The 66th floor is ready to pour at the 72-story 400 Lake Shore North Tower on the doomed Chicago Spire site in Streeterville. Weather hasn’t been particularly kind over the past few weeks, slowing progress down a bit. But crews from LR Contracting and BOWA construction continue to plug away, and they’re now just a handful of stories from topping out. There is exterior glass wrapping the tower up to but not yet completing levels up through the 47th floor.
The 858-foot tower will deliver 635 dwelling units at the mouth of the Chicago River, including 127 apartments set aside as affordable. There will be about 300 parking spaces located underground. This is, of course, the first of two towers slated for the site. The South Tower is planned for approximately 765 feet in height with 465 residences. The below-grade parking will be shared by both towers.
400 Lake Shore rendering by SOM. The North Tower is at right, the taller of the two. DuSable Park is depicted in the foreground.
Rendering of 400 Lake Shore by SOM
The South Tower isn’t expected to begin construction until this first one is complete. Part of this phase of construction is the buildout of DuSable Park, which was approved by the Chicago Plan Commission in October. That’s expected to start in the spring. Openings for the tower and park are slated for 2027.
The sixth and final tower crane jump is scheduled for this coming weekend, when the last five sections will added to the shiny yellow Liebherr rig. The most recent jump in November was waylaid by heavy winds, leaving one of the six planned crane segments earthbound. But a crew returned just after Thanksgiving to get that final section raised into position, leaving just five sections to go to achieve the full height of the crane.
Let’s take a look, starting from the south at Adler Planetarium and working our way north toward Navy Pier, then on to Illinois Street. Photos were taken January 2, 2026, a cold, gorgeous, sunny Friday.
Photo by Daniel Schell
400 Lake Shore peeks through the towers of Lakeshore East. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Multiple setbacks facing east out over Lake Michigan. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Through the trees of Grant Park. Photo by Daniel Schell
The tower crane will be five sections taller by the end of next weekend. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
From the riverwalk at DuSable Harbor. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Setbacks. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Floors numbered up to level 61 on the doors of the south construction hoist. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Partially completed rows of glass on the 45th, 46th, and 47th floors. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Lots going on at ground level. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Heading out of town. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Workers on the 49th floor. Photo by Daniel Schell
The view from Lake Stage in Polk Bros Park. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
The dock for the north hoist from beneath Lake Shore Drive. Photo by Daniel Schell
Brickwork around the podium. Photo by Daniel Schell
The podium from the north side of Ogden Slip. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
From North McClurg Court. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Looking east from East Illinois Street. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
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nice base
Mush blander than the renderings I fear, Not quite seeing the graceful slimming profile yet, and almost can’t believe they’re going to squeeze another tower on the plot.
I hope the second tower moves forward to finish the scheme. The pace of new housing construction in the city is far behind where it should be. I think the tower will look better up close than from far away. The shadows on the terra cotta don’t read as well from afar. The massing overall is very nice. It will be a nice addition to the lakefront.
Unfortunately those are not terra Cotta, only aluminum panelings. The original version was taller 1100 ft and was supposed to be terra Cotta but it got value engineered to oblivion.
Love it, except for the base 2 floors along the Ogden Slip. Why so many blank windows? What a missed opportunity for a cozy water experience. I don’t understand why architects and developers in the US don’t seem to know how to do great wrap-around experiences for bottom floors. It’s repeatedly done in European and Asian cities.
The buildings together, look to me like toe nail clippers. That’s all. That’s the comment.
hi jim! after many years in engineering, i’ve come to believe that in any large technical project, whether skyscraper or sport sedan, if an obvious thing is not done, it’s for a reason.
usually the reason is more about execution than product design. it’ll be permitting, or interlocking requirements, or complex property rights, or mounting construction costs. often it’s the intersection of many reasons. whatever happened here, i bet someone spent a lot of time thinking about how to put windows down there, and had to compromise.
The pinstripes are cool. They give the building a nice verticality. Can’t wait to see it complete!
Wonderful photos, great architectural addition to the city.
The base looks great and so does the tower, so happy with this! Can’t wait to see the park and fingers crossed for the 2nd tower.
Nice day in chicago for pictures…that perfect blue sky made the building pop out
Hopefully, the market demand and response is positive, providing impetus for the second phase to be taller. That was the original design proposal.
I am hoping for this so badly. 900-1000’