The “media alert” for the groundbreaking ceremony at 200 North Michigan arrived via email less than 24 hours before the time of the event last Friday. The schedule outlined in the email:
Arrival: 1:00 – 1:15 pm
Candid photography: 1:15 – 1:30 pm
Remarks: 1:30 – 2:00 pm
Groundbreaking: 2:00 pm
Had I known about the event several days earlier I wouldn’t have scheduled a meeting with an important prospect for 2 pm that day in Lakeview.
As luck would have it, my prospect texted a change in plans just after 1 to deal with a problem on a construction site. Great. I was downtown, and could make it to 200 North Michigan in time for the remarks and the ceremonial groundbreaking.
I did arrive at 1:30, only to find that the remarks had been spoken, the ground had been broken, and only a token remnant of the attendees remained on the site.
Judging by the amount of food still available when I left, attendance at the event either fell far short of expectations or the attendees lunched beforehand.
The 41-story, 402-unit Loop apartment building will have 125 parking spaces and ground-level retail space, and is slated for completion 24 months from now. The developer is the John Buck Company and the architect is bKL Architecture.
The Chicago Architecture Blog has pictures from the event and the news release issued following the event.