thanks for the update!

good to hear that things are rolling along as scheduled.

and from everything we've been told thus far, salesforce is slated to start in Q1 2020, so we could see two major office tower starts within several months of each other.

Does Q4 of '19 mean the start of construction actual, or start of demo of the parking garage? Have they announced when the garage closes?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. A true banker's wet dream!

I'd expect demo by August/September as I see it, since Clark wouldn't be the demo team. If they are saying Q4 for construction then I'm gonna be an optimist here.

Excellent News!

Yes just like 150 riverside and 444w lake! except taller

Demo of garage supposed to start 10/1

There's a delicious Indian/Pakistani restaurant in this garage that has announced a move to Randolph street, so that bums me out. But at least we get a nice tower out of it, so it's not all bad.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that frequents Baba's Village. Where on Randolph are they moving? I really like their Chicken Biryani, but I digress ...

I believe 100 W Randolph was the new address. They have the announcement taped up on their wall.

I wonder if they'll have more customers farther north in the Loop than they would if they could capture some of the huge influx of employees due to move into the Old Post Office right next door ...

So Thompson Center? And if that gets torn down, they'll move again? :shrug::haha:

I think there's more residents near Thompson Center than Union Station, but I could be wrong. I hope it stays open somewhat late still on Friday's. I enjoy doing the occasional Friday afternoon/evening happy hour and then running over there for some take out.

It's probably been said before, but this building is going to stand out a lot in this area. I work within 2 blocks of the site, and everything surrounding it is 15-30 stories tall. In the greater context of Chicago it might not make for a big splash, but in this southwest Loop area, it'll stick out big time.

Definitely from this angle. It will be the western egde of the towers.

Can anyone plug in a drawing in that picture for an idea of how it will look, position/height.^

From that angle, I imagine it will be about the height of 330 LaSalle or 150 N and a very similar spot. Not super noticeable from there IMO.

^ The setback on Willis that is around the roof top height of the Franklin center is about ~850 ft and 111 s Wacker is ~680 so from this angle it will be between those two marks. (probably right in the middle)

There also isn't much visual noise from this angle, just a flat backdrop from Willis and some stone clad towers - the tower will be quite noticeable.

I don't know... I feel that it'll appear to be the same roof height, if not taller than the Franklin center from there due to being well in the foreground.

Edit: maybe not upon further inspection via google maps, I guess it'll be more West than South than my mental map had imagined, so proximity to the highway won't be as dramatic a difference as I thought

Parking garage demo scheduled to begin 1st or 2nd week of October. :cheers:

Has the website been posted?

http://unionstationtower.com/

Hadn't noticed previously, but it looks as though Riverside is leasing out the penthouse level as an office space.......I'd assumed this was just an elevator penthouse, as is typical in most/all of the other downtown Buck/Goettsch and Riverside/Goettsch office towers.....

Excited for this one! Will add some well deserved density to that corner of downtown

Well most office buildings for that matter. Apparently in this building the penthouse is extra tall and the mechanical space will actually start on the next floor up. Someone must have realized this could be a very unique space with an outdoor terrace and views across green roofs in both directions. This penthouse office also has one bay of two story high ceilings on the north end which should make it an especially signature space for some tenant.

This angle might be better for showing the tower's position from the west. It will be to the left of River Point (and 222 S Riverside) in this view, as it is just on the other side of Canal.

From my 3D model:

https://images2.imgbox.com/5f/e1/eG1VYTm2_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/73/ac/lDZPO0Sa_o.jpg

https://images2.imgbox.com/a4/18/IXGbyyyW_o.jpg

cool

that spot can easily swallow a tower like this

Thats going to fill in that area very well. Hopefully bringing some neighbors at that height.

Just saw the sign that Dunkin Donuts located there closes next month and came to check. Walking around over there this afternoon made me realize what a huge impact this building is going to have on the sw loop. Plus the OPO... going to be a big transformation.

^ Indeed. I am incredibly bullish on the SW Loop. Talk about incredible untapped potential. The fundamentals are as solid as they get.

My bet is that this is going to further turbocharge not only development in the immediate 2-3 block radius, but also extend south along the river and give a big shot in the arm to Southbank, Riverline, and, yes, the 78.

Amazing renderings there rgarri!!!

