Fordham Gets OK from Chicago City Council

The Chicago City Council unanimously approved plans for Santiago Calatrava-designed Fordham Spire, the 124-story condominium and hotel in planning for the city's lakefront.

The vote to move forward with the building represents the final approval hurdle for the Chicago-based The Fordham Company, which is developing the tower.

If financing is obtained, the $550 million project is expected to break ground in late 2006 or early 2007. It would house 300 residences and a five-star hotel.

The tower, measuring 2,000 ft. to the top of its spire and 1,600 ft. to its roof, would be the tallest structure in the United States. It would be located just west of Lake Shore Drive where the Chicago River meets Lake Michigan.

Earlier, the Chicago Plan Commission had approved the project.

$83M Research Center Breaks Ground at IU

The construction process is getting under way on Research III, a research facility at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis.

The facility will house researchers who will work to discover therapies for cancer, immune disorders and issues related to transplantation and for conditions that affect the rain, such as Alzheimer's disease.

The 254,000-sq.-ft., $83.3 million facility is IU's fifth and largest research facility built since 1990 on the Indianapolis campus.

The facility is scheduled to open in early 2009 and is part of IU's plan to double the size of its research by 2020.

The newest facility will be seven stories high and will house more than 119 laboratories, a 213-seat auditorium and a symposium center. Because technology develops so quickly and the building project spans three years, the designs are flexible to accept the technology systems in use when the facility opens.

Once completed, the new structure will be the final component of a three-building, 500,000-sq.-ft. interconnected research complex, housing scientists and physicians focusing on the biology and chemistry of cancer, neurological diseases, immunological challenges, genetic disorders and blood-related diseases. The others are the Research II and IU Cancer Center.

The exterior brick walls of Research II to the east and the IU Cancer Research Institute to the west will become the internal walls of Research III. Double doors will link the three buildings, creating an integrated research facility where scientists can interact.

The general contractor for Research III is Indianapolis-based F.A. Wilhelm, and the architect is BSA LifeStructures, also based in Indianapolis.

Clarian Announces Medical Education, Resource Center

Work will begin this summer on the $44 million Fairbanks Hall in Indianapolis, an education and resource center that is a collaboration of Indianapolis-based Clarian Health Partners, the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Indiana University School of Nursing.

Fairbanks will include a 30,000-sq.-ft., high fidelity simulation center jointly operated by Clarian and the schools of nursing and medicine. Other educational space and administrative offices of the IU School of Medicine and Clarian also will be housed in the center.
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The facility is an 182,000-sq.-ft., six-story building between 10th and 11th streets on the east side of the canal. Situated squarely inside of this life sciences quadrant, the center will serve as a strategic component in the continued development of the life sciences initiative in Indiana and strengthen the ability of the city and state to retain and recruit talented and skilled companies and employees to the Indianapolis area.

The building is largely being financed by Clarian, along with the IU School of Medicine, the IU School of Nursing and a contribution of $6 million from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation Inc.

The simulation center will offer clinical training for IU nursing, medical and allied health students, clinical orientation of Clarian nurses, simulation training for staff physicians and residents, as well Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) training of students and employees. It is expected that thousands of students and professionals will be trained annually at the center. The simulation center will enhance patient care, patient safety and clinical outcomes.

The building is expected to be completed in the summer of 2008.

Merger Aimed at Fortifying Indiana Contractors' Bargaining

Two contractor organizations in Northwest Indiana have merged to strengthen the influence of union contractors in the region.

The entities, formerly known as the Portage-based Calumet Builders Association and the Industrial Contractors and Builders Association of Indiana Inc., also based in Portage, have combined.

The new organization will be called the NWI Contractors Association and be based in Portage.

The organization will focus on negotiating labor agreements with local building-trade unions. Currently, more than 500 contractors work under the labor contract that the NWI Contractors Association negotiates.

The association will also convene management representatives to form grievance panels if one is filed by a union and appoint management representatives to pension, apprenticeship and health and welfare funds.

Officers include President Tom Muchesko of Homewood, Ill.-based Graycor Industrial Constructors Inc.; Vice President Mark Grimmer of Highland, Ind.-based Grimmer Construction Inc.; and Secretary/Treasurer Bill Gorski of Hammond, Ind.-based Morrison Construction Company Inc.

For more information, call Dewey Pearman, executive director of the Construction Advancement Foundation, a nonprofit promoting the building trades, at 219-764-2883.

Mixed-Use Development To Call Homewood Home

Chestnut Square, a mixed-used development proposed for south suburban Homewood, has been announced.

The Tudor-inspired building with 45 condominiums complements Homewood's historical character, according to a release from Chicago-based Mesirow Stein Development Services, a developer on the project.

The brick and stone building is sited along the street-edge of Harwood and Chestnut to provide the weight, scale and feel for a pedestrian-friendly extension of downtown Homewood.

About 2,800 sq. ft. of retail will be available along the streets, further contributing to the commercial vitality in the village.

Parking will be in an enclosed and heated parking garage. Every residence has its own outdoor living area and large storage locker. Chestnut Square also features a fully equipped fitness center.

Largest Project Ever Starts at UW-Green Bay

Pella to Open Door inDuPage for Window Making

Ground was broken for a 175,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing, distribution and office facility for Pella, Iowa-based Pella Corp. in West Chicago, Ill.

Pella is major manufacturer and distributor of residential and commercial window and door products.

The project represents the first building within the industrial section of developer CenterPoint Property Trusts' DuPage National Technology Park.

The facility will feature 125,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing and distribution space with two drive-in doors and 28 exterior docks. The building will also include 50,000 sq. ft. of office.

Westmont-based Morgan/Harbour is the contractor.