Height: 290 ft
Floor count: 22
Location: West Oak and North Dearborn
Construction end: 2007
Architect: Booth Hansen Associates
Developer: Smithfield Properties LLC

Website (http://www.30westoak.com/)

http://www.30westoak.com/images/bldgimage.jpg

This development will replace the Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine. IMHO, that building was worth saving and converting. Regardless, 30 West Oak is directly to the south of Maple Tower. I took a few pictures of the site today (Feb. 10, 2005). The Scholl building will soon be a memory.

http://images.snapfish.com/342%3B2%3A8723232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E2339%3D%3A9%3A%3D%3A28%3DXROQDF%3E232376%3B%3C86%3A79ot1lsi

http://images.snapfish.com/342%3B2%3A8723232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D3248%3E9%3A9%3E937%3EWSNRCG%3D323285%3C%3B95%3B6%3Bnu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/342%3B2%3A8723232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D3248%3E9%3A9%3E937%3EWSNRCG%3D323285%3C%3B95%3B75nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/342%3B2%3A8723232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2339%3D%3A9%3A%3D%3A28%3DXROQDF%3E232376%3B%3C86%3A8%3Bot1lsi

I prefer the old building, I think it fits better across from the park and the Newberry Library. Oh well.

i hate how nice existing structures are torn down to make way for the new when there are so many surface parking lots not too far away. build on the friggin parking lots before ripping down our history!

Oh no.. they are tearing down Dr. Scholl's!?! Do developers have hearts?

Boo.

It's all of those Goddamn Nimby's faults. Those bastards in the Park Newberry didn't want the building to cast a shadow on their pool deck. Chicago Shawn told me that he saw one of the earlier designs where the tower was intergrated with the Dr. Scholls Building. The NIMBY's shot that plan down.

I don't mind seeing Dr. Scholl's go... it was squatty. Just because something's old doesn't mean it's worth saving :)

Now... I do have to agree that we should use up all the other available real estate (surface lots fit the bill in my opinion) first; but, there is nothing wrong with replacing the old with the new.

^I"m sad to see Scholl's go. But I don't mind as long as a nice highrise replaces it. I just don't want to see a repeat of that scandalous demolition of the Old Mercantile Exchange building only to see future plans on the site scrapped. Shitty planning, if you ask me...

This is pointless demolition. As victor mentoned, it was originally intergrated with the Dr. Scholls building, by putting the tower on the parking lot behind the current building. The elevator core was placed into the north light court formed by the X-shaped floor plate. The Dr. Scholls building's set backs were converted into solariums. Now that the tower is moved up to Oak Street, townhomes will be placed on the back parking lot. What a waste. This was a great bueax-arts building in immaculate shape, with a unique X-shape floorplan that is very rare in Chicago. This building should have been saved. Thanks alot you self-indulgent NIMBYS, and on another note, will moving the tower footprint 40 feet south make that much of a difference? You will still see the tower, and it will still cast a shadow on your rooftop deck from about 3pm to dusk.

Ambled by the increasingly diminished Scholl building (2-21-05).

This is from the west looking at the north side of the building where the rubble is being trucked out.

http://images.snapfish.com/342%3C269923232%7Ffp46%3Dot%3E2339%3D%3A9%3A%3D%3A28%3DXROQDF%3E232377%3B%3B68235ot1lsi

This is looking north across Oak.

http://images.snapfish.com/342%3C269923232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2339%3D%3A9%3A%3D%3A28%3DXROQDF%3E232377%3B%3B68237ot1lsi

According to 30westoak.com, construction on the building is officially underway. Although, emporis still has it's status as just "approved."

^Awesome! I'm sure our buddies at Emporis will uncover the truth..

No need to wait for Emporis :) I went over there today to check out the situation for myself and, sure enough, construction is officially under way :) I'm very excited about this project's design - I think it represents a great fusion of modernist principals with contemporary shape.

Scaffolding has already been erected with signage around the site.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/geoff_diamond/Chicago%20-%20Construction/30woak_05210502.jpg

Some remnants of the factory's slab remain. Not quite sure why this is still on the site?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/geoff_diamond/Chicago%20-%20Construction/30woak_05210501.jpg

Have they started work on the foundation? It doesn't look like they've done anything but demo and site prep. . .

This baby has promise:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/wjcordier/30WOak2005-11-12-02.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/wjcordier/30WOak2005-11-12-03.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/wjcordier/30WOak2005-11-12-01.jpg

Damn. I must say, I'm grateful that you went out and took all these shots. Otherwise I'd be clueless as to how construction was going.

The back end looks rather craptastic. The front (south) is going to be amazing though.

Oh no.. they are tearing down Dr. Scholl's!?! Do developers have hearts?


No they dont, they scholls ?spelling school moved up to north chicago (no not the northside of chicago, but NORTH CHICAGO, the "city") and is now combined with the chicago medical school in a retarded move the whole thing is now called the rosalyn franklin institute.

