Big Construction and Development Picks Up Where it Left Off in 2016

It's the first week of January 2017.  The air is freezing.  We're just waking up from our holiday hangover, but apparently development in the Sloop isn't.

We wandered over to Curbed Chicago and noticed three separate posts talking about progress for a 76-story building, a 56-story building and a 26-story building.

None of these are new, but all three posts offer some new information.

First - and probably the most high-profile of the bunch (via Curbed):

While it may not look overtly significant to a typical passerby, the heavy machinery currently humming away at the corner of Roosevelt and Indiana in Chicago’s South Loop marks the official start of construction on One Grant Park. Designed by notable Uruguay-born architect Rafael Viñoly for Florida-based developer Crescent Heights, the 792-unit rental tower began site preparations late last year. Utilizing a bundle-tube design similar to Chicago’s Willis (Sears) Tower, the skyscraper is poised to bookend the south end of Grant Park with some much-needed height and provide some visual balance to Chicago’s skyline.

Second - and while not as high as Vinoly's, is primed to make a substantial impact on the skyline of the city (via Curbed):

2017 is shaping up to be a particularly big year for Chicago’s South Loop as a new 600-foot skyscraper moves one step closer to joining South Michigan Avenue’s “Cultural Mile.” Dubbed “Essex on the Park,” the planned 56-story tower is ready to move forward following the recent announcement of a $170 million construction loan by development partners Oxford Capital Group and Quadrum Global, reports Crain’s.

The project will see an old low-rise parking structure at 800 S. Michigan Avenue demolished and replaced by a glassy apartment building designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture. As this tower climbs skyward, the adjacent (and recently landmarked) historic Essex Inn will receive a major overhaul as it is expanded from 254 to 271 guest rooms and rebranded as the Hotel Essex.

Third - compared to the first two, this isn't exciting, but that just goes to show you how much action is happening in the Sloop.  A 26-story building is easily overlooked (via Curbed):

Another tower for the South Loop is officially underway. Construction has recently kicked off on a new 26-story glassy high-rise for the surface parking lot at 1136 S. Wabash Avenue near the the Roosevelt Red Line station. The project, a joint venture between CA Residential and developer Keith Giles, will deliver 320 rental apartments and 5,000 square feet of ground level commercial space. While the project is located just around the corner from a Red Line station and major bus lines, the new development will feature 141 parking spaces in a five-story parking podium facing Wabash Avenue.