Burnham’s Blog

Many municipalities limit construction or street closures during November and December to promote full access to retail stores, restaurants, and other businesses by the public. Depending on the location and type of work, your construction team may need to be prepared for schedule changes as a result of limits on construction activity, building permit approvals, or street closures during the upcoming holiday season.

Below, we’ve collected information from our main offices on 2018’s upcoming holiday moratoriums so you and your team can best prepare for any schedule changes.

The new Illinois Accessibility Code (IAC) was accepted at the October 16th, 2018 Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and as of October 23rd, 2018, the changes are now in effect. The Capital Development Board (CDB) will be releasing a searchable, user-friendly version of the Code in the future, but the new rules are available for review via the State of Illinois website at this time. 

On October 13th and 14th, the Chicago Architecture Center (formerly the Chicago Architecture Foundation) hosted its eighth annual Open House Chicago and hundreds of notable buildings opened their doors to attendees. Part of network of worldwide events, Open House Chicago (OHC) continues to expands its offerings to include new buildings, businesses, sacred spaces, and more throughout the city of Chicago and near suburbs.

Burnham’s team members toured many of the buildings in this year’s event and we’d like to showcase some of the places we explored below, as well as some of the significant sites from Open House Chicago’s largest year yet. 

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) published proposed changes to the dust-lead hazard standards for floors and window sills on July 2, 2018. After many years of delay and a court order, the Agency finally proposed stricter standards that apply to most housing and child-occupied facilities constructed before 1978. However, EPA decided not to propose a change to the definition of lead-based paint despite calls for an update in light of current scientific data. Once adopted, the standards must be followed by those working on pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities.

Wolf Point South, the third and final phase of Chicago’s riverfront mega-development designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, is beginning its search for anchor tenants. Unlike the completed Wolf Point West and rising Wolf Point South, the south tower is the only mixed use building and is slated to include office space, hotel rooms, and residential units. The tower’s proposed height is 950 ft with 70 above-ground floors, though height and other design adjustments may be made before approval. The City of Chicago is seeking tenants for the final tower and is in talks with Salesforce over space in Wolf Point South - and as a result, has proposed a new ordinance modifying Chicago’s current high-rise signage rules.