As the sixth entry in our Dead by Design series, the Chicago Spire was a proposed 150-story “megatall” skyscraper that was to be located at the mouth of the Chicago River in Streeterville. At 2,000 feet in height, it would have been the tallest building in the United States and the third-tallest building in the world (soon to be fourth with the incoming completion of Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur).
Full permits have been issued for the RIU Plaza Hotel Chicago at 150 E Ontario Street in Streeterville. Located just east of the intersection with N Michigan Avenue, developer The Prime Group broke ground on the new tower earlier this year, replacing an empty lot. The property will be run by Spain-based RIU Hotels and is being designed by local architecture firm Lucien LaGrange Studio, who recently merged with Lamar Johnson Collaborative.
A permit was approved this past week for a new two-story residential building at 2034 W 21st Place in the Lower West Side neighborhood. The owner is listed as Francis King, and the current plans indicate this project will yield three total dwelling units. The building will feature a finished basement, a rooftop deck with a stair enclosure, and a rear two-story porch. Per plans, the project will also feature a parking pad. The planned structure will replace a vacant lot.
The Chicago City Council has approved the residential development at 640 W Irving Park Road in Uptown. Located west of N DuSable Lake Shore Drive, the proposal originally introduced last year will renovate and convert the existing Immaculata High School while building a new tower on its surface parking lots. Developers KGiles LLC and CA Ventures are working with local firms Perkins Eastman and Level Architecture on the design for the project which has seen multiple revisions since the announcement due to community feedback.
Plans for a 12-story Old Town hotel known as “The Duke of Wells” have been brought back online. This week, the project at 1528 N Wells Street received its first official permit for foundation work to begin. With Condor Partners as the developer, the project will bring 203 new hotel rooms to the thoroughfare, already one of the city’s busiest restaurant and bar scenes. Construction was originally approved back in 2020, and will replace a currently empty lot that was previously the site of a since-demolished O’Brien’s restaurant.
