Construction Begins On Chicago’s New Wolf Point West Tower

By Ioana Neamt, Associate Editor

Chicago officials gathered on July 18th to celebrate the start of construction on a new 48-story luxury residential tower. Developed by Hines in partnership with the Magellan Development Group, the building will be part of a larger master plan designed by Connecticut-based Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects. Award-winning architect Cesar Pelli also designed the World Financial Center in New York and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Pelli’s master plan for the Wolf Point area consists of three high-rise luxury towers. According to DNAinfo, The West Tower will be the first structure to be constructed, which will be a residential tower featuring 509 luxury rental units. The 950-foot high South Tower will be a mixed-use space and the tallest of the three. When completed, the South Tower will become Chicago’s eighth tallest structure, according to The Chicago Architecture Blog. The mixed-use East Tower will house a combination of office, retail, hotel and residential space.

The Wolf Point development, located at the Y-shaped intersection of the Chicago River’s northern, southern and eastern branches,was heavily debated for 14 months before being approved. As reported by DNAinfo, area residents initially opposed the project, claiming that the high-rise towers would block skyline views and increase traffic in the area. Developers eventually revised the project to feature no more than 950 feet, 1,410 residential units and 450 hotel rooms.

According to the Wolf Point project fact sheet, the development includes over 100,000 square feet of park and pedestrian areas as well as a riverwalk. The development intents to pursue LEED Silver Certification.

The Wolf Point area is historically significant for the city of Chicago. It was the location of Chicago’s first church, first hotel, first ferry and first bridges over the Chicago River. Today, Wolf Point is commonly used to describe a plot of land owned by the Kennedy family in the Near North Side community area.

Rendering courtesy of Magellan Development Group LLC