CHICAGO | BMO Tower | 727 FT | 50 FLOORS

[akbussey]

From the first day to today

[harryc]

Oct 19



Nice Neighbor !

[Skyguy_7]

This will have a huge impact to the feel of the area, especially for Post Office people when they exit their shiny "new" building onto Van Buren, looking west.

11/5/19


From the Sears Tower

[chicubs111]

such a sizeable plot of land that def could handle a much larger building...I wish the taller "cheese grater" design was selected for this property

[ThirdCoaster]

Originally Posted by chicubs111

such a sizeable plot of land that def could handle a much larger building...I wish the taller "cheese grater" design was selected for this property

I had almost forgotten about that design. Such a huge missed opportunity to do something unique.

And I agree on the size. This location will be in-demand for *literally* centuries. Chicago and the metro area will only keep growing in size and this spot is accessible to roughly 9 million people via a ~90 minute (max) commute. This could have been a 1,200 footer easily.

[ardecila]

bye felicia

[dan ryan]

The cheese grader looks too good to just go in the bin. Would love to see it somewhere else.

[chicubs111]

Just a refresher for those who don't remember it...

[bnk]

Back to the real plan. Look how close it is to the Old PO.

That area is just going to boom. So you can live close and in the burbs at both places and walk to work DT in this area as a breeze.

http://unionstationtower.com/location/

Union Station Tower is located at the nexus of Chicago transportation with direct pedway access to Union Station, the Midwest’s largest train station. With convenient access to multiple forms of local and regional commuting including Metra [ ogilvie transportation too ], the CTA light rail and bus, Amtrak, interstate highway systems and several Divvy bike share stations.

In the heart of the West Loop, the Union Station Tower development will feature the largest park in the neighborhood with year-round programming providing energy and excitement. The immediate area offers an abundance of retail and residences to create a community destination.

COMMUTER RAIL

100% Transit Score by Walkscore.com
90% of Chicago Commuter Rail within 3 Blocks
Direct Pedway Connection to Union Station



http://unionstationtower.com/

[PittsburghPA]

The Cheese Grater is obviously awesome and I'm sure this tower will turn out great. The problem I have is that Goettsch basically recycled their design from 110 N Wacker (don't care which came first). They are both great buildings but I would like to see a little more creativity in design when it comes to two of the tallest office towers constructed in the past ~30 years.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by ThirdCoaster

I had almost forgotten about that design. Such a huge missed opportunity to do something unique.

And I agree on the size. This location will be in-demand for *literally* centuries. Chicago and the metro area will only keep growing in size and this spot is accessible to roughly 9 million people via a ~90 minute (max) commute. This could have been a 1,200 footer easily.

I agree and the great plains could handle a giant buldge in the crust of the earth that enters into low earth orbit and houses all of humanity. Why haven't they built it yet???!?!?

[bnk]

Originally Posted by BuildThemTaller

I love parking garages getting ripped down. Almost as much as I love surface parking lots get ripped up.

From the looks of it I don't see the old ball and chain type tear downs.

Are we done with that approach with these larger hydraulic excavators and their vibrating attachments?

I mean the good old steel wrecking ball, not the ex wife.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrecking_ball

Ok EDIT I remember them in my younger year


But could be controlled charged be cheaper and faster?

Or is the parking lot too small to do it that route.

Interestingly this demo ocean tower from south padre island texas.

This pre built ocean tower built on a poor sandy foundation and sinking in the sand that was a 77 million dollar mistake.


Long but interesting if you want to see how a building takes one down in one shot. And I'm sure everyone here has seen several examples of it.

It was a solid concrete building in a tight location but the only reason it had to come down was because of its poor foundation. Its a heavy core concrete building intended to withstand a level 5 hurricane. It was the engineers that failed in this one.


Watch only if you are interested. Did not mean to turn off the topic of this thread.


• Video Link

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by bnk

From the looks of it I don't see the old ball and chain type tear downs.

