Are you a developer contemplating the conversion of a 20 to 90+ story commercial office high-rise building into residential rental or condo units? Check out our comprehensive guide below to get started. The Changing Landscape of the Workplace  In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with employers embracing permanent 'work from home' arrangements, the landscape of the modern workplace has undergone a monumental shift. This transformation has left commercial office buildings with high vacancy rates, posing financial challenges for both property owners and lenders. To address this, commercial ..read more

How to EASILY AVOID making ZONING MISTAKES in Chicago? It starts with CHECKing THE ALLOWED ZONING OCCUPANCY BEFORE YOU LEASE OR BUY any Retail, BUSINESS or mixed-use/commercial REAL ESTATE. Finding the perfect retail space for your business in Chicago can be an exciting time. In order to ensure a smooth transition, it’s crucial to be aware of the complexities involved when making any changes to a site’s occupancy or zoning. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of assuming that they can move right into an empty ‘vanilla box’ space without considering the necessary permits and compliance requirem ..read more

SO YOU WANT TO PURCHASE A FRAME BUILDING? As a Chicago-based architecture firm, we often receive renovation requests from first-time homebuyers or new developers, eager to transform their dream home or investment property into a reality. Even though it is exciting, it’s critical for home owners to be aware of the many building code requirements mandated by the city. In order to ensure a smooth construction timeline, these requirements should be addressed early on in the process, especially when it comes to renovating frame buildings. While purchasing a frame building may seem like a great inve ..read more

For small to large construction projects in Chicago — whether you're building a new structure or renovating an existing one, it's important to be aware of these 4 key considerations during the pre-construction phase: PROJECT CONCEPTION + RESEARCH DESIGN + PLANNING PROJECT PLANNING + CONTRACTOR DISCUSSIONS PROCUREMENT OF BUILDING PERMITS   After hiring an architect, the pre-construction process includes: Project conception & RESEARCH Project conceptualization is the first step in the pre-construction design process. This is where initial ideas for the project are explored an ..read more

It starts with building the right team If your goal is to scale your real estate portfolio and maximize the potential of your investment projects, you’ll need to prepare for what that growth requires. Adding more properties to your portfolio also means more to manage on a day to day basis, and as your investments grow your team naturally will, too. As the demands of your real estate portfolio increase, consider the following list of key team members to ensure you can successfully scale and handle the growth. Every successful real estate investor needs an investor-friendly realtor, a market sav ..read more

Building framing is an essential step in both new construction and renovations. When done correctly it can increase the building’s structural longevity. When done incorrectly, however, it can lead to serious and expensive repairs. Here's a look at four common issues to avoid when it comes to building framing.  4 COMMON CONSTRUCTION FRAMING ISSUES THE SHEATHING IS NOT SUPPORTED CORRECTLY In general terms, the purpose of sheathing is to protect the floor, ceiling, roof, and wall framing and covers the entire building's framework, giving it a solid shape. It can be structural or non structu ..read more

Looking to change the appearance of your existing brick home? You should consider staining the brick instead of painting it. The most important reason being that brick is a porous material that absorbs moisture when wet. Over time, that moisture evaporates naturally from the surface of the brick and its mortar joints. Paint interferes with this process, coating the masonry and trapping water in the wall. If the paint you use is not breathable there’s no way for the moisture to exit, which eventually causes your brick to deteriorate and flake apart (“spalling”). This issue is exacerbated by fre ..read more

BLDG PROJECTS is proud to announce our collaboration blog series about the many types of masonry materials available on the market with Patti Swanson from Bricks Incorporated, one of our favorite suppliers.  A Chicago Common Brick is a rougher, less pristine brick found on buildings' sides and backs. Clay from the Chicago River was used to make them, and when they were fired, they turned a variety of colors, including salmon pink, buff-yellow, black, and deep orange. The unpredictable color variety in each batch made them undesirable and very cheap to build with back in the day, but today ..read more

Starting a new construction project is a massive undertaking, and there are a lot of things to consider — and individuals to consult, before you even start the process. It’s important to know who’s involved in your project and understanding their contributions. We’ve highlighted the team involved in the pre-construction process and defined their roles, so you can better understand their objectives. To start, your architect is at the forefront of the project. They are the key organizers that communicate to you (the client!) how to move forward, and who needs to be on the construction team start ..read more

A Certificate of Occupancy is a document certifying that a building meets the building-code requirements. If you're doing construction on a multifamily building and preparing to sell it, you should be getting a certificate of occupancy so that your future buyer knows that this is a certified renovation of a multifamily building. In Chicago, a Certificate of Occupancy is required for certain buildings, including: Residential buildings with 4 or more units Non-residential buildings over 10,000 square feet Schools Large theaters or concert halls Bars exceeding 100 occupancy Single-fa ..read more