A caisson permit was issued Friday for Bally’s Chicago Casino, marking the official start of new construction at the former Chicago Tribune Freedom Center site in River West. Though considered a big gamble by many, the casino can now get moving, with equipment already occupying the sprawling lot, and rebar cages and iron tubing waiting to be lowered into the ground.
Concrete work is in full swing at 2128 South Tan Court in Chinatown, as Evergreen Garden begins to take form on the South Side. Columns have risen toward the back of the site along the railroad tracks, while crews are busy pouring concrete at ground level near the front. The crew is working on the northeast end of the large lot, building the first of two residential phases.
A new construction single-family home permitted in December with only surface parking spaces included in the plans now has permission to add an Additional Dwelling Unit at the back of the property. The residence at 3456 North Claremont Avenue in North Center demolished late in 2024 included a garage, so it’s no surprise that a two-car garage will now be included with the new home, along with one residential unit on the second floor. The ADU permit was issued on March 10, with an application date shown of February 14.
Progress is ongoing for a new entrance at the Racine Blue Line platform on the city’s Near West Side. The station, which lies between the inbound and outbound lanes of the Eisenhower Expressway and is two blocks west of the Morgan Street substation we looked at last week, is part of the CTA’s $3 billion plan to reconstruct the Forest Park Branch of the Blue Line system. The Racine renovation alone, which extends from Racine Avenue to the east to Loomis Street to the west, is estimated to cost approximately $23 million.
A pair of demolition permits were issued on March 7 for the property at 4846 North Hermitage Avenue in Uptown. The main permit will tear down a three-story brick residential building from the 1890s, while the second demo permit allows for the removal of a recently rebuilt four-vehicle detached garage. The buildings are being removed to make space of a single-family residence permitted for construction back in early February.
