The 40-story Ritz-Carlton is one of the tallest new buildings to top out in 2012. The luxury condo development has been marketing its units for 22 months or so despite unwanted legal delays. But it's back on cruise control toward as the finish line nears.

Fifield's final K-Station tower has received a torrent of attention at Kinzie and Halsted. The 34-story tower just earned its certificate of occupancy—the first of 2013—and move-ins will start in March.

The newest Habitat tower is rising rapidly at Hubbard and Kingsbury. The SCB-designed apartment building is nearing an eventual 43 stories and will contain 450 units. Completion: late 2013.

After The Spire, a Wolf Point development has long been the biggest pipe dream in town. But it's now quite close to being something tangible. The trio of towers (2 office, 1 residential) now being pitched step up from 500' to 700' and 900'. Not surprisingly, the proposal has touched off dissent from nearby condo owners protecting their views.Groundbreaking: next year for the 500-footer. Well beyond that for the others.

Everyone's least favorite place, Navy Pier, will soon get a big makeover. James Corner Field Opertations and a team of designers have been selected for the $85M transformation. Expect an aesthetic similar to NYC's high line.Groundbreaking: sometime this year.

The newest addition to Magellan's Lakeshore East, razor sharp bKL-designed Coast is a 515-unit, 49-story tower. Leasing is underway, construction is a wrap, and occupancy is to begin in March.

David Hovey-designed Optima Center is one of few intriguing towers now rising in Streeterville/Near North. The rental tower will rise 42 stories, with 325 units. The only drawback: the yet-to-be rendered but inevitable parking structure. Completion: mid 2013.

Almost identical in scale to Optima Center, the newly begun Summit on Lake rental tower will squeeze 42 stories and 332 units between tightly packed buildings near Lake and Wabash. At press time, the structure has risen about 10 stories. Completion: June 2014.

The tri-hotel project, as it has come to be known, is on the march in River North. Anchored by an Aloft Hotel, the 180-foot complex will also include a Hyatt Place and Fairfield Inn, for a total of 650 rooms. Completion: mid-2013.

Waterview is back! With $115M of new financing in place, Related Midwest is resuming work on the husk of the failed first attempt. In fact, the tower crane is rising as we speak. On one of the most prominent sites in town, the project has been downsized but still promises 59 stories at 630 feet. Completion: indefinite.

AMLI River North is just a block south of the Tri-Hotel project, and both seem to be running a fast timetable. Breaking ground in late 2011, the tower expects to deliver another 409 apartments to the hot rental market. Completion: July 2013.

We haven't checked in on 500 N LSD in a little while, but word is its doing just fine without us. The 45-story, 500-unit building is decent looking and all, but more anticipation surrounds the massive "green wall" planned for the east facade. Completion: September 2013.

The biggest sure bet for the downtown river front is surely River Point Tower. After all, it has $29M of our tax money to work with. The office building launched on spec but now has a law firm as anchor tenant. The 900,000-square-foot project, by Hines Interests, has officially broken ground and will climb 45 stories.

This cylindrical 48-story rental development has scored an approval. It'll be the West Loop's tallest building at 46 stories, and will offer close to 500 apartments. Groundbreaking: soon.

This brazen redevelopment of the former Children's Memorial campus in Lincoln Park has had numerous setbacks including most recently this fall, when developer McCaffery Interests was told to try again with less height and density. There have been 50 or so public meetings on the matter. And we expect at least a few more. Groundbreaking: ?

A sister tower to One South Halsted, this 33-story rental building has the support of the West Loop's neighborhood groups but still awaits the final go-ahead. The design features an obnoxious parking podium and 351 apartments.

The Reinsdorf clan was between a couple sites for its new Bulls practice facility for months, but settled on the Near West Side in November. The simple low-slung building will cosy up to the United Center and might actually persuade some players to live in the city. Completion: fall 2014.

The development proposed for Uptown's Maryville Academy site includes 25- and 10-story buildings with 776 rental units, 637 parking spaces, and a lot of commercial space. There's a lot of tussling going on over the share of affordable units, which may drop from 20% to 5% or 10%.

Dreams are alive and well for the decommissioned Edgewater Medical Center at Ashland & Hollywood. Waveland Partners is leading the way with a 214-unit rental proposal with a stretch of park space and town homes. Others want park to be the sole focus, and still others are calling for senior housing. This should get interesting.

The Old Colony Building is one developer's idea of a promising residential conversion. The interest in transforming the historic office building to 204 loft apartments became evident last week, so it's still very much in infancy. A gut rehab would be required.

Another office-to-apartment prospect is Chris Carley's plan for the 22-story office tower perched above the Oriental Theater. The proposal would bring 230 apartments to The Loop and, under the most ambitious timetable, work could begin this summer and finish in late 2014.

A noted student housing developer is moving toward a proper rental building at State & Huron. The slender 20-story building, not yet rendered, would have roughly 80 units. The just-purchased site will first need be cleared of low-rise vintage structures.

The University of Chicago recently queued up another major proposal for radically transforming 53rd Street. A nifty 267-unit modular apartment building has been designed for 53rd near Woodlawn. Still in public discussion, there's no sure timeline.

Last week, Steve Fifield revised the office plans for 601-625 W Monroe as one 40-story tower instead of two 25-story ones. In exchange, there'll be a larger public plaza on the 601 lot and the potential for a hotel and/rental component at a later date.

The CHA's Lathrop redevelopment scheme has been broken down into three plausible visions, each with well over 1,000 new units and a mix of incomes and uses. The debate rages on.

Halsted Flats is now under construction at Halsted & Bradley in Lakeview. The full-amenity building will deliver 250+ units, a similar number of parking spaces, and an unusual L-shaped building possibly by year's end.

Renderings were recently revealed for a 35-story rental tower and Loyola's planned Quinlan School of Business abutting one another at State & Chestnut. There's lots of work to be done to make this a reality, but a $40M donor gift makes it quite serious.