Looking to make good on its pledge to deliver an architecturally significant successor to the failed Chicago Spire project, developer Related Midwest plans a pair of gleaming glass and terra-cotta towers at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive in what is arguably the most highly anticipated architectural reveal in recent Chicago history.
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the latest plan for the high-profile waterfront site calls for a 1,100-foot southern tower containing 300 condo units and 175 hotel rooms and an adjoining 850-foot tower with 550 rental apartments. It replaces the infamous hole left behind when the 2,000-foot-tall Spire project halted construction amid the global financial crisis a decade ago.
The proposed duo would frame the mouth of Chicago River as it meets Lake Michigan, delivering protected water views to its residents and guests. Separated by 150 feet, the proposed towers gently twist as they rise while simultaneously evoking elements of Chicago’s architectural history.
The exterior detailing and choice of terra cotta as a building material is “friendly and familiar,” explained SOM lead designer David Childs. Place-specific design is further reflected in the articulation of the glass which takes inspiration from the classic Chicago School bay window.
The towers share a stone-clad podium with setbacks topped with landscaped terraces and will house residential lobbies, two restaurants, and the hotel’s ballroom. Vehicular access will utilize Lake Shore Drive as well as a western drop-off area connected to E. North Water Street.
The development will extend the Chicago River’s north bank riverwalk eastward as well as revitalize Chicago’s DuSable Park—an undeveloped 3.3-acre peninsula east of North Lake Shore Drive. Related is putting $10 million towards the Park District project and hopes to begin work on the public space “as soon as possible.”
Actual work on the park, however, cannot begin until 400 N. Lake Shore is complete and access points to DuSable are created. The future green space is currently still undergoing environmental remediation and is expected to serve as a staging area during the construction of its new high-rise neighbors.
As far as zoning is concerned, the combined 1,025 residential and hotels units of the revised plan represent a step down from the 1,200 condos of the previously-approved plan. Perhaps the biggest single change from a zoning perspective is the reduction in below ground parking spaces from 1,350 to 750.
The project’s public debut represents an early step in its approval process with the City of Chicago. If things move forward smoothly, Related Midwest aims to simultaneously break ground on both towers in the summer of 2019 and deliver the project in 2023.
The new plan for 400 N. Lake Shore adds to a growing list of supertall towers looking to reshape Chicago’s skyline. Projects include the under-construction Vista Tower and proposals such as One Chicago Square, Wolf Point South, and a 1,422-foot-tall skyscraper just east of Tribune Tower.
- 400 Lake Shire Drive [Official website]
- Developer to debut new plan for the stalled Chicago Spire site [Curbed Chicago]
- What’s next for Santiago Calatrava’s troubled Chicago Spire? [Curbed Chicago]
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