Height: 700 ft
Floor count: 50
Location: 444 West Lake
Construction end:
Architect: Pickard Chilton Architects
Developer: Hines Interests

Website (http://www.hines.com/property/detail.aspx?id=1946)

Website (http://www.pickardchilton.com/pagProject.aspx?Group='COMMERCIAL'&ID=43&Photo=3)

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7899/riverpointiy1.jpg
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1548/200n2xj7.jpg
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/4804/200n3ex7.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4468/200n4yj0.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6407/rp2cq5.jpg
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/3144/rp3ub0.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/4484/rp4ju1.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/2382/rp5xj0.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/7971/rp6wt5.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/4600/rp7yo7.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3810/rp8mj1.jpg

200 North Riverside Plaza is a fifty story, 1.2 million gross square foot project comprising office, retail, restaurants, a boat house and public spaces; a 1.5 acre public plaza; and three levels of below-grade parking. Located on a triangular site bordered by West Lake Street, Canal Street and the broad confluence of the branching North and South Chicago Rivers, 200 North Riverside enhances the character of this prominent river frontage while concealing the existing railroad tracks below. It is Pickard Chilton’s second major project in Chicago for Hines.

The tower’s unique sculptural form creates a striking silhouette from multiple vantage points throughout the city and responds to the wonderful qualities of its important waterfront site. The tower’s sweeping curves capture natural light within the building as well as provide panoramic views outward. A sky terrace perched six hundred feet above the river accentuates the distinct image of the tower’s crown and offers dramatic views of the river, the Loop and Lake Michigan on the horizon.

The riverfront plaza, a welcome public amenity for the West Loop neighborhood, is designed to reshape the urban fabric by creating a lively civic space that encourages pedestrian activity along the waterfront. The open public plaza cascades down to the river walk and the water’s edge through a series of landscaped terraces, water features, seating areas, and arcing pathways. The space enjoys abundant sunlight throughout the day and provides a pleasant respite along on the course of the river.

The public boat house, operated by the Park District of the City of Chicago, accommodates kayaks, canoes, and crew boats. The boat house also provides boat storage, locker rooms, a multipurpose gathering space, staff offices and an elevated, covered observation terrace. The building’s streamlined, sweeping roof design draws its inspiration from the highly refined form of competition oar blades.

As a Class-A office building, 200 North Riverside’s state-of-the-art design will serve as the headquarters for major international corporations. The grand and welcoming lobby features a sixty five foot high expanse of glass that acts as a proscenium arch framing views of the plaza, the river and cityscape beyond. Located above the lobby is a 50,000 square foot double-height conference center with a crescent-shaped exterior terrace that overlooks the river. The tower’s floor plates are configured to accommodate flexibility and efficiency in interior planning. The building’s richly articulated glass and silver metallic curtain wall, a key component in achieving a LEED Silver pre-certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, will minimize solar heat gain, maximize interior day lighting and enable expansive views.

Awesome.

Nice design but it looks a lot like Mexico Citys Torre Mayor

Looks Great! It does looks torre mayorish though. At least it has a hole at the top of it so it's not a toatle copy of torre mayor. But It looks so good at where the river splits!

Torrey Mayor is very different than this. Only one side of the building somewhat resembles the design of this. The other side of Torre Mayor looks like this:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1700/1075810583037282446s425mf6.jpg

Anyway, here is my estimated height diagram. Based on the terrace being at 600' like it says in the article.
http://runepixels.com/uimages17/height.jpg

youre right, the back of Torre mayor dosn't resemble this building at all. The front does a little bit though. This is one gorgeous building!

Even if it does resemble Torre Mayor, I say so what! It's not as if we don't have at least a dozen meisian boxes which resemble hundreds of other meisian boxes around the world. It's beautiful and is at a great location in the city. It just needs to be at least a few hundred feet taller if it is to serve as a proper foothill to whatever gets built at Wolf Point.

