Chicago Spire (Fordham Spire)
400 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60611
Foundation excavation for the 150-story Chicago Spire began in 2007 and stopped in 2008 when financing collapsed. The Calatrava proposal ended through a 2014 bankruptcy and site-transfer settlement; the site is now being developed as the separate 400 Lake Shore project.
What got built
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What changed
- Proposed in July 2005 as the Fordham Spire, a spiral residential tower designed by Santiago Calatrava, reaching roughly 2,000 feet, with Perkins and Will as executive architect.
- Chicago Plan Commission approved the design March 16, 2006. Chicago City Council gave final approval May 9, 2007.
- Construction began June 25, 2007, with excavation for the foundation.
- Construction was suspended in October 2008 during the global financial crisis, after the project's primary lender, Anglo Irish Bank, was effectively nationalized as its stock lost nearly all its value.
- The Calatrava proposal was finally ended through a November 2014 bankruptcy and site-transfer settlement, when the site's deed passed to Related Midwest after the developer missed a final payment deadline.
- No part of the Spire was built above grade. Related Midwest's separate two-tower 400 Lake Shore development is now under construction on the site; it is not a resumed or reduced version of the Chicago Spire.
Why it changed
Financing collapsed with the 2008 financial crisis. Developer Shelbourne Development's primary lender, Anglo Irish Bank, was effectively nationalized by the Irish government as its stock lost nearly all its value, cutting off the project's funding. Shelbourne could not refinance or repay the roughly 69.5 million dollars it owed, and the site's deed passed to Related Midwest in November 2014 after a final payment deadline lapsed. Source: ArchDaily, Santiago Calatrava's Chicago Spire Finally Axed, Nov 5, 2014.
Details
- Status
- Abandoned. None of the design was built.
- Where
- Chicago, IL
- Neighborhood
- Streeterville / Near North Side
- Developer
- Shelbourne Development Group (Garrett Kelleher)
- Architect
- Santiago Calatrava, design architect. Perkins and Will, executive architect.
- Rendering credit
- Santiago Calatrava
- The built result
- Photographed by Lectrician2, 2021-07-30
Sources
- ArchDaily: Santiago Calatrava's Chicago Spire Finally Axed archdaily.com
- Wikipedia: Chicago Spire en.wikipedia.org
- Chicago YIMBY: Dead by Design, the Chicago Spire in Streeterville chicagoyimby.com
- Related Midwest: 400 Lake Shore relatedmidwest.com
- Building Design+Construction: 400 Lake Shore construction coverage bdcnetwork.com
Research checked . Status and figures are updated when a source changes.
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