STREETERVILLE — The 76-foot-wide hole in the ground excavated for the 2,000-foot-tall Chicago Spire that never happened could begin to be filled by the end of the year.

The vacant lot at the corner of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan was set to be home to the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, but construction never advanced past digging the hole and beginning the foundation.

But now the company that took over the site has a new plan: A pair of “sister towers” that could include a mix of apartments and condos.

On Tuesday evening, Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest, presented plans for the 875-foot-tall and 765-foot-tall towers to over 200 neighbors at a community meeting. The gathering was held by Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) and the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents at the Intercontinental Hotel, 505 N.Michigan Ave.

The towers designed by David Childs of Skidmore Owings & Merrill would be “reminiscent of a waterfall” and “constructed of glass and terra cotta, with intricate metal detailing,” according to Related Midwest’s website.

Related acquired the site in 2014 from Irish developer Garret Kelleher, whose plans for the Spire designed by famed architect Santiago Calatrava collapsed after the 2008 financial crisis.

Read more at Block Club Chicago
 

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