Lakeshore East is a master-planned mixed use urban development being built by the Magellan Development Group in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the northeastern part of the Loop, which, along with Illinois Center, is called the New Eastside. The development is bordered by Wacker Drive to the north, Columbus Drive to the west, Lake Shore Drive to the east, and East Randolph Street to the south. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill created the master plan for the area. [1] The development, which had been scheduled for completion in 2011, [2] was set for completion in 2013 by 2008. [3] Development continued with revised plans for more buildings in 2018 and continuing construction of the Vista Tower in 2019.
Although the majority of the buildings in the neighborhood will be 21st century constructions resulting from the master plan, some of the current buildings were built as early as the 1960s and 1970s decades. Thus, the term "Lakeshore East" refers only to the components of the new master plan, while the term New Eastside refers to the greater neighborhood surrounding Lakeshore East that extends westward to Michigan Avenue. [4] In the 1960s, Illinois Center near Michigan Avenue was developed. There is little formal distinction between buildings in the masterplan and other buildings in the neighborhood because the pre-existing buildings are referred to as being located in the Lakeshore East area. [5]
Lakeshore East features several of the tallest buildings in Chicago and may include a few of the tallest buildings in the United States. The overall planned development, the park, and several of the individual buildings have won awards for architecture and/or urban planning. The buildings are planned for various types of residential use (condominiums, apartments, or hotels). Due to the neighborhood's proximity to both Lake Michigan to the east and the Chicago River to the north, many of the buildings are named with aquatic or nautical themes. [6] As of August 2008, 1,500 condominiums have been sold and 1,200 apartments have been completed. [3]
Previous to this urban development, the Lakeshore East area had been used by Illinois Central Railroad yards. [5] After World War II, the railroads sold airspace rights north of Randolph Street. [7] For several years after the rail yards were vacated, the site was used as a 9-hole golf course. [5] Pete Dye designed the course, known as Metro Golf at Illinois Center, which was completed in 1994 and closed in 2001. [8] [9] The area was originally planned for development as part of the Illinois Center, [5] and one of the challenges to the new development was to integrate itself into the inherited triple-level street system while creating a visually appealing and pedestrian friendly neighborhood. [5] The solution was to stagger ground-level amenities and building entrances from the upper level at the perimeter to the lower level at the interior. Thus the multilevel street grid is utilized around the edges, with large parking structures in the podiums, while a large park at the lowest level forms the core of the development. [5] When the redevelopment was planned in 2001 and commenced in 2002, completion was anticipated to happen in 2013. [10]
The following buildings pre-existed the 21st century master plan for the neighborhood: Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower, Three Illinois Center, Swissôtel Chicago, Buckingham Plaza, The Parkshore, North Harbor Tower, 400 East Randolph Street Condominiums and Harbor Point. A 27-floor vertical expansion of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower was completed in 2010. When Harbor Point and 400 East Randolph were built, Lake Shore Drive ran through this neighborhood to the west of these buildings, but it has since been rerouted to the east of these buildings. [11] [12]
Buildings in the development have featured new segments of pedway. These have been integrated into the Chicago Pedway system, segments of which have formally existed since 1951. The pedway system provides connections between public and private buildings, Chicago Transit Authority stations and Metra commuter rail facilities. [13] The pedway has generated controversy among Lakeshore East residents due to segments of promised pedway which have not been constructed. The archives available on the NewEastside.org website show numerous plans and unfulfilled promise regarding connecting the pedway to most of the New Eastside. [14] Among developers' unfulfilled promises regarding the pedway is promises dating as far back as the 1990s that the development would feature the construction of a full pedway link to Buckingham Plaza and North Harbor Tower. [15]
The 4, 6 and 60 CTA bus routes run along the borders of the Lakeshore East area, and the 60 makes a turnaround within it on Harbor Drive. [16]
This $4 billion lifestyle center spans 28 acres (0.044 sq mi; 0.113 km2), and will include 4,950 residences, 2,200,000 square feet (200,000 m2) of gross commercial space, 1,500 hotel rooms, 770,000 square feet (72,000 m2) of retail space and a planned elementary school surrounding a magnificent 6-acre (24,000 m2) botanical park. [1] The plan, which had Adrian Smith as the design partner, calls for fourteen high-rise condominiums and two commercial officespace superstructures. [17] Lakeshore East is within walking distance to the Chicago River, Lake Michigan, DuSable Harbor, Michigan Avenue, Grant Park, and Millennium Park.
