CHICAGO | 560 N. Fairbanks | 787' Official / 752' Roof | 58 FLOORS | NEVER BUILT

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by SamInTheLoop

Just a reminder - this proposal is scheduled to go before the Plan Commission today if anyone is planning to attend...

All of the highrises presented at the plan commission were approved today.

I took a photo of the rendering for the hotel/condo tower to be built at 560 North Fairbanks. As we already know it looks a lot like Mandarin, and it also looks like a glassier and less painted concrete version of the Heritage.

[Steely Dan]

HOT-DIGGITY-DOG!

[aaron38]

I really like the way this one forms a nice little trio with the other two Fairbanks projects.
Approved is very good. Was there any timeframe given? I immagine they'll need to start pre-sales next, right?

[Jularc]

Wow nice addition to your amazing skyline! I am glad it got approved!

[Chitown]

It's funny; I drove through Indy after Christmas, and I checked the "skyscrapers" there after I got back on skyscraperpage, and it's amusing how many of these projects would be the defining building in that city. Despite it's pathetic skyline, Indy actually has a pretty large population. It goes to remind you just to what degree Chicago kicks ass.

[i_am_hydrogen]

Is this one 58 or 50 stories? Emporis has it listed as 50.

[JMininger]

Originally Posted by Chitown

It's funny; I drove through Indy after Christmas, and I checked the "skyscrapers" there after I got back on skyscraperpage, and it's amusing how many of these projects would be the defining building in that city. Despite it's pathetic skyline, Indy actually has a pretty large population. It goes to remind you just to what degree Chicago kicks ass.

Tell me about it. Naptown has only 3 towers over 500' and 2 of them are just barely. There is nothing substantial on the horizon and the last major highrise was built 16 years ago. Major projects are publicly funded or are related to public projects (hotels for new stadium). The population is misleading though ... although there are nearly 800,000 in the city proper, making it one of the larger cities in the country (12th,13th something like that), the metro only has roughly 2 million, placing it much farther down the list. Chicago is a rare breed indeed with a skyline that belies its population (see any number of larger cities in the world). For an architecture fan or just a fan of big cities, Chicago is special.

An aside ... I do have to give Indy credit, the downtown is small but it is a nice place. Much more street life going on down there than many larger cities ... see Dallas where I lived for 8 years before moving to Indy. My wife who grew up in NYC has worked in both downtown Dallas and Indy and prefers downtown Indy by wide margin. Even the decrepit areas immediately outside of downtown are experiencing gentrification and infilling much like a lot of older cities. Hang outside of St. Elmos Steakhouse downtown Sunday night if the Colts beat the Pats and wait for Payton and company to make their customary appearance ... there will be some street life.

[Alliance]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

HOT-DIGGITY-DOG!

Couldn't have said it better.

[Chicago Shawn]

This project has an FAR of 19.95, pretty small site. These developers went all out to grab the density bounses including:

-Widened sidewalks, I believe the Fairbanks walk will be 15' wide, which is awesome.
-Underground Parking
-Upper level setbacks
-Green Roofs
-$1 Million Contribution to Affordable Housing Trust Fund
-$1.6 Million contribution to Chicago Public Schools capitol improvements trust fund

That last one is a new density bonus recently added to the zoning code.

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by i_am_hydrogen

Is this one 58 or 50 stories? Emporis has it listed as 50.

Thanks for the note, its 58 stories and Emporis has been updated.

[DePaul Bunyan]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

All of the highrises presented at the plan commission were approved today.

I took a photo of the rendering for the hotel/condo tower to be built at 560 North Fairbanks. As we already know it looks a lot like Mandarin, and it also looks like a glassier and less painted concrete version of the Heritage.

You know, it actually reminds me of Aqua in a way. It's almost perfectly aligned north south, and it's a similar distance from the river as well. The side that's facing the lake is wavy. If the materials they use on the exterior are halfway decent this one could be a real stunner. I really don't mind the pedestal bases, as long as they're setbacked and proportional to the rest of the building. Yes, it limits what you can do design wise, but just be glad that we're getting quality stuff like Mandarin and this project and not something like Water Tower Place.

