Calatrava Still Leads on $1B Chicago Spire

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CHICAGO-Developer Garrett Kelleher, executive chairman of Shelbourne Development Ltd. and the Shelbourne Group, has announced the project team that will build the 124-story residential tower Chicago Spire, formerly known as the Fordham Spire. The renowned Santiago Calatrava, the designer of the original corkscrew-style Spire, will be the lead architect and engineer for the 2,000-foot-tall building. Perkins + Will will be the architect of record, with Principal Ray Clark heading up the project.

The rest of the team includes The Thornton-Thomasetti Group Inc. as the structural engineers, with company founder Richard Tomasetti leading his team; Buro Happold will act as project consultant, with International Director and Principal Padraic Kelly leading that group; Savills PLC will be the property consultants, sales and marketing, with Principal Dominic Grace leading his team. Also on the project are Altus Helyar as cost consultants, with Senior Director Colin Kelleher; Cosentini Associates as the mechanical, electric and plumbing engineers, with Director Bruno Spiewak; STS Consultants LTD as the geotechnical engineer, with Senior Principal Clyde Baker; and Knight E/A Inc. as civil engineer, with Chief Executive Officer James Wolfe.

As a pre-condition of each agreement, Kelleher required the principal or founder of each consultancy to lead its individual team. Construction will start by next June. Tom Murphy of Thomas J. Murphy PC, general counselor for Kelleher, told GlobeSt.com on Nov. 15 that though the building height and silhouette will remain the same, the amount of hotel rooms versus condos may change. The development was to include 300 luxury condominium residences, ranging from $600,000 to $5 million, and a five-star, 20-story hotel. Additionally, 50,000 sf of retail and support space is planned for the floors overlooking the river and Lake Michigan.

"We will be making determinations on antennas, whether or not to have them, whether to build the parking above or below ground, and the mix of the type and size of units in the tower," Murphy says. The antennas were what had originally taken the tower to 2,000-feet tall, but Murphy says if the antennas are removed, the condos would be built up to that height.

Local developer Christopher T. Carley, who introduced the building concept, was taken out of the deal when Kelleher bought the property for $65 million in July. Carley will not be involved in the new project, Murphy says. The site, located at the intersection of Lake Shore Drive and the Chicago River, has already been granted zoning approval by the city for a 124-story residential and hotel tower, thanks to Carley's original efforts.

The 920,000-sf structure will surpass the Sears Tower and Toronto's CN Tower, making it the tallest freestanding building in North America and Europe. Construction is slated for late 2010.