South Loop Air Rights Neighborhood In Play Again
Recently I was watching House Hunters on HGTV and a couple was looking at condominiums in the South Loop. Someone commented that the view of Soldier Field from the unit they selected would remain unobstructed. I told my wife, “No it won’t. Those air rights have already been bought for development.” Such are the perils of high-rise living in Chicago. The approximate boundary of what was once called The Gateway (via Apple Maps)...
Chicago’s NEMA is Way Better Than San Francisco’s NEMA
If you spent New Year’s Eve with your eyes pointed at the sky enjoying the neighborhood’s totally-illegal-but-the-cops-don’t-care fireworks display, you may have noticed a little something special in the South Loop. That special thing is NEMA Chicago (1200 South Indiana Avenue), the skyscraper growing on the southern edge of Grant Park. Joe Zekas at YoChicago! sent in the photograph above showing the upper reaches...
Up High in the South Loop: NEMA Towers Over All
In 29 days, Santa comes to town, and the fat old elf will have a few more obstacles to navigate his sleigh around. Among them is NEMA Chicago, the 76-story residential tower going up on the south end of Grant Park — one of Mr. Claus’ favorite landing areas. I need an oxygen tank and a lurpy dog with a barrel of brandy around his neck to climb the Montrose Harbor sledding hill, but Joe Zekas from YoChicago! hitched up his...
A Little Skyscraper Abracadabra Along Grant Park
Sometimes the monotony of life becomes a way of life. Keep your head down. Stay off the boss’ radar. Don’t attract attention. But keeping our heads down, while a common survival skill, prevents us from seeing the marvels the city of Chicago serves up around us every day. You don’t need Cher to give you a wet slap across the face to snap out of it. Just look at the animation below. Joe Zekas of YoChicago! sent...
Building NEMA: A Day in the Life of a Chicago Skyscraper Construction Worker
If you’ve been following the construction of NEMA Chicago (formerly One Grant Park, formerly 113 East Roosevelt), or any other skyscraper under construction in Chicago, you’ve probably wondered what it’s like “up there.” Open House Chicago notwithstanding, few people get to go up to the top of the city’s skyscrapers. Even fewer get to do it while the structures are still under construction. Joe...
It’s Anchors Aweigh at One Grant Park
As the trio of Grant Park-adjacent skyscrapers begin their journeys from paperwork to parapets, today we take a peek in at One Grant Park (113 East Roosevelt Road/1200 South Indiana Avenue). Construction crews were recently granted permission to build up to about 10% of the 76-story building’s eventual height. And as you can see in the photo above from Joe Zekas at YoChicago!, no time is being wasted turning a former weedy lot...
Here’s What the Epic Views From 113 East Roosevelt Will Look Like
A little over a week ago, the hard-working Xerox DocumentCenters at the Chicago City Clerk’s office ingested some bits of paper and spit out the best news the South Loop has heard since the Super Bowl Shuffle was playing on WLS-AM: A new 76-story skyscraper for the corner of Michigan and Roosevelt. The first phase of the Rafael Viñoly-designed building at 113 East Roosevelt Road will rise 829 feet over the southwest corner of...
Permit Issued for 76-Story South Loop Skyscraper
This time last year, there were three super-tall skyscrapers proposed for downtown Chicago. We asked several prominent local architects what they thought the chances were of any of them being built. The answer was universally skeptical. Most thought that just one would be built. The rest of the people we spoke with said none had a chance of getting off the ground. Today we’re delighted to report that the second of those three...
City Approves New Tallest Tower for Chicago’s South Loop
Today the Chicago Plan Commission approved the construction of a 76-story, 829-foot-tall residential skyscraper marking the southwest corner of Grant Park at 113 East Roosevelt Road. The very slender Rafael Viñoly-designed tower is one of a pair planned for the site. It was deliberately designed as bundled square tubes to pay homage to the Willis Tower a dozen or so blocks to the northwest. Inside the approved building will be 796...
Raphael Viñoly Tower to be South Loop’s Tallest Skyscraper; Could be a Twin
The long-vacant corner southeast corner of South Michigan Avenue and East Roosevelt Road is getting a building worthy of its prominent position in the South Loop. Plans have been unveiled for an 829-foot-tall skyscraper at the location which would be the tallest in the South Loop, and 13th tallest in the city of Chicago, behind the Park Tower up the street at 800 North Michigan Avenue. The Chicago Architecture Blog’s Zachary...
