Today the Chicago Plan Commission breathed new life into the city’s skyline by approving the construction of 451 East Grand. The 65-story residential tower is being developed by friends-of-the-blog, Related Midwest, which is the Midwest outpost of New York’s Related Companies.
Drawing of 451 East Grand, courtesy of Robert A.M. Stern Associates
The skyscraper destined for a plot of land near the lake’s edge in Streeterville was designed by New York architecture heavyweight Robert A.M. Stern Associates. The design is a significant departure from 90% of the residential skyscrapers built in Chicago in the last decade.
Instead of following the Chicago cliche of putting a tall box on a squat parking podium, the New Yorkers are putting together something a little more 30 Rock-ish, with more than half-a-dozen setbacks in an updated version of the iconic Rockefeller Center massing.
The Chicago building will have 350 residences, and comes with a promise to redevelop the lackluster public park immediately to its east. Related Midwest will also kick $3 million into the city’s affordable housing fund, rather than build any affordable housing units into the tower.
