The new owners of Chicago’s Tribune Tower plan to convert the iconic 1923 Gothic Revival style building to 165 condo units as well as construct a much taller glass and steel skyscraper next door.
The proposed tower would replace the parking lot to the east of the landmark building and rise 1,388 feet—essentially matching nearby Trump International Hotel and Tower. The planned supertall would even surpass the 1,186-foot Vista Tower currently under construction on the opposite bank of the Chicago River. For comparison, Tribune Tower tops out at 462 feet.
The sky-high addition would contain 220 hotel rooms, 158 condo units, and hundreds of parking spaces, according to a recent report by the Chicago Tribune.
Both the existing structure at 435 N. Michigan Avenue and the adjacent development site were bought by LA-based CIM Group and local partner Golub & Co. in 2016 at a cost of $240 million. The building’s namesake newspaper announced plans to pack-up in the second quarter of this year and move three blocks south of the river to new offices at One Prudential Plaza.
Following the transaction, little was publicly known of the new owners’ plan beyond their intention to convert the existing tower to “mixed-use.” Rental apartments, for-sale condos, office space, hotel rooms, or some combination were all mentioned as possibilities.
Interior demolition within Tribune Tower has been underway since October. Its conversion to 165 residential units plus new lower level retail space is expected to take three years. The overhaul will be completed before work starts on the supertall addition. In the meantime, the new skyscraper will also need to secure zoning approval and financing.
Architect Solomon Cordwell Buenz is overseeing work on the existing Tribune building while Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture designs of the taller tower.
Old Tribune Tower doors. Because who wants original details in their historic building, anyway? pic.twitter.com/pAv7YHeDLS
— Liam T.A. Ford (@ltaford) January 6, 2018
Adrian Smith designed Chicago’s Trump Tower and Dubai’s 2,722-foot Burj Khalifa when he was with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. His firm AS + GG is also behind a number of notable projects including Manhattan’s 1,550-foot Central Park Tower and the record-shattering kilometer-tall (3,280-foot!) Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia.
Chicago Alderman Brendan Reilly confirmed details of the plan with Tribune reporters, stating that he had seen multiple early iterations and still awaits a finalized design. The supertall building would need to be slender and pushed to the north half of the lot to honor a protected view corridor which stipulates that Trib Tower must remain visible from the Ogden Slip. So far, no renderings or elevation drawings have been made available.
Care is being taken to ensure that key historic elements of the property are retained and remain accessible to the public. It is understood that the building’s facade which is embedded with pieces of famous buildings will remain more or less intact. Some of the architectural artifacts could be relocated to other parts of the building under the redevelopment plan.
Talks are underway to ensure that the tower’s landmarked lobby space will be open to the public at certain times. There are also ongoing discussion regarding the fate of Col. Robert McCormick historic 24th floor office which may be dismantled and donated to an off-site museum.
The issue of historic preservation struck a particular nerve this month when a photo showing a wooden—and possibly original 1920s-era—door discarded in a dumpster made the rounds on Twitter.
In other Twitter-related news, at least one prominent Chicago celebrity has already expressed an interest in calling the redeveloped landmark home:
Is it fucked up that I wanna condo in tribune tower?
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) January 25, 2018
- New skyscraper rivaling Trump’s in height could rise behind a redeveloped Tribune Tower [Chicago Tribune]
- Chicago Tribune confirms departure from namesake tower [Curbed Chicago]
- Tribune Tower and neighboring development site fetch $240M [Curbed Chicago]
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