State Street Revival: BAC helps ‘wellness pioneer’ create one-of-kind ‘healthy lifestyle’ destination

The game plan was simple. Chicago-based developer Newcastle Limited set out to deliver two mixed-use Gold Cost developments projects to replace a cluster of vacant commercial buildings in the city’s State Street area. Located in the Loop Retail Historic District—a shopping district within the Chicago Loop, the site had a combined 470 rental units, 193 parking spots, and more than 30,000 square feet of retail space. The tight city space led to some unique working conditions that BAC members were able to efficiently address safely.

“Like a lot of downtown projects, 1200 N. State Street posed challenges in terms of site access, requiring significant coordination of material and equipment deliveries,” says Richard Lauber, President of J&E Duff, the BAC mason contractor for the project. “Our team had to work more than 100 feet off of the ground on Hydro Mobile scaffolding.”

The first part of the project was at the northwest corner of State and Division streets. The plan called for an 11-story building with 102 rentals. Rising 11 floors into the sky, the 121-foot-tall luxury residential apartment complex also includes 12,000-plus square feet of ground-floor retail space, a car garage, and resident amenity spaces on the third floor and roof.

Combining an attractive mix of glass, brick, metal and panels similar to porcelain tile, 1200 N. State Street is designed to represent, but not imitate, the eclectic architecture of the neighborhood. It also is the kind of project where BAC members, the best hands in the business, thrive.

In his over 20 years of experience running work, Chris Cankar, Local 74 Illinois member and J&E Duff foreman, has faced many challenges and overcome them. This job still gave him some new experiences, due to the tight space in the city. “We put stone up on the building, up on scaffolding where we couldn’t gain access other than through the building. They are 600lb stones. We had to use chain falls that are hung over the side of the building to handle them and set them on the building,” he said. “That is something I have never done before… but we made it happen.”

For the project, 27 BAC members worked the almost yearlong job, logging an estimated 10,200 hours. In total, they worked with 36,000 square feet (185,000 pieces) of Norman-sized and modular-size brick. In the parking garage, the BAC team worked with 21,000 square feet (23,625 pieces) and 2,000 cubic feet of cast stone veneer.

The project provided BAC Apprentice Taylor Yates her first opportunity to work with Norman size brick in a third bond pattern. “I liked laying it, I had never done that before,” she said. “Where I am, at Duff, they are really good at letting us lay brick and block.”

“I want apprentices to lay brick, I want them to learn,” explained Cankar. On this job apprentices also experienced “laying overhand, off the side of a building where they are harnessed off.”

“I try to give them the opportunity to learn when I get them on my job,” Cankar continued. “I was given that opportunity and I want them to have that… They are not making money if they do not know how to lay brick.”

Today, 1200 N. Street Apartments seamlessly fits into what the downtown area has become–a place of Chicago pride. When BAC Secretary-Treasurer Bob Arnold, a former Chicago resident, visited the jobsite, he was impressed with how his brothers and sisters continue to help transform the city’s landscape.

“It is great to see BAC members bringing brick back to the Chicago landscape,” said Secretary-Treasurer Arnold. “I was very impressed by the organized tempo of the job considering the tight workspace in the downtown area. Thank you to Richard Lauber, for setting up and joining us on the tour of the jobsite.”

From left, BAC President Tim Driscoll, Executive Vice President Jeremiah Sullivan Jr.,
and Local 21 IL member on the job.