CHICAGO—Officials from Related Midwest, the developers of One Bennett Park, a luxury residential tower at 451 E. Grand Ave. in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood, say that one year after breaking ground, they have the mammoth project running on schedule despite difficult weather conditions. It just surpassed the 100-foot milestone, and last week crews poured the ninth and tenth floors of the 70-story high-rise, which when completed in two years will be Chicago's tallest all-residential tower.

But the building will not be just another apartment tower. Designed by internationally renowned architecture firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects, One Bennett Park will include 69 ultra-luxury condominiums and 279 apartments adjacent to a 1.7-acre park by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc., the creator of Maggie Daley Park and The 606.

“We felt very comfortable bringing some condos to the market,” Don Biernacki, senior vice president of construction at Related Midwest, tells GlobeSt.com. “We were very high on this location, and you don't often have a building of this stature with a nearly two-acre park, that is not just a patch of grass, attached to it.”

Chicago-based Lendlease is serving as the general contractor on the project, with Chicago-based GREC Architects as architect of record. One Bennett Park broke ground in February 2016 and is scheduled for completion in mid-2019.

“Overall, we are pleased with the pace of construction,” Biernacki adds. “We are one year away from topping off the building,” and this week, the construction crews began pouring the eleventh floor. “That is exactly where we wanted to be.”

Getting to this point has not been easy. “Temperature-wise, this has not been a bad winter for us,” he says. Still, Chicago's winter weather always creates some problems, and high wind conditions this season, along with a lot of precipitation, has presented the crews with a number of challenges. But “we've been able to maintain our schedule.”

Located on floors 41 through 66 of the tower, condominium residences at One Bennett Park will average 3,200 square feet and include two-, three- and four-bedroom floor plans, including three full-floor penthouses. Related Midwest has begun marketing a selection of units ranging in size from 1,737 to 7,500 square feet and priced between $1.85 million and $15 million, with first deliveries scheduled for late 2018.

“We pride ourselves on getting our buildings finished on time,” Biernacki says. “We've entered a three-day pour phase, meaning that we're pouring one full floor in just three days' time.” And with crews beginning to work in the even higher wind conditions on the upper floors of what will be an 840-foot tower, “it's critical at this stage to maintain that schedule.”

Instant Insights /

Chicago's Tallest Residential Tower On Schedule

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