It’s been 18 months since we last showed you the back side of Tribune Tower. Back then, the venerable skyscraper was being gutted by skid steers, and a tailings pile of bricks and sorrow was growing in the parking lot facing North Cityfront Plaza.
Today, we see a very different scene, according to these photos that Streeterville Spy Jody heaped into our Tip Line. You can see that the building skeleton has been nicely filled in with nice condos sporting nice balconies that will one day overlook a nicely landscaped common area. Nice.
Clearly, there is much work still to be done, but it’s evident that a lot of progress has been made on the CIM Group project, since building permits have been handed over for the last year to allow the build out of custom kitchens in some of the new condos.
Word on the street from eagle-eyed observers is that the piles of construction material and mullock now occupying Nathan Hale Plaza, on the south side of Tribune Tower, are being tidied up. Some think this is a sign that the start of construction on the new 1,422-foot-tall Tribune Tower East is imminent, as the plaza could be used as a staging area.
We’re not ready to go that far yet. It could be that the public space is being returned to its pre-construction state in time for the return of spring, and the potential return of pedestrians. A few months ago, a construction permit was issued covering:
NEW HARDSCAPE DESIGN FOR NATHAN HALE COURT INCLUDING NEW PAVERS, STAIR, RAMPS, RAILINGS, NEW TRELLIS STRUCTURE, NEW STOREFRONT DOORS AND STOREFRONT, DEMOLITION OF EXISTING NON-LANDMARKED BUILDING ENTRY AT NATHAN HALE COURT
Time, as they say, will tell. But it’s worth noting that it’s been almost a year since the City of Chicago approved the 100+-story project. And time, as they also say, is money.
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Tribune Tower under construction in March, 2021. (Courtesy of Streeterville Spy Jody.) -
Tribune Tower under construction in March, 2021. (Courtesy of Streeterville Spy Jody.)
