Dirt has started to move in the West Loop, where heavy equipment is on the scene at 601 West Randolph Street. West Loop Spy Kurt was there, and slipped this into our tip line:
Technically, the equipment is at 609 West Randolph, but the new building the gear is going to create will use the 601 address currently assigned to the Code Orange building next door.
Kurt says what we see is a Bauer BG 39 drill rig and a Link Belt TTC 750, both from Keller Group. Skender is the general contractor.
Before this picture was taken, Kurt says the site was thoroughly groomed to remove debris and rubble. “They used a slotted bucket on the track hoe to sift the rubble from the dirt. It looked like the world’s biggest kitty litter scoop. I don’t want meet the kitty that uses that litter box!” Truer words were rarely said.
The new Vista Development office building will rise 15 stories next to the 1890’s-era building, and because they’re co-owned, will loom every-so-slightly above its predecessor. It’s a design worked out by Antunovich Associates.
Location: 601 West Randolph Street, West Loop
Editor founded the Chicago Architecture Blog in 2003, after a long career in journalism. He can be reached at chicagoarchitectureinfo@gmail.com.
