Jul 26, 2005 9:06 am US/Central
Nation's Tallest Skyscraper Proposed In Chicago
115-Story Tower Would Stand Near Lake Shore Drive, Navy Pier
CHICAGO (AP) ―
A proposal to build a new, 115-story building by 2009 could give Chicago claim to having the first and second tallest skyscrapers in the country.
The 2,000-foot, 115-story tower, proposed by Chicago developer Christopher Carley, would go up along the city's lakefront near Navy Pier.
The 110-floor Sears Tower is currently the nation's tallest building. Carley's building, minus its spire, would be 1,458-feet high -- taller than the Sears Tower by eight feet.
No financing for what would be a hotel and condo tower has yet been arranged and some rival developers say the proposal does not seem feasible.
If it is ever completed, the newly proposed skyscraper would also surpass the height of New York's planned Freedom Tower, which will be 1,776-feet tall. The Freedom Tower is expected to be completed in 2010.
The proposed Chicago skyscraper, which would twist like an enormous screwdriver, is designed by well-known Spanish-born architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, who designed the Milwaukee Art Museum addition and the Athens Olympic sports complex.
Carley is the chairman of Fordham Co., and the new building would be called the Fordham Spire.
Construction would not begin until there are sales agreements for about 40 percent of its units, Carley said. He said he'd like to break ground in March and complete the building in four years.
Other developers expressed skepticism that the Fordham Spire would ever be built.
Developer Donald Trump, who is constructing a 92-floor, 1,360-foot skyscraper in Chicago for luxury condominium buyers, said Carley's proposed building would not be economically viable.
"Any bank that would put up money to build a building like that would be insane," he said.
Carley countered that his skyscraper is in the same league as Trump's.
"I wonder where the insanity limit is. It must be just over 1,360 feet," he said, referring to the height of Trump's building now under construction.
Carley also said his project's association with such a highly acclaimed architect as Calatrava would help.
"Financiers are in awe of this man," he said.
(© 2005 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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