Torrey Mayor is very different than this. Only one side of the building somewhat resembles the design of this. The other side of Torre Mayor looks like this:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1700/1075810583037282446s425mf6.jpg

I agree. But then again do we really know what the back of this building looks like? It could be similar to Torre Mayor or Riverbend? If anyone can find a rendering from behind, please do so.

Even if it does resemble Torre Mayor, I say so what! It's not as if we don't have at least a dozen meisian boxes which resemble hundreds of other meisian boxes around the world. It's beautiful and is at a great location in the city. It just needs to be at least a few hundred feet taller if it is to serve as a proper foothill to whatever gets built at Wolf Point.


you're right. so what? who cares. This is a great building. And It has an amazing location. I can't wait for this one

Love ít! It kinda looks like Torre Mayor! hehe

what a dramatic presence! I'd love to see details of the top and that possible terrace ...

nice shape!

here are some pics of the site by museumparktom at ssp

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l221/Mansmith_2006/DSCN2845.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l221/Mansmith_2006/DSCN2847.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l221/Mansmith_2006/DSCN2866.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l221/Mansmith_2006/DSCN2864.jpg

view from the site

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l221/Mansmith_2006/DSCN2867.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l221/Mansmith_2006/DSCN2857.jpg

someone at ssp photoshopped the building to see what it would look like and I have to admit, it looks MUCH better

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/urbsinhorto/200taller.jpg

side by side comparison

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7342/200ncp4.jpghttp://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q286/urbsinhorto/200taller.jpg

You meant, photoshopped it to be taller.....

the photoshopped version looks 10 times better

THis is the first time I'm hearing about this building. It looks great! Love the photoshop picture; nice work. I thought I was pretty much up to par with new constructions and proposals for Chicago... how the heck did this one slip past me?

Chicago is on fire this year with this, Trump tower, Chicago spire and others it's in a mini construction boom.

What do you mean by mini? :)

hmm... I do think it looks nicer taller, or they could build the same height, and make it skinnier

its still a nice project though.

THis is the first time I'm hearing about this building. It looks great! Love the photoshop picture; nice work. I thought I was pretty much up to par with new constructions and proposals for Chicago... how the heck did this one slip past me?

It didn't slip past you. It's a brand new project. This topic was created pretty much the same time it was announced.

Is this building been approved by the city???

Is this building been approved by the city???

Not yet. Check the thread titles, they have info on the status of each project.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have an anchor tenant (from SSP):

HINES/LEVY JOINT VENTURE ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW 50-STORY

OFFICE TOWER ON PRIME RIVERFRONT SITE IN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO


(CHICAGO) – Hines, the international real estate firm, in a joint venture with Chicago entrepreneur and real estate investor, Larry Levy, has announced plans for a new 50-story, 1.1 million-square-foot office tower in downtown Chicago. The state-of-the-art building will be constructed in the West Loop on a prime 2.5-acre site along the Chicago River at Lake and Canal streets. The anchor tenant is expected to be Chicago investment firm William Blair & Company, which has signed a letter of intent to lease 325,000 square feet. William Blair, which would occupy three low-rise floors and 10 high-rise floors, has been located at 222 West Adams Street since 1994.

Construction on the building is expected to begin in late 2008 with a projected delivery date of June 2011. The Staubach Company represented William Blair & Company in the letter of intent negotiations.

“This building will be an iconic landmark marking the intersection of the three branches of the Chicago River. This corridor has become the preferred corporate and headquarters location for premier professional firms,” said Greg Van Schaack, a senior vice president at Hines’ Chicago regional office. “There is also the popularity of the West Loop submarket due to proximity to public transportation, retail, restaurants and housing. Hines is honored to have the opportunity to develop this tower for William Blair & Company, one of Chicago’s most prestigious firms.”

