Rubber Hitting the Road on Some Big Developments

We've spent a lot of digital ink trying to stay up with the immense amount of development news happening in the Sloop.  Most of this has been renderings and talk, but it appears that some of the developments are starting to take on more physical actions.

First off and maybe most note-worthy it appears that soil boring trucks are back at the southeast corner of South Michigan and Roosevelt Road:

As a reminder, this is where the 76-story mammoth of a building would tower over Grant Park and add another high-profile architectural symbol to Chicago and the Sloop:

In other development news, it appears a popular restaurant, Brasserie by LM, which sits in the Essex Inn hotel will be closing for 2 years as it appears construction on a new apartment/hotel tower will rise above it (via DNAinfo):

Brasserie by LM, 800 S. Michigan Ave., will close close on March 20 to make way for at least two years worth of renovations.  

The extended hiatus is expected to last between 2 and 2½ years, according to a news release.  

The new Brasserie by LM will be located at the base of the Essex Hotel and Tower project and is expected to open in the summer of 2018.

Seems like a long time to close, but nice to hear that they're committed to the Sloop.  We just posted about the work that's planned to come above the restaurant but here is the rendering:

Finally, it appears work is underway at the vacant lot just north of the new British School of Chicago building:

Another reader is looking for more information on this one:

I live across the street from the empty lot north of Roosevelt Collection and British School. There is a Walsh construction banner and new fencing around the empty lot and excavation equipment is being brought in. I'm assuming a new development is eminent. No complaints. What's driving me nuts is my curiosity....I haven't a clue what's going up in this space and am jonesing for some kind of rendering. It's a huge footprint so I'm thinking BIG. Any info or guidance towards a rendering would be appreciated.

I don't think we've seen a rendering (or if not, it's not ringing a bell).  Does anyone have one?

Anyway, it appears that rubber is hitting the road on some of these big projects.

(Hat tip: AW, JK, SC, SE!)