Shortlister

DON DeBAT

One-bedroom condos begin at $169,800, while three-bedroom City Homes start at $269,800 and four-bedroom Row Homes are priced from $439,800. “The Row Homes might command a price of $1 million or more on the North Side,” Davis said.

Not long after work began on the Halsted Street bridge in late 2010, Mark Boyer pointed Curbed readers to this rendering of one the bridge’s 34-foot-wide pedestrian tunnels, which would help extend the Riverwalk into the North Branch Canal. According to The Architect’s Newspaper, these tunnels will be closed upon completion, and will open only after the city has landscaped the riverfront north of the bridge.

In November, the Chicago Plan Commission approved a new “Halsted Triangle Plan” that “presents a dozen objectives to guide growth within the 16-block, triangle-shaped area bounded by Halsted Street, North Avenue and the Chicago River’s North Branch Canal,” home to approximately 1 million square feet of industrial space, 1.3 million square feet of commercial space, and 1,040 homes, says a city news release that finally hit news feeds this morning.

Among those objectives is the construction of a continuous walkway along the canal from North Avenue to Division Street.

From the release:

The plan’s objectives will reinforce their combined role as a buffer between the predominately residential uses to the east and north and the largely industrial uses to the west and south. To promote compatibility and quality-of-life enhancements within the study area, the plan targets several pedestrian-oriented improvements along local streets and the North Branch Canal. It also identifies key transit upgrades and presents design guidelines to ensure new buildings conform to the size and scale of existing structures.

Along with the riverwalk extension, the plan’s priorities include the development of new public transportation connections at Division and Orleans streets (a Brown Line station at last?), widened sidewalks along North, Halsted, and Clybourn, the development of public plazas on oddly shaped and hard-to-develop parcels, improved parking along Kingsbury and other streets, improved pedestrian access to the North / Clybourn Red Line stop, and new traffic signals at the North / Fremont and Halsted / Eastman intersections.

Construction projects are being done constantly. On nearly every trip you will see some kind of construction job being worked on. We are continually being surrounded by them and they can even be a little annoying as they sometimes cause us to find alternate routes to and from work or home. Nevertheless, the projects usually are worth the hassle as beautifully designed buildings and other projects are built.

Construction projects

Construction projects can most often be fit into three main categories: new structures, remodels and add-ons. New structures are built for a number of reasons by a number of people. Businesses build office buildings, industrial plants, warehouses and factories when existing structures are not sufficient for their needs. Individuals and families oftentimes build new homes as a means to provide for their relatives; expanding for the growing needs of their family or tastes; because they either they didn’t locate a home that they enjoyed, or it was too expensive or that was in the area they needed or desired to move into; or they do so hoping that the home will go up in value and therefore be a good investment.

Sometimes existing structures can be made to fill the needs of businesses, families and individuals with a few changes. These changes come in the form of remodeling or adding on. Remodeling will give your home or business that new look that it needs. These minor changes however usually change the atmosphere of whatever is being built dramatically.

Something very similar is taking what you already have and adding on to it. By doing so little remodeling is usually done with the structure that already exists. Most often, one wall may be taken down in order to connect it with the new add on. This can be the best way to give your home more space.

Contracting opportunities

With so many construction projects going on, there becomes a rise for contracting opportunities. Building opportunities are a must find for contractors. There is a large need for contractors today as many of the older homes are being remodeled and people are beginning to add on to their homes to allow for more space and room to grow.

Construction bids

The best way to find the construction job that your company wants is by finding the largest amount of opportunities to place construction bids. By doing so, you will be able to make the best use out of your time and find the best jobs that will give you the most revenue possible for each project you undertake. Construction leads therefore are one the most important and best ways to find the best projects to bid on.

Conclusion

As I said before, the most valuable resources that a contractor can have are construction leads. You will be able to maximize your time and maximize your profit by locating valuable construction leads. It’s the best way to help you generate more sales when bidding on construction projects.