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.
- An early look at the Vista Tower construction site [Curbed Chicago]
- Chicago’s 1,186-foot Vista Tower officially breaks ground [Curbed Chicago]
- A Closer Look at Jeanne Gang's Planned 93-story Vista Tower [Curbed Chicago]