Kenect Kenstruction Kentinues on Milwaukee Avenue
Work continues on the two-structure development at 500 North Milwaukee Avenue known as Kenect. The west building, a 14-story tower by Pappageorge Haymes Architects, has topped out, and the tower crane has come down, leaving just a very tall stump of support steel. Over on the east side of Green Street, the 4-story little brother tower (alos by Pappageorge Haymes) has been decked out in woodwork, surrounded by iron framing. In total,...
500 North Milwaukee Surprises Again
The last time we walked past Akara Partners‘ 500 North Milwaukee Avenue, we were greeted by new signage for Kenect Chicago. As you may well know, we like to see creative name changes here at The Blog, and replacing an address with a unique moniker always scores points in our book. It was for no particular reason that we found ourselves back in the Fulton River District again this week, and lo and behold, there was our other...
500 North Milwaukee Now Called Kenect Chicago
The low-and-high rise development formerly known by its address of 500 North Milwaukee Avenue is now being called Kenect Chicago. New signs went up around the construction site recently where Akara Partners‘ 14-story residential block and a matching four-story combo residential and retail building are being constructed. There’s also a knectchicago.com web site to go with it. The different shades of orange triangles and...
You May Continue Working On That Hole You’ve Dug
Remember that construction site we mentioned yesterday? You know, the one at 500 North Milwaukee Avenue, on the east side of Green Street? The one that looks like a (deeper) hole in the ground? Yes, that’s the one. The 4-story one. Well, we couldn’t help but notice the City of Chicago issued a permit back on the 11th for that site, although they call it 505 North Green Street instead of 500 North Milwaukee. But no worries....
Height and Depth Mark Progress at 500 North Milwaukee
The two-building complex Akara Partners is developing at 500 North Milwaukee Avenue is well underway, though one might question what these two structures have in common if visiting the site for the first time. On our last drop-in, the four-story portion of the project, located on the east side of Green Street, had barely had its surface scratched. And when we stopped by this week, what used to be a dirt lot is now more of a dirt hole,...
500 North Milwaukee: One Big Crane, One Big Hole
Many a tear were shed along the Milwaukee Avenue corridor as crews spent the spring ripping apart the hallowed edifice in the 500 block at Grand Avenue. Ok, that’s bunk. As you may recall from the tone of our story back in April, that place even gave eyesores a bad name. It would have surprised no one to see area residents cheering on demo crews as the last few bricks tumbled to the ground. And gone it is. The mile-high crane in...
Status Update: Hey, 500 North Milwaukee, Smell Ya Later!
There’s a freshness in the air in the Fulton Market District these days. Or at least the stench from 500 North Milwaukee has improved. That’s because demolition crews have been chopping, chewing, hacking, and shredding the abandoned building with vigor for the last few weeks. The Chicago Architecture Blog’s Daniel Shell ran over there to take in the show, and brought back these pictures of the neighborhood’s...
New Hope (or Not) for 500 North Milwaukee (Again)
We don’t do a lot of real estate news around here. But when it comes to the grey-slathered pile of boards known as 500 North Milwaukee Avenue, we’ll make an exception. That’s because 500 North Milwaukee is consistently the building we receive the most e-mails about. Neighbors, commuters, and fans of downtown wonder how it is that such a prime location can be the home of such a dilapidated building. We last checked...
500 North Milwaukee is a Go [u]
A rotten tooth in the Fulton River District is finally going to be extracted. Yesterday, the Chicago Plan Commission approved the construction of 500 North Milwaukee, a two-building complex of residential and retail that will rise on the northwest corner of the intersection of Milwaukee, Grand, and Halsted. Right now, it’s the location of a derelict restaurant supply store that burned years ago, and has never been brought back...
One of Chicago’s Worst Blocks May Finally Get Nuked and Rebuilt [updated]
With autumn here, we’re required by law to use fall references wherever we can. In this case, we’ll go with “One bad apple can spoil the bushel,” because that’s what people in the Fulton River District have been dealing with for as long as many people can remember. The bad apple is the smelly, boarded-up, eyesore of a building that squats on one of the corners of Grand, Milwaukee, and Halsted. It’s...