Looks like we have our first revamped project design for the two-acre parcel at Roosevelt & Michigan, as architect Stanley Saitowitz has renderings prepared for a 64-story building (by our count). Skyscraper Page user Ardecila posted the images this morning. The long-vacant site has a new owner/developer in Miami-based Crescent Heights and, pending confirmation, it sure seems like they're keen on making a big splash along the city's most iconic streetwall. Speaking of streetwalls, the architect took some huge liberties with the positioning of the AON and 2Pru towers — and we're not why they'd feel the need as the scenery is plenty dense and urbane without such gratuitous photoshopping.
In any event, while we await further word from Crescent Heights, the giddy observer in us is coming to the fore. The broad-faced and slender tower supplies a full battalion of balconies, arranged in bunches or cutting their way up the facade between tetris-like glass forms. This whimsical first stab feels like the work of an outsider as it pays little heed to surrounding buildings old and new. It works to great effect, however, at least from afar. Current air rights allow for up to 70 stories at this site, with the potential for 1,200 units (the tower before you should hold several hundred). This means there could be room for a second smaller tower on the parcel's southern portion. Stay tuned!
UPDATE: We can all take a breather. Saitowitz Architects' Neil Kaya responded to our request for confirmation/clarification: "This was purely a conceptual exercise and in no way represents what may or may not be built."
·Land Grab: Crescent Heights Buys Big South Loop Parcels [Curbed Chicago]
·Crescent Heights [Official]
·Stanley Saitowitz / Natoma Architects [Official]
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