How do you remove a five-story building and replace it with a 57-story tower when there’s no room to work? The team would ultimately rely on the unique existing infrastructure to answer this question and many others to follow. The developer also sponsored an educational seminar on mid-century modern architecture in Chicago, which was open to the public, and commissioned a study of the architecture of the building, which was donated to the Art Institute of Chicago.Īfter clearing the hurdles associated with the entitlement process, the next set of challenges the team faced were related to the site itself. Riverside and Hughes agreed to incorporate 25 of the stainless-steel cladding panels into the new building in a permanent exhibit on the riverfront, along with informational plaques explaining the history of the Morton Salt Company. However, advocacy for preservation led to positive public discourse and increased public engagement around the project as well as other positive outcomes. Ultimately, the City of Chicago’s Commission on Chicago Landmarks did not landmark the building, and the decision was made to move ahead with redevelopment. In fact, the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office determined the building was eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, and groups such as Preservation Chicago and Docomomo Chicago advocated for preserving the building for its historic significance. The building’s stainless-steel cladding added to its iconic look and status as part of Chicago’s architectural history. It then was occupied by General Growth Properties from 1997 until 2018. Built in 1958, the five-story Morton Salt Headquarters Building stood for almost 60 years, serving as the global headquarters until the company relocated in 1991. To do so, they needed to address issues related to the site’s existing structure. The first hurdle the team faced was obtaining project approval. Wacker and the surrounding roads and river. This team of professionals, whom Chris Payne, vice president with Riverside, calls the “best in the business,” not only solved the challenges, but turned them into assets, finding the silver linings that a lesser team may have missed.Ī map shows 110 N. and demolition contractors Heneghan Wrecking Company. Rounding out the core team were structural engineers Thornton Tomasetti steel fabricators Cives Steel Company MEP and fire-protection engineers Environmental System Design Inc. This included architecture firm Goettsch Partners LLP general contractors Clark Construction geotechnical engineers GEI and steel erectors Chicago Steel. Although every site presents its own unique challenges, one of the means by which these challenges are successfully solved is universal: working with a unified, collaborative team.Ĭognizant of the looming challenges, Riverside tapped many of the same players that made the 150 N. Riverside (see “Tower of Power: Strong Steel Overcomes Constraints at a Tight Site,” Informed Infrastructure, April 2016). To say development of the site under all these conditions was a challenge is an understatement.Ī few years ago, Riverside faced development challenges on a site just across the river at 150 N. Adding to the project’s complexity was the spectre of the then-emerging and subsequently ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Working on a tightly constrained, occupied site would be a challenge. Prior to construction, the site was completely occupied by the historically significant 60-year-old former headquarters of the Morton Salt Company. Washington Streets, both effectively river bridge approaches, complete with bridge houses. It stands on the last remaining Wacker Drive riverfront address, which is a one-acre parcel of land wedged between the Chicago River on the west and the double decker Upper and Lower Wacker Drive on the east. It’s the tallest all-commercial building built in the city in the last 30 years. Wacker is a $700-plus million, Class A, 57-story office tower with more than 1.5 million square feet of leasable space.
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