Are we done with that approach with these larger hydraulic excavators and their vibrating attachments?

I mean the good old steel wrecking ball

Come on out to Oak Brook. I need a new image host and I haven't been taking pictures. But the old McD's corp headquarters is being smashed to bits with a genuine wrecking ball.

[Skyguy_7]

^^ One reason for the use of hydraulic jackhammers and megadeath claws could be the fact that parking garages are heavily reinforced and thus require lots of precision demo and cutting/slicing.

The good old wrecking ball is ideal for brick or cinder block structures that can collapse inward when applying a lateral force.

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by chicubs111

Just a refresher for those who don't remember it...

They traded away the opportunity for an iconic structure for an essential ripoff of a building a few blocks away. Anyone know why they didn't go this design? Cost?

[Ned.B]

Originally Posted by HomrQT

They traded away the opportunity for an iconic structure for an essential ripoff of a building a few blocks away. Anyone know why they didn't go this design? Cost?

That other tower design came with a different developer. Specifically it was designed for Sterling Bay. Sterling Bay was not selected as the master developer. I'm actually not sure how this proposal relates to what SB actually submitted as this was publicly released in September 2016, several months before the actual proposals were due. But more importantly, this was not a design competition, this was about making money for Amtrak. Clearly for one reason or another Riverside had the better proposal.

Also, even if Sterling Bay had been chosen, I doubt this concept would have made it fully to fruition. The footprint of this building would have been way bigger than what ended up being feasible. It was originally assumed that the bus station could be rearranged or that the air rights could be developed. Neither of these proved possible or acceptable for CDOT. And the park that fills over 50% of the rest of the site was Alderman required.

[Zapatan]

It would have been a nice 1000+ footer but even at 700+ it still starts the process of spreading the skyline Westward. It's a nice looking building too, simple, but nice

[tdawg]

stunning.

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Ned.B

It was originally assumed that the bus station could be rearranged or that the air rights could be developed. Neither of these proved possible or acceptable for CDOT. And the park that fills over 50% of the rest of the site was Alderman required.

We don't know that the bus station will never get developed - but it was paid for with Federal money, and the Feds don't take too kindly when you tear down brand new facilities just a few years after they open. They might ask for their money back, as they did for the 63rd St branch of the Green Line in 1997 when the city decided to tear that down*.

As always, the problem is the dysfunctional relationship between agencies - in this case, CDOT and Amtrak. CDOT could have held off on the bus terminal if they were sure Amtrak was going to redevelop the garage, but Amtrak has failed to fish or cut bait on Union Station development for literally decades, so I don't blame CDOT for grabbing the Federal money while it could and building the bus terminal as a capstone for the Loop Link bus lanes project. It's actually a pretty elegant facility and way better than a parking lot or more underused park/plaza space.

As Mr. D speculated awhile back, the bus terminal site is plenty of space for a second tower that could include an enclosed bus terminal in its base. Maybe in the next development cycle, or the one after that, once the terminal has passed the 12 or 15 year mark. It's probably good to let this area grow over time, instead of putting up as many blue-glass towers as possible, all at once...


* = CTA ended up cutting a deal to reuse the Federally-funded steel somewhere else in the city, but they never did and it still sits rusting in a yard.

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by Ned.B

That other tower design came with a different developer. Specifically it was designed for Sterling Bay. Sterling Bay was not selected as the master developer. I'm actually not sure how this proposal relates to what SB actually submitted as this was publicly released in September 2016, several months before the actual proposals were due. But more importantly, this was not a design competition, this was about making money for Amtrak. Clearly for one reason or another Riverside had the better proposal.

Also, even if Sterling Bay had been chosen, I doubt this concept would have made it fully to fruition. The footprint of this building would have been way bigger than what ended up being feasible. It was originally assumed that the bus station could be rearranged or that the air rights could be developed. Neither of these proved possible or acceptable for CDOT. And the park that fills over 50% of the rest of the site was Alderman required.

Thanks for the clarification.