A Little Skyscraper Abracadabra Along Grant Park
Sometimes the monotony of life becomes a way of life. Keep your head down. Stay off the boss’ radar. Don’t attract attention. But keeping our heads down, while a common survival skill, prevents us from seeing the marvels the city of Chicago serves up around us every day. You don’t need Cher to give you a wet slap across the face to snap out of it. Just look at the animation below. Joe Zekas of YoChicago! sent...
With its Tower Underway, Construction at Essex on the Park Turns Inn-ward
The Essex on the Park development across the street from Grant Park is about to enter the fix-the-hotel phase of the project. Ten months ago, Oxford Capital and Quadrum Global were given construction permits by the city to start work on the new 56-story residential tower that is rising next to the time-worn hotel. As you can see in the photo below, taken by YoChicago!‘s Joe Zekas from One Grant Park, work on the skyscraper is...
Essex on the Park Ready to Take Off
The latest skyscraper to change Chicago’s skyline has been given permission to take off. Essex on the Park (808 South Michigan Avenue) has been given its papers and can now grow to its anticipated height of 620 feet, right across the street from Grant Park. FULL BUILDING PERMIT (FOUNDATION PERMIT ISSUED UNDER 100684545) FOR A PROPOSED 56 STORY 479 DWELLING UNITS RESIDENTIAL BUILDING; 84 PARKING SPACES; GROUND FLOOR RETAIL; ALL...
Grant Park’s Newest Anchor Inching Skyward
Eight floors is a long way from 76, but it’s a lot closer than zero. Especially when you’re talking about building a skyscraper on the south end of Grant Park. The skyscraper in question is One Grant Park, the 829-foot-tall residential tower designed by Rafael Viñoly for Crescent Heights. Last week the City of Chicago issued another construction permit for the project, allowing it to climb to the not-so-dizzying height...
Grant Park About To Get Another Border Skyscraper
The already impressive collection of architecture that lines Chicago’s Grant Park is about to get another trophy in the case. The City of Chicago has issued its first building permits for the tower expansion of the aging Essex Inn. FOUNDATION AND CONCRETE STRUCTURE UP TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE 6TH FLOOR FOR A PROPOSED 56 STORY 479 DWELLING UNIT RESIDENTIAL BUILDING; 84 PARKING SPACES; GROUND FLOOR RETAIL; ALL AS PER PLANS While...
New 56-Story Michigan Avenue Tower Gets Money, Gets Busy
This morning it was announced that the developers of Essex On The Park, the new 56-story apartment building in the South Loop landed a $170 million loan to begin construction of the luxury tower. Almost simultaneously, work crews showed up at 808 South Michigan Avenue to put up scaffolding and barriers so that demolition, and eventually construction, can begin. Essex on the Park was designed by Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and is...
Two Downtown Chicago Hotel Developments Up For Approval This Week
You can’t spell “hotel” without the word “hot,” and that describes downtown Chicago’s hospitality market. From office building conversions to new construction, it seems like every developer with a dollar and a dream is eager to put a mint on your pillow. Two downtown hotel projects go before the Chicago Plan Commission this Thursday morning. One highly anticipated. The other… flying under...
Essex Inn Wants to Fill In A Michigan Avenue Streetwall Gap
Architecture books, tour guides, and teachers like to talk about Chicago’s “streetwall” — the line of stately buildings flush against Michigan Avenue staring at Grant Park. But there are some notable gaps in this architectural wonder. One of those may soon be filled in. South Loop Spy David hit the tip line to let us know that the Essex Inn is asking the city for permission not only to renovate, but to expand. He...
