Related Midwest hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, June 17, at the construction site of 400 Lake Shore, their new two-tower residential development in Streeterville. Repurposing the former Chicago Spire site, the 72-story North Tower is currently under construction; the South Tower will follow. The North Tower will deliver 635 residential units, with 20% of them set aside as affordable.
Attendees of the groundbreaking ceremony had the honor of signing a construction beam that will be placed in the cofferdam. As a rare treat for those who generally aren’t encouraged to wander onto active construction sites, a concrete path was paved for Monday’s occasion that led to the cofferdam, allowing visitors to peer over the edge while standing next to the tower crane.
Curt Bailey, President of Related Midwest, welcomed the crowd and introduced the speakers, including BOWA Construction President and CEO Nosa Ehimwenman, Chicago Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Ciere Boatright, and others whose names are in the photos below. Mr. Bailey praised the “collaborative spirit of Chicago” and everyone involved over the ten years it has taken to bring 400 Lake Shore to life, with a special mention to David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, who designed the towers.
A few Fun Facts shared to commemorate the ceremony:
Upon completion, 400 Lake Shore will be the 13th-tallest building in Chicago.
The building will have over 1 million square feet of floor space, along with three underground garage levels.
The building’s structure will be composed of 59,089 cubic yards (or 236 million pounds) of concrete and 5,520 tons (or 13 million pounds) of rebar.
The 857-foot-tall building’s bird-friendly glass façade measures nearly 400,000 square feet.
The 72-story building will have over 850,000 square feet of flooring, enough to cover a 5-foot-wide sidewalk for 32 miles.
With construction already underway, the building’s level-one structural slab will be completed by December and vertical construction of the concrete superstructure will be completed by October 2025. The curtain wall will be completed a year later, with initial occupancy in 2027.
Curt Bailey, President, Related Midwest. Photo by Daniel Schell
Ciere Boatright, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Planning & Development. Photo by Daniel Schell
Nosa Ehimwenman, President and CEO, BOWA Construction. Photo by Daniel Schell
Rosa Escareno, General Superintendent and CEO, Chicago Park District. Photo by Daniel Schell
Kristin Faust, Executive Director, Illinois Housing Development Authority. Photo by Daniel Schell
Brendan Reilly, 42nd Ward Alderman. Photo by Daniel Schell
Lesyllee White, AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. Photo by Daniel Schell
Peering over the edge of the Chicago Spire cofferdam. Photo by Daniel Schell
Signing the beam. Photo by Daniel Schell
Signing the beam. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Over the coming months, construction progress will begin to rise out of the cofferdam, and 400 Lake Shore will go vertical. It is anticipated the North Tower will welcome its first residents in 2027.
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I’ve got to say. That picture of the giant core in the middle of the old Spire hole is just cool to me. I know it’s kind of nothing special, but it’s not every project you see this ginormous hole in the ground with a core coming out of it lol.
Every time we saw pictures of progress on the start of this site, and workers were looking down there I was always like: “What are they looking at?… what are they working on down there?” Now we know lol.
Yea me to!
This is an astounding number of units in one development! To think that one project could account for 1/6th of the total units delivered in a year. Of course, it’s going to be phased, but it’s still quite an investment.