https://chicago.curbed.com/2018/8/31...ent-new-design
Developers have ‘completely revised’ controversial Union Station addition
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Architectural historians—and unamused Twitter users—can exhale a collective sigh of relief knowing that Union Station’s developers have “completely revised” their plans to build a controversial seven-story, hat-like addition atop the landmarked Beaux Arts building.
The team of Riverside Investment & Development, Convexity Properties, and architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz will reintroduce plans to redevelop the historic station at a community meeting set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, September 11 in Union Station’s Burlington Room...
After the first community meeting on June 25, the original proposal was deemed unacceptable by the community …
The updated redevelopment plan is expected to ditch the earlier scheme’s 404 apartments while boosting the number of hotel rooms from 330 to 400.
Given the shape of the existing building and its enormous central skylight, any expansion of Union Station is limited when it comes to potential layouts. It’s likely that the revised proposal will still take the doughnut shape of the June plan or perhaps something akin to two-tower configuration shown in spring 2017.
Meanwhile, the same developers are working to eventually replace an Amtrak-owned parking garage south of the station with a new 1.5 million-square-foot office tower. That plan, which has yet to be shown to the public