Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Residence Tower

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Residence Tower Chicago, is a cancelled^[3] hotel and condominium skyscraper that would have been 1,265 feet (386 m) tall. The Prime Group was in charge of the project which was proposed at a cost of $610 million. The building would have been located one block from the Chicago River,^[1] and north of the Sheraton Chicago in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area of Chicago.^[4] The building's developers, the Fordham Company, were the initial developers of the now-cancelled Chicago Spire.^[1][5]

The building would have been the third tallest building in Chicago since only the Willis Tower and Trump International Hotel and Tower are taller than 1,200 feet (366 m). It would have been among the tallest buildings in the world, since 25 buildings in the world currently exceed 1,200 feet (366 m).

Early in 2012 the approval process began for a much smaller mixed-use tower on the site.^[6]

Plans

Had it been completed, the proposed hotel portion of the building would have been managed by The Waldorf-Astoria Collection, a Hilton Hotels Corporation brand, as part of a larger strategy of limited expansion of its legendary Manhattan name. Within this plan, other Waldorf-Astorias are planned or under construction in Beverly Hills, California, Orlando, Florida and Montreal, Quebec .^[4][7] This management agreement is currently a verbal commitment.^[8]

The plans included a 325-room hotel and 300 luxury condominiums.^[1][4] The building, which would have been 107 stories,^[2] was designed to salute the Chicago Spire, but not imitate it. It had a traditional square base and taper to a scalpel shaped top.^[4] The plan was to aim for a three-year construction period starting in 2009 with sales targeted at $800/square foot instead of the $1200 range that the Spire had targeted. The building was designed to adhere to current trend in Chicago architecture that taller thin buildings are favored to shorter buildings providing the same square footage because the slender buildings block fewer views.^[4]

The Chicago Plan Commission endorsed the plans for the building on June 19, 2008. It still faces several hurdles including approval by the full city council and finding suitable financial backing. There are also plans for a nearby 48-story rental building on the same 2.2-acre (8,903 m²) block. The building was planned to be shown to the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, the Streeterville area's leading civic group during the first week of October.^[4]

Reschke's Prime Group is developing several other properties in Chicago including 10 E. Delaware Place and the Roanoke building.^[9][10]

Notes