The Trump International Hotel & Tower is a 92-story luxury hotel/condo building that stands prominently along the Chicago River. Located at 401 N. Wabash Ave., it consists of 2.6 million sq ft and reaches 1,131 ft into the Chicago skyline (1,362 ft including the spire) making it the tallest building in Chicago since the Sears Tower, the tallest residential building in North America, and one of the tallest reinforced concrete buildings in the world. Slide Show Photo: COURTESY OF MCSHANE-FLEMING STUDIOS Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The building encompasses 286 hotel suites, an 87,000-sq-ft spa facility that

This $155-million project is the first of three phases for the new Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The project included master planning, design and construction of a 469,000-sq-ft East Tower, an interdisciplinary research facility, at the center of the UW-Madison health sciences campus. The new seven-story tower houses the UW Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center. The building enhances connectivity between the UW Hospital and Clinics and the Health Sciences Learning Center and serves as a catalyst for interdisciplinary and translational medicine. The new facility allows scientists and clinicians

The Chicago Dept. of Transportation’s Wabash Avenue Underbridge Connection and Riverwalk project built the longest stretch of Chicago Riverwalk to date. The $9.5-million project consists of rehabilitation of the existing river wall and pedestrian walk, as well as new construction along the south bank of the Chicago River from State Street Bridge, under Wabash Avenue Bridge, and extending toward Michigan Avenue. Photo courtesy Rausch Construction Co. Inc. Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Work began with demolition of existing landscaping, sidewalks, sheet pile caps, granite pavers, and lighting. Key Players Owner: Chicago Department of Transportation General Contractor: Rausch

Recognizing a need for fine arts resources in the Naperville, Ill., area, North Central College commissioned a 57,000-sq-ft performing arts center. This new $25.8- million center contains a 605-seat, acoustically sensitive concert hall, a 2,500-sq-ft black box theater, music rehearsal rooms, classrooms, and offices. A 1,400-sq-ft art gallery, the first facility of its kind in the Naperville area, houses student works and traveling exhibits. The grand foyer serves as a campus social center. Photo: © SAVAGE PRODUCTIONS, INC. Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Located on a site that bridges the campus and downtown, the center’s form and

This $10.5-million project is a new 80,000-sq-ft Whole Foods flagship store at 1550 N. Kingsbury St., near Halsted Street and North and Clybourn avenues in Chicago. It is the largest ground-up Whole Foods in the Midwest and the third largest Whole Foods in the world. It features multiple stands named creatively after Chicago areas. The store includes seafood, cheese, deli stations, an espresso bar, wine cellar, a demonstration stage, and a bakery. Photo courtesy Novak Construction Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Whole Foods drove the innovation of this project. Almost everything in the store was custom made,

Creating a new standard for urban hotels, theWit, located at the historic intersection of State and Lake streets in downtown Chicago, is a groundbreaking achievement. Like the powerful yellow lightning bolt on the front façade of the property, innovation strikes at every turn at theWit. PHOTO COURTESY OF theWIT Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The $62-million high-rise construction project took place on a very narrow lot. The design called for extra-thick concrete slabs and shear walls were located to keep the interior of the building as open as possible in order to maximize event space. The building

This multi-purpose arena in Toledo, Ohio, will be home for hockey, arena football, select basketball tournaments and various concert/special events. The 270,000-sq-ft arena has 8,500 fixed seats, 20 suites in the club seating level, and is expected to be one of the nation’s first LEED-certified sports arena. Photo: © Fentress Photography Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Built on a brownfield site, the new arena shows the county’s commitment to revitalizing Toledo’s Warehouse District. Overall, the new arena, which is seeking LEED Silver certification, provides 39.2% fossil fuel use reduction and 28.3% energy cost savings. The arena’s signature

The Milwaukee City Hall Exterior Restoration was a complex $65.9-million project of dismantling and reassembling a National Historic Landmark. The building’s exterior envelope – brick, terra cotta, stone, copper, and slate – had all been severely compromised by Milwaukee’s harsh climate and the lack of regular and appropriate maintenance for more than a century. The challenge was to discover how and where water had worked its way into the building, the long-term damage to the surface and structure over time, and what measures needed to be taken to effectively stabilize the structure and re-create the precise look and feel of

The $7.2-million new Montgomery Village Hall is a 22,000-sq-ft facility set into a sloping site overlooking the Fox River. The village’s board of trustees selected the location to demonstrate the village’s commitment to the development of a new village center. Photo: © BRIAN FRITZ PHOTOGRAPHY Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards The site is designed to foster community gatherings and activities such as the annual Montgomeryfest. The building’s exterior design reflects the community’s riverfront location and history. The stone arches of its facade reflect the community’s heritage by recalling the old bridges spanning the river. Key Players Owner:

Muchin College Prep, a campus of the Noble Network of Charter Schools, is the first high school in Chicago’s Loop and also the Midwest’s first high school in a high-rise. Photo: © HEDRICH-BLESSING Related Links: Midwest Constructions Best of 2009 Awards Muchin College Prep, a campus of the Noble Network of Charter Schools, is the first high school in Chicago’s Loop and also the Midwest’s first high school in a high-rise. Key Players Owner: Noble Network of Charter Schools, Chicago General Contractor: Bulley & Andrews LLC, Chicago Design Firm: Wheeler Kearns Architects, Chicago Located on the seventh floor of the