[Mr Roboto]

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

This project has an FAR of 19.95, pretty small site. These developers went all out to grab the density bounses including:

-Widened sidewalks, I believe the Fairbanks walk will be 15' wide, which is awesome.
-Underground Parking
-Upper level setbacks
-Green Roofs
-$1 Million Contribution to Affordable Housing Trust Fund
-$1.6 Million contribution to Chicago Public Schools capitol improvements trust fund

That last one is a new density bonus recently added to the zoning code.

Cool. Thanks for the details a lot of people overlook. Not just a sweet building thats gonna look great, but making other very valuable contributions to the city. Glad they added the CPS bonus too. For this project it seems its all a win-win situation. Can't wait to see this baby go up.

[aaron38]

Wait, this has underground parking? So the pedistal is the hotel then, and not just a parking garage? Or is there still parking in there?
That's a pleasant surprised if all parking is indeed buried.

The wide sidewalks are nice too. I assume that means that a fair number of trees will be planted?

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by aaron38

Wait, this has underground parking? So the pedistal is the hotel then, and not just a parking garage? Or is there still parking in there?
That's a pleasant surprised if all parking is indeed buried.

The wide sidewalks are nice too. I assume that means that a fair number of trees will be planted?

I am quite sure all parking is underground, there are only 311 spaces, and yes there will be new trees and planter boxes on the widened sidewalks.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

I am quite sure all parking is underground, there are only 311 spaces, and yes there will be new trees and planter boxes on the widened sidewalks.

Actually, there will be between 300-320 parking places, and only about 80 of them will be underground.

[Tom In Chicago]

That building is god-awful. . . send it up to Toronto. . . they'll be happy to have it. . .

[Tom Servo]

This one looked great untill I saw the base. WTH?

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by AdrianXSands

This one looked great untill I saw the base. WTH?

^ Well, from the rendering it appears that the 'ugly' part of the base will face an alley.

[Tom Servo]

Well... I shouldn't complain. At least this will look pretty good in the skyline. And at least it'll fill in an empty lot.

[Chitown]

Originally Posted by JMininger

Tell me about it. Naptown has only 3 towers over 500' and 2 of them are just barely. There is nothing substantial on the horizon and the last major highrise was built 16 years ago. Major projects are publicly funded or are related to public projects (hotels for new stadium).

Yeah, and from what I understand "the people" are pretty much taking it in the rear on that stadium.

The population is misleading though ... although there are nearly 800,000 in the city proper, making it one of the larger cities in the country (12th,13th something like that), the metro only has roughly 2 million, placing it much farther down the list. Chicago is a rare breed indeed with a skyline that belies its population (see any number of larger cities in the world). For an architecture fan or just a fan of big cities, Chicago is special.

Hey, 2 million is not something to laugh at! I mean, yeah, it's further down the list, but that's still a pretty freaking significant metropolitan area. It's amazing there isn't more large scale development than there is. To me, Indy is a fine example of the evil that is urban sprawl.

An aside ... I do have to give Indy credit, the downtown is small but it is a nice place. Much more street life going on down there than many larger cities ... see Dallas where I lived for 8 years before moving to Indy. My wife who grew up in NYC has worked in both downtown Dallas and Indy and prefers downtown Indy by wide margin. Even the decrepit areas immediately outside of downtown are experiencing gentrification and infilling much like a lot of older cities. Hang outside of St. Elmos Steakhouse downtown Sunday night if the Colts beat the Pats and wait for Payton and company to make their customary appearance ... there will be some street life.

Don't get me wrong, I like Indy a lot. My sister went to Butler, and currently resides on the East side; I've visited numerous times, and I find the downtown area to be quaint, for lack of a better term. It's just surprising it isn't more built up than it is. The great thing about Chicago is that it approaches the small-town feel of an Indy, while being a bona-fide 1st class metropolis. I consider myself lucky to be so close to Chicago; it's truly a first rate city.