The office tower was designed by New Haven, Conn.-based Pickard Chilton Architects. The curved glass and metal clad tower will offer extraordinary views down the main branch of the Chicago River to Lake Michigan. In addition to advanced building systems, it will feature elliptical 25,000-square-foot floorplates, efficiently configured for maximum space planning flexibility for larger users. The key feature of the development is a 1.5-acre public park that will cover the existing rail tracks and offer a dramatic transition to a new river walk along the site.

“Hines has worked with us to customize a great headquarters solution for William Blair & Company in what will become a cornerstone of architecture and design along the Chicago River,” commented Steve Stratton, president of The Staubach Company’s Chicago office.

Hines’ development team will pursue LEED-CS (Core & Shell) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, with the aim of achieving Gold status, which would establish the building as a major high-performance sustainable design development. Another Hines downtown Chicago office development currently under construction at 300 N. La Salle St. has achieved LEED-CS Gold pre-certification.

Hines entered the Chicago real estate market in 1981 with the development of Three First National Plaza. Its Chicago-area office portfolio of owned and managed properties currently exceeds 12 million square feet.

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The Hines portfolio of projects completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes more than 950 properties representing approximately 380 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical, retail and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in 67 U.S. cities and 15 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $16 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world.

Nice design.

this thing looks sweet!!!

August 17, 2007

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/3435/dsc0788pd8.jpg

Future home of 200 North Riverside Plaza.

heres another rendering

http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/6620/200n5cq6.jpg

Originally posted by spyguy (the rendering accompanying the article is slightly different from the original):

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?article_id=28887

High-rises, low profile
Hines' local exec is reshaping the Loop skyline in a decidedly un-developer-like way: quietly

By Eddie Baeb

You've probably heard of John Buck, Donald Trump and maybe even J. Paul Beitler. But Greg Van Schaack? The name of the city's busiest office developer isn't likely to ring a bell.

And that's okay with him.

New
http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/2851/200n6fx4.jpg

Old
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7342/200ncp4.jpg

Nice. I like round shapes. I agree it should have a bit more slenderness. :)

This one is pretty much a go w/ William Blair as the anchor:

William Blair to lease at 200 N. Riverside Plaza
By Susan Diesenhouse | Tribune staff reporter
12:09 PM CST, December 19, 2007


In what will be one of the largest downtown office leases of the year, William Blair & Co. is expected to sign up this week for 325,000 to 350,000 square feet at a new $400 million tower to be built at 200 N. Riverside Plaza.

The 50-story high rise is being developed by a partnership of Houston-based Hines Interests LP and Chicago food-service entrepreneur Larry Levy. Gregory Van Schaack, Hines' senior vice president in charge of Chicago development declined to comment.

The 15-year Blair lease will start mid-2011 when the financial services firm is due to vacate its current office at 222 W. Adams St.

http://chicagorealestatedaily.com/cg...ws.pl?id=28038

Feb 4 article above states that William Blair, a Chicago investment bank, is expected to sign a long-term lease on 2/4 to anchor the building. Construction to start later this year. Any insight on official/expeted height? Also note the address is apparently changing to 444 W. Lake St.

For some reason the link in my previous post doesn't open - so I copied the article and posted it below fyi...

Feb. 04, 2008
William Blair to anchor new tower
By Thomas A. Corfman
(Crain’s) — William Blair & Co. LLC is expected to formally agree Monday to anchor a 1.1-million-square-foot office tower to be co-developed by Hines Interests L.P. along the west bank of the Chicago River, where the river branches north and south.

