has fully met the community’s criteria, which he said is the basis for his support.

“I believe affordable housing is a public use,” he said in a published interview. “I believe that long-term working class residents of Logan Square have a right to remain in the community. The only way we’re going to accomplish that is with affordable housing. I’ve been unequivocal in that.”

McHugh Construction starts work on new McDonald’s headquarters

            James McHugh Construction Co. has started work on the new McDonald’s headquarters on the site of the former Harpo Studios in the West Loop.

The official ground breaking for the nine-story, 600,000 sq. ft. building was on Dec. 6. The overall project value is estimated at $250 million, though an initial building permit was issued on Nov. 7 was for “partial foundation to include caissons, secand wall, earth retention system and lower level basement slab only.”

According to the building permit, the owner is 110 N. Carpenter, LLC., (an entity established by Sterling Bay developers) at the address 1040 W. Randoph St. Gensler senior associate Thomas Braham is listed as the architect.

In July, Sterling Bay representatives presented the plans to the community. Neighbours of West Loop reported then:

“The first floor would contain 60,000 sq. ft. of retail broken down into four sections, the largest of which (30,000 sq. ft.) is located near the corner of Carpenter and Randolph. No restaurant is currently planned for the building, but a health club is expected. Hamburger University is expected to be located on the second floor of the building along Washington.

“Most of the roof is a green roof, with a terrace around much of the conference center that makes up the top floor. The terrace would be located along parts of the north and east sides of the building.

“A 2,700 sq. ft. plaza, set back 30 ft. from Aberdeen, would be located at ground level near the corner of Washington and Aberdeen. There would be a 15 ft. setback between the curb and building façade along Randolph and along Washington streets and a 13.5 ft. setback along Aberdeen and Carpenter. Plantings would line the property along the roadway.”

“We are breaking ground to bring an iconic American brand back to Chicago – the most American of American cities,” mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “Whether it’s a Fortune 500 company like McDonald’s – or a tech start-up with a handful of employees – companies big and small recognize that Chicago is a great place to do business.”

Williams Architects to receive $2.5 million to design city’s first indoor public track facility

            The Chicago Park District has approved a $2.5 million contract with Williams Architects to design the city’s first indoor track facility at Gatley Park in Pullman.

The 104,000 sq. ft. project, with an overall estimated cost of $22 to $26 million, hit a snag last year when Gov. Bruce Rauner froze $14.5 million in state grants. However, the Park District has found support including $2.5 million from the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources and $3 million from the Illinois Dept. of Commerce, leaving $9 million in state funds that remain frozen, The Chicago Tribune has reported.

            Heather Gleason, the Park District’s director of planning and development, said it would take as much as two years to construct the project once funding is secured.

IDOT to seek public-private financing investors for $2.7 billion Eisenhower Expressway expansion

Illinois may look to private investors to help finance a $2.7 billion freeway expansion project in Chicago due to overwhelming response to a tolled lane project that is being developed as a public-private partnership, The Bond Buyer reports.

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) expansion proposal would add high-occupancy tolled express lanes to relieve congestion and speed up traffic on the Eisenhower Expressway (Interstate 290).

The state is considering a P3 for the Eisenhower project because of the 18 responses it received to a request for proposals for tolled express lanes on nearby I-55, Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn has been quoted as saying.

IDOT hopes one of the 18 construction and investment groups will finance, build, and operate the $425 million I-55 project as a P3. Any P3 agreement would have to be approved by the Illinois General Assembly.

The state intends to issue a request for proposals to receive preliminary bids and details on the plans for I-55 from the 18 groups in 2017. The I-55 project to add two toll lanes is proceeding so smoothly that highway planners are considering using the P3 concept to relieve gridlock on the Eisenhower Expressway and other overloaded roads, Blankenhorn said.

“Once we have extra capacity on I-55, we can begin addressing congestion on other expressways starting with the Eisenhower,” he told a City Club of Chicago gathering in mid-December.

The I-290 expansion project cannot proceed unless a new revenue source is found that is sufficient to completely rebuild the highway from the Jane Byrne Interchange in downtown Chicago to a connection with I-294 west of the city, Blankenhorn said.

“We need to find ways to leverage private investment in our transportation system,” he said.

The companies expressing an interest in the I-55 project include AECOM, Cintra/Ferrovial Agroman, Meridiam, Macquarie Capital, and Walsh Construction, IDOT said in a statement.

PREMIER Design + Build Group, LLC leads construction of 650,000 sq. ft. distribution center near Nashville

PREMIER Design + Build Group, LLC, based in Itasca, is the general contractor for a Commerce Farms Industrial Park industrial facility in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Commerce Farms V will be a 650,000 sq. ft. speculative standout industrial building in a massive 145-acre park that already hosts four other fully leased warehouse facilities. HSA Commercial Real Estate is developing the project, PREMIER Design + Build Group, LLC is the general contractor. Harris Architects will deliver architectural services. Joe DeLemos with NorthStar Real Estate Advisors is representing the building.

The facility will occupy 41 acres of the 145-acre park and be located at Hwy 109 near the busy I-40 and I-40 interchanges.

A media release announcing the project quotes PREMIER vice president Joe Ahrens as saying: “We are thrilled to accept this design + build project. As with all of our projects, the key to its successful completion is our 24/7 commitment to the job, with a primary objective of delivering a first-class distribution center. Of course, achieving this goal can’t happen without collaboration with HSA Commercial Real Estate, and we look forward to working with their dynamic team to bring Commerce Farms V to life.”

New businesses moving into Commerce Farms V will be able to pull from a large workforce from Nashville and its surrounding suburbs. In fact, the 13-county Nashville Metropolitan area is home to more than 1.7 million people. “While the city is known for country music, PREMIER looks forward to helping industrial and distribution businesses make some noise as well,” the Chicago area headquartered contractor said in a statement.

Commerce Farms V will feature 32 ft. clear-height warehouse spaces, 144 truck dock positions, 4 drive-in doors and a 45 mil TPO roofing system. To accommodate the high volume of logistics activity expected at this facility, a parking lot will be built with 184 trailer stalls.

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