The following construction updates were provided to Alderman Hopkins by Power Construction for upcoming work on-site (weather and ground condition permitting).

 

All work will occur Monday - Friday, from 8:00 AM until 6:00 PM (weather permitting).

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Update: March 2021

Weeks of March 1 & 8: Continuing concrete work in the basement, utilizing smaller crane and smaller crew work. 

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Update: Jan-Feb. 2021

Weeks of January 18 & 25: Continued excavation below grade for the basement, hauling out dirt, preparing tower crane foundation. Tie-in sewer pipe along State Street, with flaggers to help control traffic.

Week of February 1: Erecting tower crane, and ongoing basement excavation work.

Week of February 8: Pour foundation Walls.

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Update: November - December 2020

Starting the week of November 16: Deliveries of the caisson drilling equipment, a mobile crane, and an excavator. 

Week of November 23 (Mon-Wed Only): Caisson material deliveries.

Week of November 30: Caisson drilling will begin. This is expected to be the loudest portion of work, and is expected to take approximately three weeks to complete (weather pending).

December 14 through January 9: Placement of steel sheeting used for the pouring of the foundation of the building, and excavation down into the basement.

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Update: October 2020

In coming days, you may notice construction activity occurring at the vacant lot at the corner of State and Division. The City has granted building and public way permits necessary to allow Newcastle to start construction of their building. The project is expected to be completed by April 2022 (weather pending). This email is intended to serve as a project update for on-site activities expected to occur over the coming weeks. 

All construction work is planned to occur Monday through Friday between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM. This request was made to ensure that neighbors would have reprieve from the construction noise. If any Saturday work is required for one-off or on a permanent basis, you will be notified by email.   

If you have any construction complaints, I also requested that a dedicated phone number be set up so that residents or property managers can reach out directly to the site superintendent. To make a construction complaint, please call 847-264-0632 or send an email to Power’s team by clicking here. 

Site Staging & Safety: 
The first phase of work consisted of demolition of the existing structures on-site, and that work was completed in March of 2020. Starting this week, Power Construction will begin with site safety planning which includes the closure of the State and Division St. sidewalks along the perimeter of the project will be closed. 

Sidewalks will remain closed until the project is completed. A marked crosswalk will be added at State and Scott Street north of the site for north-south pedestrian traffic, while pedestrian traffic will be diverted to the south side of State Street at Dearborn west of the site. 

Upcoming work: Week of October 26 through Mid-November:  
This week, Power Construction will be making adjustments to the fencing along the perimeter of the site, including the installation of construction gates, and setting up fencing to close the sidewalk. Additional preparations will be made to prepare the site for foundation and excavation work. Excavation and existing foundation demo will continue through November 15 (weather pending).   

  

Concurrently, Power Construction will receive caisson drill equipment during the week of November 9, and will begin drilling and pouring caissons throughout the site. The building requires 47 caissons for the foundation, and the project team anticipates drilling and pouring five to six caissons per day. This phase of work will take approximately three weeks to complete (weather pending).   

  

During the drilling phase, excavated dirt will be trucked off-site through a gate at State and Division. Power will have flaggers on-site to ensure trucks are able to enter and exit the site safely.   

  

Once the caissons are completed, the rest of the foundation work will proceed, and will consist of the placement of steel sheeting for the rest of the foundation work. This will consist of loud clanging and vibrating.  Excavation and dirt haul-off to continue during this phase. This work is expected to take three weeks to complete (weather pending) and will represent some of the loudest work that the neighborhood will experience.   

 

Once the project’s foundation nears completion, I will be sure to send out another construction update to ensure that you are notified of the next phase of construction on-site. Additionally, project updates will be posted periodically on my website as well, and can be accessed at www.aldermanhopkins.com/development-1210-state.  

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Construction Update (February 2020 - August 2021)

**March 20 Update** Demolition was completed on-site, and final building permit review is underway. 

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Power Construction notified me that demolition activities at 10-14 West Division Street and 1200-1212 North State Street will begin on Monday, February 17, and is expected to last up to six weeks (weather permitting).

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Starting Thursday, February 13, the demolition contractor will begin installing protective barricades around the perimeter of the site. Demolition work will occur Monday through Friday, with no anticipated weekend work during this phase. Temporary sidewalk closures will occur between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM along the west side of State Street and the north side of Division Street during demolition. Once work is completed for the day, the sidewalks will re-open to the public.

 

A detour will utilize a temporary crosswalk north of the site at the intersection of North State Street and East Scott Street for the duration of the demolition AND construction phases. Sidewalk closure signage will be posted beyond the perimeter of the construction site, and flaggers will be present at the perimeter of the site to safely re-direct pedestrian traffic across North State Street.

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During the demolition phase, there will be periods of time when vehicle traffic may be temporarily restricted southbound through the alley between Dearborn/State at Division. Flaggers will be present when intermittent alley closures will occur.

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The alley will remain open at Goethe throughout the duration of the project. Demolition trucks will enter and exit the site through the main gate, located in the alley. Upon completion of the demolition work, the sidewalks will remain open until the construction phase begins. Groundbreaking for the development is expected to begin in May 2020, and more construction and logistics information will be shared on this web page.

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The Project

After a long and extensive community review process, I am pleased to announce the third and final set of revisions to the proposed development for 1212 N. State St. has been approved. I held community meetings in April, July, and November to review and refine this proposal. The final design is reflective of the suggestions and critiques received from neighbors throughout the Gold Coast and Old Town neighborhoods.
 
The final project is 134 feet and 12 stories tall, with 91 residential units, 32 parking spaces, and two outdoor amenity decks. The third-floor amenity level will feature fencing and sound-dampening materials to reduce noise from the dog run. Neither of the amenity levels will allow outdoor nor amplified speakers for music and will be closed to residents at 11 pm.
 
One of the greatest concerns about the early designs of the building is the design felt out of place with the neighborhood. The first and second-floor façade along State Street was modified and redesigned to have a much more residential feel at the street-level. The design of the building features a reddish-brick façade with black metal and limestone accents that match the feel of the residential and commercial buildings in the immediate area.

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The first floor consists of mixed commercial space, with a restaurant, a café, or coffee shop, and a retail store envisioned on the corner. The residential entry to the building will exist on the State St. side of the building, with all commercial activity located on Division St.

 

​The residential tower was setback 15 feet from the north property line to allow air and light to pass through while allowing the addition of windows to the north façade of the building. This was made possible by removing 14 studio units from the building, and reducing the ceiling height on the residential floors to allow for the addition of seven units on a new 12th floor, resulting in an overall height increase of 6 feet from the original proposal.

 

To better match the tree-lined street characteristic of North State and East Division Streets, the applicants have agreed to plant six new trees on State St., and three new trees on Division St. The curb cut located in front of 1220 N. State St. will be extended south to the residential entrance for ride-share and taxi pick-ups and drop-offs. The parking garage, which will only be available to residents of the building, is accessed off the alley, where deliveries will be received as well. 

 

To further alleviate concerns about parking in the immediate area, I will introduce an ordinance to prohibit issuance of residential zone permit parking to future residents in the building, meaning that they will be unable to receive zone parking on their vehicle sticker, or zone parking passes in any nearby residential zones.