Optima II Tower Starting to Make an Impact on Streeterville Skyline
The second tower to rise at the Optima Chicago Center is finally large enough that it’s starting to become visually prominent. Optima II (220 East Illinois Street) long ago left ground level and met the elevated “street” level of this section of Streeterville. As you can see in the photos above and below from Joe Zekas at YoChicago!, it’s since risen about 19 floors; about a third of its eventual 57-story...
Status Update: Optima II Taking Shape
Early construction work at Optima Chicago Center II (220 East Illinois Street) is really Grand, isn’t it? What we mean is, if you want to see what’s going on at Optima these days, you need to go one block north of Illinois Street, to Grand Avenue. That’s where you’ll find crews burrowing into the soil, creating all sorts of geometric shapes and forms. The 54-story tower by architect David Hovey will deliver 381...
Optimistic About Optima II
After a slow start, one thing is starting to lead to another at the site of what will eventually be the Optima II tower, behind Tribune Tower at 220 East Illinois Street in Streeterville. It’s been almost a month since the city issued permits for a temporary tower crane to get the 54-story residential building started. And as The Chicago Architecture Blog’s Daniel Schell discovered, the little red stub is finally in place...
Optima II Finally Ready to Start Construction
Some new skyscrapers seem to be on a juggernaut — they go from notion to city hall to finished faster than a reality TV wedding. But other skyscrapers take their time. And for reasons that are maddeningly none of our business, some seem to get stuck. We’re happy to report that after months of nothing going on, Optima Tower II (220 East Illinois Street) is officially unstuck. In the last few days, the City of Chicago has issued...
