Archinect - News

Construction starts at SOM-designed 400 Lake Shore Drive replacement in Chicago

2024-03-05T14:24:00-05:00

The much-publicized void left behind in the wake of Santiago Calatrava’s failed Chicago Spire proposal is finally being attended to, as now the Chicago Sun-Times and other outlets are reporting on developer Related Midwest’s start of construction for the SOM-designed replacement at 400 Lake Shore Drive.

The 76-foot hole was partially filled by the 12-hour concrete pour required for the mat foundation for the two-tower scheme that will yield 1,100 apartments and the new DuSable Park at the three-acre site by Q3 2027.

Video showing the 12-hour mat foundation pour, which included 250 concrete trucks delivering 9 million pounds of concrete. Video courtesy Related Midwest

This update comes after caisson permits for the project were granted in December. David Childs is responsible for the design, which references Chicago's vernacular masonry and terra cotta architecture in two faceted 765- and 875-foot forms. Urbanize Chicago reports there to be a total of nine million tons of concrete ...

Renderings show proposed new White Sox stadium in Chicago's South Loop

2024-02-08T18:57:00-05:00

The Chicago White Sox professional baseball franchise may be moving out of the neighborhood that's been synonymous with its existence for more than a century if a proposal for a new stadium at The 78 advances to approval in the coming months.

According to the Sun-Times, Related Midwest is pushing for a “massive financing package” from the Illinois General Assembly to fund the project by the end of spring. If approved, the $9 billion South Loop ballpark project would be joined by 1,000 units of affordable housing in the “village” portion of the larger 62-acre site. The team’s current digs on the Southside would be transformed into a soccer stadium with another 1,300-unit housing component. An architect for the project is expected to be named later.

Image courtesy Related Midwest

Related says the project will create about 10,000 new construction jobs and add over $4 billion worth of economic benefits. The White Sox's current lease at Guaranteed Rate Field expires at the end of the 2029...