UPDATED July 24th

Our engineer with the firm WJE advised they’ve completed all the drops on the exterior, and will be issuing us a final report within the next couple weeks. The crew ushering them up and down will be demobilizing their equipment on Monday (weather permitting).

They continued some very minor spot repairs, but gave us a verbal condition that overall the sealants remain in good shape. There were a handful of locations where repairs were made on the spot, to address some small holes or sealant separation, but on the whole they said their review was positive.

What’s with the ropes banging?

Occasionally, as a swing stage team is relocating equipment and has to move their location, ropes are lifted and moved from one spot to another. This process can be noisy at times, because you can’t always have someone holding the rope at the ground floor. Also, wind around the tower can be unpredictable from moment to moment. We did have one event where a rope got loose and seemed to have a mind of its own in the wind, which took some time to address. But from day to day as they moved around, here the ropes rap on the windows did not necessarily mean they weren’t under control.

Only one more day of that is expected as they plan to pull things up for the last time on Monday.

UPDATED July 17th

The Exterior Sealant Inspection and Repair Effort is Underway

It got underway last week, though they were only able to complete a few drops due to the weather. This week, they’ve been at it, even in the smokey conditions.

Earlier last week, high winds delayed the start from Tuesday to Wednesday. They also experienced an electrical issue limiting their efforts. That was resolved so they could move at the planned pace.

So far they report they’ve only identified a few minor sealant deficiencies, which were repaired while they were on-site. They did not observe any obvious conditions that would result in water infiltration, or any major deterioration. As they continue to survey the exterior, they will continue to keep track of any areas that require minor repairs and of course any more significant areas of concern.

ORIGINAL POST June 25th

Including Review Of Curtain Wall Metal And Spot Repairs As Needed

Weather permitting, we will be performing a routine professional inspection of 100% of Park Tower’s exterior curtain wall and window sealants beginning Monday July 6^th. We expect work to take within 3 to 4 weeks to complete with cooperative weather and no surp.

As budgeted for this year, and approved by the PTCA Board of Directors at the June 8th, 2026 Board Meeting, the Association’s architectural/engineering team with Wiss Janney Elstner, Inc. are expected to complete an exterior inspection of 100% of the windows, frames and sealants. This will be accomplished via swing stage and operators with the contractor Riggio Boron, LTD. They will drop from the roof each weekday between 9am and 5pm (weather permitting) to inspect and make spot repairs. Scaffolding will be placed below for protection where required. The purpose of this inspection is to evaluate the condition and health of the metal and window sealants, file a critical examination report with the City Of Chicago, and conduct real time repairs to any areas of concern.

Equipment will be moved up to the roof beginning Wednesday July 1^st, where crews will make preparations to install two swing stages. With cooperative weather, these stages will begin rigging on opposite sides of the building on Monday July 6^th – one at approximately the ’04 units and one at the ’11 units living room – and working their way from their each day counterclockwise. They will not be at particular units at particular times though – there may be several feet of overlap with neighboring units.  Altogether it is expected to take about 15 separate drops to circumnavigate the tower, and it is possible some of those drops will be made more than once depending on their progress and what they observe.

Each workday, inspections (or rigging to the next tier) will be conducted between 9am and 5pm. We expect a swing stage will make its way up with the inspection team each morning from the ground level to the roof, where work will begin from the 55th floor progressing downward. When tiers are completed, the next day will be for rigging up the next tier. Exact logistics may change from day to day depending on conditions and what needs to be accomplished.

At the very least, if you see ropes, you should expect workers outside your window that day or the next, at some point. They expect to go by most units fairly quickly, but if they find any issue to address, the may stop for a closer look and potentially conduct repairs.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while this very important work is completed. Feel free to share any questions with our team at parktowercondo-mgmt@habitat.com.