Nearly a month ago, Curbed reported that renderings had surfaced for a new proposal at the old Walford-Astoria site in Streeterville. A recent Sun-Times article has helped shed some light on the project. It will consist of a mixture of rental units and a hotel, potentially run by Loews. The man behind the project is futures trader-cum-developer Donald Wilson Jr., a relative neophyte making his first foray into high-rise development. Wilson, perhaps aware of his inexperience, has tapped seasoned developer Joe Buck to join his team. In addition, the 50-story tower, designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB), has drawn criticism from influential neighborhood group Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR) for bearing too close a resemblance to other SCB-designed projects in the area. Gail Spreen, who chairs SOAR's real estate review committee, had this to say: “We really need to have identifiable landmark buildings and not have everything just look the same." We can only hope that criticism translates into positive change.
·New Life for Old Waldorf-Astoria Site in Streeterville [Curbed Chicago]
·Trader-turned-developer has big idea for Streeterville site [Sun-Times]
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