Pretty stupid, that was the chic who has the xray crystallography that helped watson and crick discover dna, she wouldnt collaborate with watson as he was a young kid and she thought he was full of shit, so now we have celebrated some technician who didnt have the foresight to collaborate with watson and crick, it was her own fault. Thanks CMS, I went to chicago med school, I too think its sad that this building was torn down, developers would tear down the art institute if they could! They dont have hearts, they are greedy bastards.
The new building does look alright however. But yeah there are alot of other places they couldve put this, parking lots, extant fast food retaurant locations, crappy one story brick commercial spaces, etc, etc, etc,

That scholls building was nice and will surely be missed!

http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/7734/oak16fk.jpg
http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/5809/oak25qm.jpg
http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/7172/oak31ig.jpg
http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/9711/oak44xj.jpg
http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/7496/oak59ag.jpg

I like it--what was previously on the lot?

http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/5809/oak25qm.jpg


^What's that?

Townhouses I believe.

Let me rephrase - I'm all about vertical diversity, but, this is just rediculous. The building's footprint is far too large given its height. This isn't a regular three-flat or six flat that belongs in the urban landscape; rather, it's the size of a damn suburban Blockbuster. And none of you can dare tell me that if they were trying to toss a stand-alone Blockbuster on the site you'd be okay with it.

...taken on Christmas Day.

I like this view looking south from the corner of State and Division:

http://images.snapfish.com/345949675%7Ffp335%3Enu%3D3248%3E9%3A9%3E937%3EWSNRCG%3D323342%3C49644%3Cnu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/345949675%7Ffp338%3Enu%3D3248%3E9%3A9%3E937%3EWSNRCG%3D323342%3C496454nu0mrj

Looking south-southeast from Maple:

http://images.snapfish.com/345949675%7Ffp337%3Enu%3D3248%3E9%3A9%3E937%3EWSNRCG%3D323342%3C496456nu0mrj

From the south:

http://images.snapfish.com/345949675%7Ffp336%3Enu%3D3248%3E9%3A9%3E937%3EWSNRCG%3D323342%3C496458nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/345949675%7Ffp338%3Enu%3D3248%3E9%3A9%3E937%3EWSNRCG%3D323342%3C49645%3Anu0mrj

Its hard to look at this building without mourning the loss of the old Scholl's building. That was a really solid building -- great massing, etc.

On another note, does anyone know anything about Ogden Elementary School there? Is that a good school? Good reputation? One would think, given the area, it might be decent.

From the 'cock.
http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/9606/30oak018ki.jpg

Yeah, the front of this building is really going to be spectacular.

Luckily I live south of it and will never have to see its ass-end :)

Taken today, in a hurry. The glass is looking good.

http://img317.imageshack.us/img317/3682/30westoak0xl.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/6746/30westoak21nr.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The tail doesn't look too bad. Your basic PoMo flat concrete facade made into a geometrical grid with concrete-scoring. But I do like the front a lot more. :cool:

It can't be said enough; that glass is awesome.

^ haha. agreed. Here is a picture I took a few weeks ago:

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/3184/img95034rh.jpg

I truly love this building, but the feeling will always be bittersweet considering what it replaced...

I only hope that some of those gorgeous 19th century mansions in that area don't get demolished. There are plenty of parking lots for more highrises

I can't get over the transparency of this building. How the hell they ever met the energy code is beyond me! No oil-canning either (at least in the pics)... high-quality stuff at 30 West :)

This really didn't look that impressive from the renderings. But in real life, its really quite nice.

Taken today

http://img334.imageshack.us/img334/4291/30westoaknew4gl.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/3348/30westoaknew29jz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

wow, that glass is looking very good. I take it this building is topped out right?

5-6-06

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9276/10wl2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9826/29om1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Just wondering if anybody has any updated pictures of this building?

Not much update to it. I was just over there last night and it looks pretty much the same as it did last month because they've switched gears into "interior mode."

Taken yesterday by Pherek on SSP (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showpost.php?p=2207646&postcount=1701)

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/8346/200607260899gq4.jpg

^^
Wow, almost complete, you can clearly see it....in and out! :)

I think the curtainwall should have continued to the very edges of the balconies on the southern facade of the building. I think this one's going to be one of those buildings that sort of looks perpetually unfinished.

September 6, 2006

30 West Oak
http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/3108/p9060080bz7.jpg

Does anybody on here own one of these yet? building looks good

I think the curtainwall should have continued to the very edges of the balconies on the southern facade of the building. I think this one's going to be one of those buildings that sort of looks perpetually unfinished.


Agreed^^ Or if they didn't want to continue the curtain wall at least paint the exposed concrete supports on the balconies to the same color gray as the metal in between floors, from far away it does not look bad then you get close and the concrete circlular supports disrupt the visual flow of the glass curtainwall not in a "modern way" but a completely negative one.

Yup. Definately some strange finishing decisions made on this one.

Yeah, 30 W. Oak is a head-scratcher. It's nice to have some glass in that area, but (a) I don't like the unfinished look and (b) only the southern facade looks good; the northern facade is pretty brutal.

May 1, 2007

http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/9096/dsc00842copytf9.jpg

Clean. Timeless.

On another note, does anyone know anything about Ogden Elementary School there? Is that a good school? Good reputation? One would think, given the area, it might be decent.

Way late, but I actually went to Ogden for 6th through 8th grades back in the early 90s. It had one of only 2 (maybe 3?) grammar school International Baccalaureate programs in the public school system. Using the CTA to get from Bridgeport to Oak Street every day when you're 12? Priceless.

July 20, 2007

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/2125/dsc0133copyic0.jpg