Supertall Vista Tower gets permit for complete build-out

While construction on the Studio Gang-designed Vista Tower formally kicked off last autumn, the project’s developers are just now getting the final construction permit allowing for the full build-out. Issued last week, the permit means that workers are free to continue erecting what will eventually become a 95-story tower and Chicago’s third tallest building.

The upcoming Vista Tower is moving along full steam ahead and is already making a visible impact on the Lakeshore East area. Unlike the high profile tower projects proposed in the years before the recession, several of which stalled out or never made it off the ground, the latest class of skyline-altering skyscrapers are already taking shape.

Enormous in its scope, the 1,186-foot Vista Tower will contain 406 luxury condos and a 192-room five-star hotel. The project has been reported to cost upwards of $1 billion to construct, and the estimated cost of construction on the recent permit certainly backs up the claim. The fee alone on the latest permit cost developers Magellan Group and Dalian Wanda Group nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.

But the costs will make the project worth it for the tower’s developers. As of last summer, Magellan Group and Dalian Wanda Group had already lined up $200 million in sales for the luxury units. Available listings start at nearly $1 million for one-bedroom units and climb all the way up to $10.3 million for a spacious 6,500-square-foot unit on the 85th floor.

Construction on the upcoming supertall skyscraper will continue for the next two and a half years with delivery expected in 2020.

• Here We Grow! Vista Tower Gets Full Construction Permit for All 95 Stories [Chicago Architecture Blog]
• Checking in on construction sites around the Loop [Curbed Chicago]
• The new class of skyscrapers that will forever change the Chicago skyline [Curbed Chicago]