$25,000
Posted on 05/24/2019 3:56:03 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Chicago developer Sterling Bay is getting ready to start construction on 30 apartments, and the groundbreaking will be held in an unusual place: within the walls of a new factory on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
Workers in the South Lawndale plant next week will begin making modules that will be assembled this summer into 10 three-flat apartment buildings on vacant lots on Chicago’s Near West Side. They’ll frame out the structures and add drywall, plumbing, electrical, and even countertops and cabinets before pushing them onto trucks for delivery to the sites. If all goes according to plan, the first three-flat will be ready for occupancy in August.
The factory is an ambitious experiment in modular construction by Skender, a Chicago contractor, and Sterling Bay, one of the city’s biggest real estate developers. The two companies believe it will allow them to construct apartment buildings, hotels and health care facilities more quickly, efficiently and precisely than they can on a construction site.
Modular construction “is coming,” said Sterling Bay Principal Andy Gloor. “It’s advancing very quickly.”
He and Skender CEO Mark Skender are confident enough in the future of modular construction that they’ve invested in the 105,000-square-foot factory at 3348 S. Pulaski Road and are committed to hiring 150 people to work there. They’ve hired 30 so far and worked out a labor agreement with the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters.
The factory represents a further blurring of the line between the construction and manufacturing industries. Modular construction isn’t a new idea—homebuilders have used it for decades—but it’s moving closer into the mainstream as construction costs rise and manufacturing methods and technologies improve. Last month, Marriott International unveiled plans for a 26-story, $65 million modular hotel in New York.
Skender, a 64-year-old company, aims to be a pioneer in Chicago. The firm, which is based in the Fulton Market neighborhood, is building modular apartments for a proposed 77-unit affordable housing project in East Garfield Park. The contractor also is working on about a dozen other modular projects with different developers, Mark Skender said.
Modular construction is a good option for affordable housing because it should cost less than conventional on-site construction. Skender estimates modular is 5 to 20 percent less expensive and as much as 80 percent faster to build than on-site. The firm believes its three-flats will be ready for occupancy eight to 12 weeks after production begins in the factory.
A factory also offers a more controlled setting for workers, improving quality and precision, said Gary Perinar, executive secretary-treasurer of the Chicago carpenters council.
“Every day it’s basically 75 degrees and no wind,” he said. “Whenever you have ideal conditions in construction, you are going to have a better product in the end.”
Sterling Bay needs a fast and cost-effective way to build affordable housing, because the developer has committed to build a lot of it over the next several years. The Chicago City Council recently approved about $1.3 billion in public financing for Sterling Bay’s massive Lincoln Yards project on the North Side. In return, the developer agreed to build 600 affordable units within the development and another 300 off-site.
The first 10 modular three-flats, which would be built in the 27th Ward, will help Sterling Bay fulfill that requirement. Sterling Bay also plans a seven-story, 83-unit modular apartment building at 1100 W. Grand Ave. to meet its affordable housing agreement, a project expected to begin early next year.
In addition to being Skender’s customer, Sterling Bay is a minority investor in the modular factory. Gloor declined to disclose financing details about the partnership, as did a Skender spokesman.
Skender and Gloor have high expectations for the venture. Beyond housing, Skender sees opportunity in hotels and health care. Gloor is in the process of acquiring about 100 more lots on Chicago’s South and West sides for modular housing projects.
“I think it’s just the beginning,” he said.
The adventure begins next week, when production officially begins. New Mayor Lori Lightfoot may even stop by to witness it.
Since it’s Chicago, shouldn’t they be built out of concrete, have breech proof doors and security bars on the window openings?
Don’t forget the shotgun in the hall closet....Joe Biden approves that feature.
They have to build them inside a factory because it’s too dangerous to work outside in Chicongo.
Manufactured slums.
$25,000
Modular housing is nothing new... growing up my friend's parents built their vacation home from modular home home manufacturer.
Seems pretty smart to me, building on a lot of success with modular homes. Stack ‘em up!
They tried this about 15 years ago here in Maine for an affordable housing project. They came across many site related issues that made it difficult to fit modulars neatly into a three flater. They ended up converting to stick built on the project.
Garden shed.
“Don’t forget the shotgun in the hall closet....Joe Biden approves that feature.”
Joe Biden doesn’t even know which end of a shot gun is the “business end!”
So did Sears back in the 1910 and 20s...
Yup. Nothin new. Saw this back in the 08's off Bragg Blvd near Stage Coach Trail. Bragg Motel or some such.
The, uuhhhh, "clientele" were of "loose moral fiber and participated in very old professions. Not that I'd know anything about that. d;^)
For maximum efficiency, they should be building and delivering them with the occupants already inside...
All funded with tifs.
Back in the day, when the mob ran casinos in vegas, used to be called the skim.
Another crony rape of the general tax fund of Chicago.
Have you ever heard of Pulte Homes? They build them in a factory and ship them to site for erection. hell they even do the basement walls in a factory ( from concrete )..... These are not little shells. Some of these homes are 4000 sf luxury homes..... i did some automation work in one of their facilites... facinating
We have a Palm Harbor home, only $45,000 for 1,725 square feet.
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