$730M South Extend Of I-355 Begins

The groundbreaking was recently held in suburban Homer Township for the $730 million South Extension of Interstate 355, a project that was planned more than a decade ago.

The 12.5-mi. extension is intended to bring about congestion relief, reduced travel times and jobs for residents of Will County, one of the fastest growing counties in Illinois. The project start was delayed due to a lack of funding before Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who attended the groundbreaking, supported the Illinois Tollway's long-range plan.

With the extension of I-355 from its current terminus at the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55), Will and southern Cook County residents are expected to see significant reductions in travel time. According to the Northeast Illinois Planning Commission, the I-355 South Extension will reduce travel times to suburban job centers by 12 to 14 minutes for an hour-long trip.

Additionally, travel times on Will County roads are projected to be shaved by 13 percent for an hour-long trip because the extension will ease the load on local roads, which are often the only option for residents to travel to and from the rest of the region.

The first contract was awarded in November to Joliet-based T.J. Lambrecht Construction for earthmoving and grading. Following the groundbreaking ceremony, crews and heavy equipment from the company began the initial work to clear the route south of the Des Plaines River and prepare for major earthwork to begin next spring and continue through October 2005 on the south end of the project.

The I-355 South Extension construction project is expected to be complete by late 2007.

The massive project is expected to create about 36,000 construction jobs.

This includes nearly 18,000 direct construction jobs and 18,000 jobs in industries that support the construction trades, according to the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Ground Break Heralds $600M Roosevelt Square

The Chicago Housing Authority and its partners broke ground for phase one of the $600 million Roosevelt Square, a 135-acre, six-phase, 2,441-unit residential community to be developed over a 10-year period on land that once held the CHA's ABLA Homes.

Phase one includes both rental apartments and for-sale homes. Two thirds of the rental units are designated for qualified CHA families who choose to live in the new development.

Market-rate and affordable condominiums and townhomes will be available for sale as well. In total, phase one development will include 181 rental units and 233 for-sale homes on 13 acres.

The groundbreaking event also marked the opening of Roosevelt Square's on-site sales center and the marketing launch for the for-sale homes.

One of the largest new communities to be developed as part of the CHA's sweeping Plan for Transformation, Roosevelt Square is the sixth CHA site to undergo on-site construction for redevelopment into a mixed-income community. Phase one will feature building types and styles and street patterns that evoke traditional Chicago neighborhoods.

In January 2003, the CHA announced its choice of Chicago-based LR Development Co. as the master developer. Roosevelt Square area is centrally located in Chicago's Near West Side neighborhood, with the enclaves of Little Italy to the north and Pilsen to the south, the University of Illinois at Chicago to the east and the Illinois Medical District to the west.

Murphy/Jahn Receives AIA's 'Highest Honor'

Chicago-based Murphy/Jahn, Inc. was named the recipient of the 2005 American Institute of Architects Architecture Firm Award, the association's highest honor.

The AIA Architecture Firm Award is given annually to recognize a practice that has consistently produced distinguished architecture for at least 10 years.

The award will be presented at the American Architectural Foundation Accent on Architecture Gala on Feb. 11 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

Blair Kamin, architectural critic at The Chicago Tribune, in support of the company's nomination, wrote, "The firm is producing some of the world's most technologically advanced, formally sophisticated, and urbanistically significant buildings. And its best work is still ahead."

More than a dozen monographs have been published on the firm's philosophy.

The most notable, Archi-Neering, Architecture Engineering and Transparency , were co-authored by an engineer and address the firm's philosophy.

Previous award recipients include New Havan, Conn.-based Cesar Pelli & Associates; Chicago-based Skidmore Owings and Merrill LLC; Des Moines, Iowa-based Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck; Seattle-based The Miller/Hull Partnership; and the 2004 recipient, San Antonio-based Lake/Flato Architects.

'Rigorous Disapproval' Issued in Khan Matter

The Chicago Committee On High Rise Buildings has issued its "rigorous disapproval" of modifications that are under way at Chicago's Onterie Center, 446 E. Ontario St., a building with a plaque dedicated to the memory of legendary structural engineer Fazlur Khan.

Other groups oppose the activity, including the Chicago-based Council On Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the Chicago-based Structural Engineers Association of Illinois and the original owner.

The modifications are related to the conversion of a public galleria space and pedestrian walkway into a commercial day care center. As part of the work, the tenant reportedly intends to cover over with new construction an existing memorial plaque and art tile mural.

The memorials were provided by the building's original owner, PSM International, and dedicated in 1986 by then-Illinois Gov. James Thompson to the memory of Khan.

Khan provided design and development work for skyscrapers that includes the Sears Tower and John Hancock Tower. He was also a founding member and the first chairman of the Chicago Committee On High Rise Buildings.

Heart Facility, Renovation For Rockford Hospital

Ground was broke in Rockford for a Heart and Vascular Center, a four-story brick facility with nearly 130, 000 sq. ft. of space, and renovation of SwedishAmerican Hospital's existing surgery and recovery areas.

Scheduled for completion in early 2006, the center will house 30 new beds for the hospital's Intensive Care Unit and 64 telemetry beds.

The Chicago office of Turner Construction Co. will be responsible for the construction of the new facility and also the renovation of 8,600 sq. ft. of space in the hospital's existing surgery department and a multi-phase renovation of recovery areas. The renovations will yield four new operating rooms and will be completed without the interruption of services or patient care.

Turner has also recently contracted to provide construction management services for Perryville Place, a 75,000-sq.-ft. core and shell mixed-use commercial and medical office building in Rockford. The project will include four separate, four-story buildings connected by glass-enclosed sky bridges with paved courtyards, benches, and seating for outdoor dining.

Unique to the Rockford community, the design will use feng shui design principles that balance the buildings with nature.

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