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Foundation work continues on Vista Tower—Chicago’s next supertall skyscraper

The 1,186-foot combination hotel/condo tower needs to first build down before it can climb skyward

It’s been over two months since the 98-story Vista Tower broke ground in Chicago’s Lakeshore East neighborhood and crews are still hard at work creating the supertall skyscraper’s foundation. The development’s 406 luxury condos, 192 five-star hotel rooms, and 345-car parking garage will be supported by multiple large-diameter caissons. These subterranean piers are created by drilling 100-plus feet down into Chicago’s comparatively swampy soil and then filling the cylindrical cavity with a metal tube, a cage of rebar, and finally concrete.

According to a prelimary construction schedule that was presented to Lakeshore East neighbors earlier this summer, Vista’s foundation build-out is expected to take eight months before above ground work on the tower’s superstructure can take place. The completed building is on-track to be delivered in the first half of 2020.

A joint venture between Magellan Development and Chinese partner Dalian Wanda Group, the $1 billion Vista Tower not only represents the single largest Chinese real estate investment in Chicago, but in the entire United States. The frustum-shaped design comes from local architecture firm Studio Gang in collaboration with bKL Architecture.