freaking large^

Are you sure about that or is that a passage way on the east side of the building in the model on the park side?

Nothing is wrong with a private park. I just don't care for the fact that if it is indeed private, the podium will not likely have any kind of pedestrian access and look like shit for the street level....similar to Lake Point Tower. Who thinks LPT's podium looks good from the perspective of a pedestrian on the street below.

I was hoping(and still am) that a good architect will figure out a way for LSE to be intergrated sucessully into the rest of Chicago. With the differences in grade now, LSE will remain auto-oriented.

From what I understand, Lake Street will be extended to the east a little bit, and a staircase will be build from upper Columbus/Lake Street down to the park level.

I also think that we'll have to wait for more detailed renderings of the base to see how successful it'll be.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I hope you are correct. I once stayed at the Swiss Grand Hotel(now Swisshotel) and was amazed at how impossible it was to even reach the lakefrontor just walk east.

LSE could use the benefit of some creative engineers.

Also, although a lovely landscaped base will be nice for Aqua residents, I'd prefer the southern half of the site be devoted to new development. Harbor Park(a little big even for me) is right next door which allows for open space.

^^I feel a little better. I look forward waiting for better details. Thanks so much.

You know, we've all been talking about the base and it's size. I totally forgot about that Com-Ed substation which sits on the site now. Frumie on SSC mentioned it. It appears that the station will stay in place and Aqua will be built above it. That station is quite linear and that's probably the reason for the massive base.

Also, parking. All the parking for the tower and hotel, there will possibly be ballrooms and other things.

If I can't get renderings, I will just wait until the model in the sales center is complete, and I'll take shots of that.

Another coonection will be made at the marketplace behind 340 on the Park, which will have a hole in the center of the structure with a 3 level escalator linking Upper Randolph to the park level.

Interesting. I wonder if it will be similar to some of Hong Kong's outdoor escalators? I can't imagine that working with Chicago's climate.

^ id imagine it would be similar to the escalators that connect Upper Illinois with Lower Illinois by the River East Center... they still seem to work chicago's weather, in that they aren't affected by whatever it is in our weather that isnt conducive to the existance of outdoor escalators.

Yes, that is exactly true. I spoke to someone who was working on the project about 1 year ago, and that was the problem they were contending with.

On that note, I hope ComEd builds towers over all their other substations.

Also, yes, there is supposed to be a Lake Street pedestrian extension that leads down to the park.

^ I'm sorry, but the proliferation of these outdoor escalators/elevators in Chicago is just plain too cool for me to handle.

Nothing says "we're awesome" like an escalator taking you up from one street to another in the middle of an obnoxious downtown full of skycrapers, cabs and buses :cool:

Sales
 

Does anyone know what the sales velocity in this tower has been like, so far? I hope the public likes it as much as we high-rise buffs do. Otherwise, the next one may be a 90-story Loewenberg slab.

Honte, sales begin April 8th. I hope it does well too.

Sort of reminds me of the proposed tower in Mississauga, Ontario:

http://www.mississauga.com/images/mi...8495-35146.jpg

Oh, thanks. I guess I should read the ad more carefully?

Perhaps they'll do an Admiral's Pointe (or whatever that building is called) tomorrow and sell out in one day?

Whoa that Mississauga building is frikkin awesome!!!

Sales started today. Can someone go check out the sales center?

I wonder if something is a little screwy with that rendering? In the main page on Emporis, the building looks like a tame Norman Foster rip-off (although still pretty cool). But it doesn't have the irregularity of the Aqua tower...

http://www.emporis.com/en/il/im/?id=447317

^Absolute City Centre?