Two-Tower “Gateway to the Chicago River” Breaks Ground in Chicago

Local elected officials, project partners, labor leaders and community stakeholders gathered on June 17 for a groundbreaking ceremony for the first phase of a two-tower residential complex at 400 Lake Shore Drive in downtown Chicago, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat reports. Developed by Related Midwest and designed by the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with David Childs, the skyscrapers will rise on the last undeveloped parcel of land where the Chicago River and Lake Michigan meet. The site was formerly slated for the planned Chicago Spire, which stopped construction as a result of the Great Recession. The new towers will form “a gateway to the Chicago River using a cascading form and silhouette to merge and redefine the shoreline.” With completion anticipated in 2027, phase one includes the 72-story, 635-unit north tower at 462 East North Water Street, improved infrastructure and a new, 3.3-acre public park.