It would appear to be the optimum time for a second Optima Tower in Streeterville. Before finishing its first David Hovey-designed tower, Optima Inc. is going all in on an even larger follow-up at the neighboring parcel. The local developer purchased the site at 220 E Illinois last month for $29M (Centrum Properties had hoped for $50M when listing the land in late 2011), and would target a 2017 completion for its 60-story project with 400 apartments and 200 hotel rooms. Crain's reports that Optima prez and architect Hovey will take on the new project as well. "We have an exceptional site," Hovey tells Crain's. "And it's really better than other sites that are under construction or completed right now." That figures to be the difference in cutting away any competition from the larger apartment construction market.
The proposal won't need a zoning change since the site was previously slated for a tall Centrum condo project. Hovey has yet to design it, but envisions an "interlocking composition" between the two towers, an additional nine-story structure (probably a podium), and a plaza. Optima is banking on the continuation of high-end renting as a "housing lifestyle" in order to succeed in charging average rents of $3.30/square-foot.
·Optima plans second, 60-story apartment tower in Streeterville [Crain's]
·Optima Center Chicago Approaching the Halfway Point [Curbed Chicago]
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