The Chicago investment bank in early August signed a letter of intent to lease what has become 340,000 square feet in the 50-story tower, which will have an address of 444 W. Lake St. After lengthy and sometimes tense negotiations, Blair this morning is expected to sign a long-term lease for the building, which is scheduled to be completed in June 2011.
Blair would be the first tenant for the proposed tower and is expected to be enough for Hines to begin construction later this year.
Blair would move from the former USG Building, 222 W. Adams St., where the firm leases 31% of the 929,000-square-foot tower. That building, renamed as part of the Franklin Center complex, is owned by an Australian investment vehicle managed by New York-based Tishman Speyer Properties L.P.
A Blair spokesman declines to comment. Greg Van Schaack, a senior vice-president in the Chicago office of Hines, and Steven Stratton, Midwest region president of Staubach Co., which represented Blair, did not return calls Monday morning requesting comment.
Hines’ joint venture partner in the project is restaurateur and developer Lawrence Levy, the longtime owner of the site. The Lake Street address replaces a North Riverside Plaza address that had originally been proposed for the property.
Chicago-based building leasing agent J. F. McKinney & Associates Ltd. represented Hines in the negotiations. Brian Whiting, a senior vice-president with McKinney, did not return a call requesting comment.

Great news. This building will complement 333 W Wacker perfectly. Are there still plans for a second building located just west of this one?

Another day, another deal. Hines is a dynamo. This project is now that much closer to starting construction.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=29594

Baker & McKenzie plans to leave Prudential Plaza
By Thomas A. Corfman, May 28, 2008

Giant Chicago-based law firm Baker & McKenzie has signed a nonbinding agreement to move from Prudential Plaza in the East Loop to a new skyscraper along the west bank of the Chicago River to be developed by Hines Interests L.P.

Michael S. Smith, a real estate partner in Baker’s Chicago office who has helped lead the firm’s search for new offices, referred questions to a spokesman. In a brief statement, the law firm confirmed the letter of intent, saying negotiations are under way to take 250,000 to 300,000 square feet.

To bad they can't get Boston's South Station Tower out of the ground. I know it's more of an economic indicator of how things are in Boston, but god it would be nice to see it rise!
Good for Chi-Town, though.
Yes, I am pretty jealous!

I love this project! Can't wait until they start building it.

great news, this one will be a perfect addition to chicago :)

That's indeed great news. Nice design and filler

This project has been approved by the Planning Commission.

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/9889/rp1iv8.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6407/rp2cq5.jpg
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/3144/rp3ub0.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/4484/rp4ju1.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/2382/rp5xj0.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/7971/rp6wt5.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/4600/rp7yo7.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3810/rp8mj1.jpg

Those renderings look really good!

Amazing news! Chicago is doing really well right now! the building looks great

Since this thread was bumped to a new page, I'll repost these:

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/9889/rp1iv8.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/6407/rp2cq5.jpg
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/3144/rp3ub0.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/4484/rp4ju1.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/2382/rp5xj0.jpg
http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/7971/rp6wt5.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/4600/rp7yo7.jpg
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3810/rp8mj1.jpg

Nice. a bit blurry though.

:cheers:

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roeder/1167682,CST-FIN-roeder17.article

September 17, 2008

BY DAVID ROEDER droeder@suntimes.com

STILL BUILDING: Despite the wild times on Wall Street, Hines Interests LP reports it has firm financing to start its River Bend office, at the northeast corner of Lake and Canal by year-end. A source said financing is from Bank of America and J.P. Morgan, two of the strongest names amid the current turmoil. Hines benefits by having two-thirds of the building committed to creditworthy tenants William Blair & Co. LLC and Baker & McKenzie

good news! Indeed there is no reason why not to finance and build this tower. :cheers:

New park planned at Lake Street and river

1.5-acre green space will compliment office/hotel project

The City Council today approved a plan to create a new downtown park along the west bank of the Chicago River at Lake Street as part of the development of an office tower and hotel.

"The new Riverpoint Park will provide open space at a unique location along the confluence of the branches of the Chicago River, and will afford recreational opportunities for future generations of Chicagoans to enjoy," said Mayor Richard M. Daley. "This is a great opportunity to further the goals of the Chicago River and Central Area Plans by adding more park space in the heart of downtown."

The 1.5-acre Riverpoint Park will be constructed on an elevated deck over the Amtrak railroad tracks and service road, just north of Lake Street. The deck will be the foundation of the public plaza and park area, and will be improved with landscaping, walkways and an observation platform overlooking the Chicago River.

