It was 1,144 at some point I think then got bumped up.

Point is something much taller and better than what was originally proposed ended up being built after Magellan waited for the next cycle. I remember people being disappointed when Arquitectonica tower did not start last cycle. I was one of those people but I'm really happy with how things played out.

https://forum.skyscraperpage.com/sho...d.php?t=131000

no, chicago_forever is referring to the original plan magellan had for the vista site back in the last cycle.

this 76 floor Architectonica designed tower first proposed in 2007 that was killed by the great recession.

https://image.phorio.com/photo/989574710/mars/image.jpg
source: https://de.phorio.com/file/989574710/

^Ah I see. Thanks for the clarification. I was only aware of the original master plan for the neighborhood and not the specific proposal. Good call.

^ As much as I loved that proposal and Arquitectonica generally, I think we got a far superior design from Jeanne Gang, both in the tower itself, its skyline impact and the way it interacts with the city at (each) "ground level".

This is the rare case when we ended up with a stronger design due to a recession intervening...

agree

Arqueitonica would go great at 201 n. Columbus. Obviously with a smaller base. Even though the middle hole would mistly be blocked by by bcbs, i think.

I think it would look good a lot taller with a smaller hole at the top, SWFC style.

444 W Lake actually gained a bunch of floors after being delayed by the recession as well. So did OGP/NEMA which was originally proposed as a heinous squiggly 750' building only to be replaced by a nearly 900' beautiful boxy beast.

I thought you were Mr. " Too many millionaires are ruining Chicago"?

Let's remember that the lot where this tower is going is being used as a staging area for the massive renovation project next door. It makes financial sense to hold off on construction until the Tribune Tower reno is in hand.

True, but didn't they mention at some point that they'd go ahead with the approval process beforehand?

these large scale projects almost never go according to "the plan" in chicago. shit ALWAYS takes longer than the developer's initial rosy prognostications.

it's like the old celsius to farenheit shortcut conversion formula, whenever a developer says they anticipate such and such to happen by such and such date, just "double it and add 30".

https://i.imgur.com/9N1yCVy.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/NtNKzKC.jpg?1

It needs to be stated again, just a great thing that this gem is getting all fixed up like it is. It seems like a lot of work to maneuver around that crown, etc. with scaffolding and what not. a Very nice to see the effort and care being put into it. Easy to take this masterpiece for granted. Good on them.

^It's always great to see attention given to our city landmarks, but from what I know from our experience in almost being part of this development, and what I've seen from people who are involved in this renovation, I think the developer is getting too much credit for their perceived stewardship.

The exterior of the tower is a city landmark. They are held to a certain restoration standard for all work they do, and there's no way they wouldn't have done the necessary stone repairs now, as no one is going to buy into a luxury condo building that will require major exterior repairs right after the developer has left the picture. The developer also decided to do this project without historic tax credits, so there is no additional historic oversight beyond the landmarked tower exterior and lobby. The rest of the historic interiors are gone. The McCormick offices on the 24th floor were gutted, as were the marble and mahogany corridors on every floor, oak paneled conference rooms, pretty much everything inside. If we are lucky, some of it was salvaged to be able to live on somewhere else.

The developers I believe even originally planned to demolish all of the three lowrise buildings and just keep the tower, but later backed off that idea due to potential public and aldermanic push back.

The scaffolding is legit on this one... need to get my other photos uploaded. They are bricking over the backside of this one, telling me they definitely plan on building the additional tower in the near future, otherwise I'd expect them to keep windows in the common area spaces until they had to lose them. At least, that's the logic I'm using to be optimistic about the proposal lol

That is the side that faces the future site of the tower, right?

My guess is they'll build something sooner rather than later but it won't be 1,400+ feet. We shall see.

My guess is it's not going to make it this cycle (and I agree this will be something much shorter....though not short). Just a guess though, as I don't have insider knowledge.

I concur on the next cycle but if OCS is the final build then who can really complain?

Oh and let's not forget WPS....

Curbed has renderings of the condos and amenities in the renovated tower. Really nice use of the existing architectural features. Full article

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qBgz...g_Room_B.0.jpg


Swimming pool
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UvdL...Tower_Pool.jpg


Top floor terrace
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ackl...ower_Crown.jpg