More good news ........


https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...oop-skyscraper

Good news for the new tower, but bad news for another old loop building, like the Art Deco gem BofA is moving out of. Sounds kind of Nimby of me, but I worry the beautiful Deco towers in the Loop that could fall into disrepair. It’s hard to imagine the effort it’ll take to lease 800k sq feet if that kind of space is no longer appealing to law firms.

^ Well there is alot of talk about alot of startup technology companies taking space in the loop so maybe alot of these buildings that law firms left can be filled up by many smaller tenants

Actually O'Donnell stole both of his tenants for the Union Station tower from 111 W Monroe, the old Harris Bank Building which is an MCM gem. I would be concerned that this could mean problems for that structure and hopefully doesn't attract any yahoos looking to do radical renovations and dismantle original features of this beauty.

That's gotta sting to have someone like O'Donnell come in and poach two of your biggest tenants for the same project. O'Donnell has been dominant lately. Hopefully that means they can get started on some of the components of their project on Chicago soon. I certainly think O'Donnell has a better chance of getting going on that than Sterling Bay has of landing office tenants up in Lincoln Yards.

Right? The mid century moderns seem to be easier targets for 'improvements' to their facades. The Realtors Building is a prime example - fubar.

Density but still a boring rehash. I would have preferred a straight up box to this clone from a building only blocks away.

I guess I see them as continuing a theme than clones. There are so many differences between the towers that I think will become more apparent once both are completed. There's certainly more variation than between many Mies or SOM designs.

Here's just a comparison of some parts:

110 N Wacker

1. 814 ft tall
2. 275' x 138' trapezoid with 5 cell stepped core
3. Single setback at the 26th floor
4. Stepped/serrated west facade, flat east facade with glass fins
5. Minor reentrant corners at all 4 corners
6. 3 part trident columns at base with round cladding on west side, vertical round columns on east side that terminate in a horizontal band visually supporting the tower
7. Glass lobby on east with cable wall flush with tower facade, expressed core on west
8. Penthouse is setback on the north and south sides and not on the east and west sides and follows the building footprint

Union Station Tower

1. 715 ft tall
2. 288' x 135' rectangle with 4 cell rectangular core
3. Two setbacks at the 17th and 32nd floor
4. Folded east and west facades with expressed column covers
5. Large reentrant corners at the north facade, recessed center bay and folded facade on the south facade
6. V columns that split into two additional Vs with hexagon cladding on both east and west sides that are integrated into the tower facade
7. Lobby on east with glass fin wall set back from tower facade with free-form glass enclosure wrapping west side of core
8. Penthouse setback on the east, west, and north sides and not on the south side and has a folded facade that is different from the main building facade

In addition I believe the two towers will be different colors. I understand the Union Station Tower is aiming for a silver tint to the glass.

So they are both predominantly glass buildings with north facing setbacks and converging columns at the base, but they have different massing and different detailing. I actually think that the Union Station Tower will be the more interesting of the two.

That's a fair (and extremely detailed) assessment. I can buy into the concept of styles permeating across a city. Perhaps maybe this just isn't a style I appreciate much so I didn't notice those variances. :cheers:

I would certainly think so. LY makes precious little sense for any office of scale.


Open question: Anyone hear what the timeline looks like for the Union Station hotel? Have not heard much about it recently....

I don't know about actual timeline, but I've heard it's not moving anywhere fast. I believe it hasn't made it past the Amtrak-developer negotiation phase yet.

Union Station parking garage closing

The 700-spot parking structure will permanently close on September 30, according to Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari.

Amtrak is selling the property under the structure a block south of the station to make way for a 50-story office building, which will be called BMO Tower. BMO Financial Group will anchor the planned 700-foot-tall structure.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...hwq-story.html

About damn time! I can't wait to see this one and WPS start climbing.

I wonder how much my view will be obstructed after this gets built.

https://i.ibb.co/Bg0NVCM/IMG-2859.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/JzDQRsJ/IMG-2859.jpg

^ i would consider it a view enhancement rather than a view obstruction.

a nicely detailed 50 story office building, or a dumpy old parking garage?

;)

This building will definitely standout looking northeast from the UIC area.

Im going to miss my view of the Circle Interchange.

:(

Nice! I will be able to see the folks across the river it seems! Im on 54 here in Willis.

I love when rgarri posts something like that. Beautiful

Like being able to see in the future.

This building sucks. Already too similar to the BoA tower going up along the river. I'd rather the garage stay until something better is proposed. You guys want more blue glass boxes?