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Developers in the Windy City have their eyes set on luxury residences climbing over 1,000 ft
By the end of the decade, Chicago's bustling commercial high-rise building market will reach a pinnacle with two "supertall" towers springing up along the city's riverfront. And yet another horse in the running may upstage all the rest with a 2,000-ft-tall twisting spire designed by architect-engineer Santiago Cala-
trava. If built, the slender spire overlooking Lake Michigan would easily top the 1,450-ft-high Sears Tower as the nation's tallest. Although unlikely, it could become the world's tallest if it succeeds the United Arab Emirates' Burj Dubai, whose height is still top-secret.
The Calatrava building is getting closer to breaking ground than many had originally expected with an initial vote of approval from the Chicago Plan Commission on March 16. But the project has tougher hoops to jump through before it is a done deal, including a city council vote expected on March 29 and a difficult zoning and permit process that could drag on for many months. Financing also is uncertain.
Calatrava's latest concept in skyscrapers is an all-concrete building of square-shaped floors that stack onto each other in 2[degree(s)] horizontal offsets....