Wow! if only the construction costs weren't so high for a 1000 foot office tower

Its more than likely on the other side facing the expressway

IMO anything under ~1,100 ft is going to look short in this neighborhood due to the proximity of Sears/Willis, so it's not a bad idea for the developer to just stick with 715 ft and save some money. Look at the 1,007 ft Franklin Center and the 961 ft 311 South Wacker, which are Chicago's 6th and 8th tallest skyscrapers. Being right next to Sears/Willis, both look pitifully short.

I'm digging that fake supertall. Great job Goettsch ;)

I have to respectfully disagree with that. Those two buildings provide good visual support to the much taller Sears in my opinion.

http://www.sherilynjashley.com/wp-co...-Tower-101.png

I never got into the architecture industry so I make up for it with half-assed photoshops. :cheers:

Of course, they make Sears/Willis look great, but they themselves pale in comparison. I assume that most developers would want their own buildings to look good, not someone else's.

I think if they had better designs they would stand out. To be honest they just aren't good looking towers. The Chrysler Building is a similar height. Put it in place of 311 S Wacker and I'm confident it would stand out.

The lobby looks absolutely beautiful and refined. The top... looks a bit boring.

Imo this is becoming a trend here. Really fascinating lobbies but meh towers above.

I feel like the city has returned halfway to its Chicago School of Architecture fundamentals. Elaborate bases. Check. Vertical blocks. Check. If architects could only add some more flair to the crowns, we'll have come full circle.

On the one hand, I'm glad of the trend. Great architecture should be about more than just building tall spires and giant Matisse sculptures. The world has forgotten that to some degree, I think.

But on the other hand, local Chicago architecture hasn't pushed the boundaries in the opposite direction. There are fantastic lobbies coming online. Now, they need to focus on improving the design and even function of the topmost levels.

^To your point, on this particular tower, the W action on the lower levels would look great if continued at the top few floors, as a crown.

Totally agree.

I cant wait for this tower to commence, going to have such a presence from the south and west

I agree. Sears/Willis looks so lonely in the skyline from the SW vantage point. It needs some "friends" to surround it to keep it company

this building will help a bit with that, but sears will still be more than twice as tall, so its "sore thumb" quality from the SW perspective will still be quite prominent.

i mean, 311 S wacker is roughly 250' taller than the proposed height of BMO, and sears still utterly dwarfs and dominates 311.

https://today.uic.edu/files/2016/10/MG_7273.jpg
source: https://today.uic.edu/lecture-series...ampus/_mg_7273

^In addition to the bulkiness of the building itself, the antennae are also pretty big (fatter than the spires of, for example, Trump International and Two Prudential), so Sears/Willis looks more like ~1700 ft than 1451 ft. Its "lonely" and "sore thumb" qualities seen from the southwest will continue for a very long time.

Sorry for the delayed response, topic just came up in conversation this week! The contractor has been selected (Clark Construction) and key trade packages have been awarded. We will see construction commence on this in Q4 of this year.

Nice, thanks for updating.

Riverside picking Clark for a Goettsch-designed building? This is shocking news! ;)

I think once 601W starts developing some of the land they have been scooping up around the Old Post Office it should thicken the skyline from the SW. Cant wait until that starts happening, it looks very deserted now with all of the low rise warehouse type buildings.