The developer, L&M Riverbend, a joint venture between the Lawrence Levy family and Hines Interests, will dedicate a public easement over the property to the City of Chicago to secure the public’s rights for the land in perpetuity. L&M will also be responsible for the daily and long-term maintenance of the park.

As part of the project, L&M will build a 51-story office tower and 20-story hotel tower on the property immediately west of the park on the northeast corner of Lake and Canal Street. The anchor tenant for the office tower is the William Blair Company.

According to the plan, the developer will be reimbursed up to $30 million from the LaSalle Central Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District for park improvement costs, primarily for the deck construction, but also including the relocation of a historic rail switching station currently located on the site. The total project costs for the park is $64 million, the remainder to be financed by the developer.

http://cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?blockName=Planning+And+Development%2fI+Want+To&deptMainCategoryOID=&channelId=0&programId=0&entityName=Planning+And+Development&topChannelName=Dept&contentOID=537005835&Failed_Reason=Invalid+timestamp,+engine+has+been+restarted&contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&Failed_Page=%2fwebportal%2fportalContentItemAction.do&context=dept

i love this building . should have been taller.

Private-equity firm leases floor at proposed tower (http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=31581)

By Thomas A. Corfman, Oct. 29, 2008

(Crain’s) — A private-equity firm backed by the family that owns S. C. Johnson & Sons Co. has leased the top floor of a proposed riverfront skyscraper.
The deal for 24,200 square feet makes the 1.1-million-square-foot tower at 444 W. Lake St. about 60% leased, as developer Hines Interests L.P. moves closer to arranging construction financing for the roughly $540-million project, which is scheduled to be completed by August 2011.

Hines, Blair kill deal for proposed tower

By Thomas A. Corfman, March 18, 2009

(Crain’s) — William Blair & Co. won’t be moving to a proposed riverfront office tower.

Developer Hines Interests L.P. said Wednesday it worked out a “mutual termination” of Blair’s lease to anchor a skyscraper proposed for a site along the Chicago River, forcing the real estate firm to push back construction and consider cutting the size of the 1.1-million-square-foot tower.

http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=33366

farking shite that sucks.

Simple but extremely elegant in such a nice curve ! Reminds me Mexico City´s 55-story office Torre Mayor...

good to hear the thing is continuing, afterall i have a feeling the market is on its way back up, i think it bottomed out already

Well, I suppose we could've seen this coming, but I'd be really curious as to what was going on over at William Blair. I'm guessing they looked at the economy and saw cheaper rents elsewhere.

I hope this gets built, even if they don't raise the height. It's a damn cool building, all the more so for being across the river from 333 w. wacker drive! Somebody thought through what they were doing on this one.

Awesome. Looks like Chicago is gaining on New York when it comes to skyline.

Awesome. Looks like Chicago is gaining on New York when it comes to skyline.

I dont think so bud. new york is years ahead. maybe chicago has a higher percent growth...that i could agree with

Developers court large companies to anchor new office buildings
Goal is to resurrect West Loop projects that fell victim to credit crisis

By Alejandra Cancino, Tribune reporter
July 15, 2011

Developers are dusting off office building models and brochures with an eye toward finding the right tenants to resurrect West Loop projects that were put on hold two years ago amid the credit crisis...

...A case in point is Hines Interests LP's project at 444 W. Lake St., also known as River Point. In 2008, Hines pre-leased about two-thirds of the 52-story building to investment firm William Blair & Co. and law firm Baker & McKenzie. Both deals fell through when Hines couldn't obtain financing, and the proposed 1.1 million-square-foot building was put on hold...

Now, as the economy recovers in fits and starts, a version of the project seems to have a second chance.

Van Schaack said it could be pared to 40 stories. Scaling back would make it easier to meet the pre-leasing threshold to secure financing...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0715-building-barometer--20110715,0,4907128.story