Equinox hotel and apartment tower will rise 550 feet above Randolph Street

Developer Related Midwest is moving forward with an updated plan for the high-profile West Loop site at 725 W. Randolph Street, where “Restaurant Row” meets the Kennedy. The project comprises a 550-foot mixed-use high-rise plus a newly added 250-foot office building to the immediate south.

Although the taller building gets a haircut from 620 feet to 550, the number of rental residences remains at 370 while hotel rooms increase from 165 to 240. This is made possible by moving all the parking underground. The newly added southern building will offer 248,000 square feet of office space.

“We feel this is a very important site that deserves attention,” said Related Midwest President Curt Bailey, when the plan was first revealed in early 2018. “It’s the gateway from downtown to the West Loop.”

The design of 725 W. Randolph still comes from Connecticut-based firm Roger Ferris + Partners and features an industrial aesthetic inspired by the surrounding area. The base is clad in a structural metal grid. The tower portion pivots at an oblique angle and has three-part windows that angle inward—the result resembling an “inverted” interpretation of a classic Chicago-style bay.

Special care went into activating the tower’s lower portion which includes wide, plaza-like sidewalks, retail space for restaurants, and multiple entranceways for the structure’s health club, spa, hotel, and residences. Loading and unloading will take place in an off-street motorcourt located between the two towers.

Related will need the city to approve the latest round of changes to 725 W. Randolph. If all goes to plan, the developer says it hopes to break ground on Chicago’s Equinox Hotel this summer and open three years later.

Related Midwest’s owner Related Cos. acquired the Equinox brand in 2006 and has plans to build many more fitness-oriented hotels. Fitness chain SoulCycle (also owned by Equinox) will join Bank of America in anchoring the retail space below the shorter building at 725 W. Randolph Street.