The park, named Lakeshore East Park, opened in 2005 and is supported by a mixture of public funds from the Chicago Park District and private funds from the neighboring Lakeshore East condominium buildings. It is the city's first and currently only free wireless park. [5] The park features several fountains. [18] [19] The park is dog friendly and also home to a dog park where dogs can be let off leash. [20]
The Lancaster (completed in 2005) was Lakeshore East's first new completed building. [21] The Shoreham (2005) was Lakeshore East's first completed apartment building. [22] 340 on the Park (2007) was briefly the tallest all-residential building in Chicago, but was surpassed by One Museum Park. [23] Aqua (2009) is the first skyscraper in Chicago to combine condominium residences, luxury rentals, deluxe hotel and retail spaces in the same structure and it is believed to be the tallest building in the United States designed by a female-run architectural firm. [24] The development has its own village center, named Village Market Center, [25] which includes a full service supermarket. The other buildings completed in the first phase of development were The Regatta (2007), The Chandler (2008) and The Tides (2008) as well as the Benton Place Parkhomes townhouses (2009).
In 2011, construction began on Coast at Lakeshore East. Lease occupancies began in February 2013. [26]
The St. Regis Chicago, a condominium/hotel combination that is now the third tallest building in Chicago, began construction in August 2016 and was completed in 2020. [27]
Lakeshore East is a venture of Magellan Development Group LLC, a recently formed corporate partnership culminating a long-term collaboration between Magellan Development Group and NNP Residential & Development. [28]
In 2017 revised plans were unveiled for remaining construction in the masterplan, [29] but 42nd ward Alderman Brendan Reilly rejected them because of concerns about landscaping, security, minor traffic issues and building setbacks. [30] [31] They were revised in August 2018 to include buildings of 40, 50 and 80 storeys. The newly proposed plan would update and replace the 2001 masterplan. [32] On mid-October 2018, the Chicago Plan Commission approved the plans that included a 950-foot (290 m) tower as one of four new towers. [33] Chicago City Council approved the plans in an October 31 meeting. [34]
All of the buildings in Lakeshore East are luxury condos and high-end apartment highrises. Many of them are named with an aquatic theme. In addition to the luxury skyscrapers, the development will include 24 ultra-luxury town homes in the $2 million price range. [35] [36]
The master plan won the 2002 American Institute of Architects National Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design. [2] The park was honored as the Best New Park in Chicago by Chicago magazine and the city’s Best New Open Space by the Friends of Downtown. [35] The master plan, the park and several individual buildings have won numerous other awards. [37]
In 2008, the International Real Estate Federation declared the Lakeshore East master plan the recipient of the FIABCI Prix D'Excellence international award. Lakeshore was the only United States winner for international design excellence. [38]
Name | Address | Completed | Floors | Height ft (m) | Use |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
195 North Columbus [39] | 195 N. Columbus Drive | Proposed | 60 | 650 feet (198.1 m) | TBD |
340 on the Park [23] | 340 E. Randolph Street | 2007 | 64 | 672 feet (204.8 m) | Condominium/Retail |
400 East Randolph [12] | 400 E. Randolph Street | 1963 | 40 | 378 feet (115.2 m) | Condominium |
Aqua [40] | 225 N. Columbus Dr. | 2009 | 82 | 822 feet (250.5 m) | Hotel/Apartment/Condominium |
Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower [41] | 300 E. Randolph Street | 2010 | 54 | 743 feet (226.5 m) | Office |
Cascade [42] | 455 E. Waterside Drive | 2021 | 37 | 396 feet (120.7 m) | Apartment |
Cirrus [42] | 211 N. Harbor Drive | 2021 | 47 | 512 feet (156.1 m) | Condominium |
Coast at Lakeshore East [43] | 345 E. Wacker Drive | 2013 | 45 | 550 feet (167.6 m) | Apartment |
GEMS World Academy [44] | 350 E. South Water Street | 2014 | 9 | 153 feet (46.6 m) | School |
Harbor Point [11] | 155 N. Harbor Drive | 1975 | 54 | 550 feet (167.6 m) | Condominium/Retail |
Lakeshore East I Tower [45] [46] | 475 E. Wacker Drive | Proposed | 80 | 950 feet (289.6 m) | TBD |
North Harbor Tower [47] | 175 N. Harbor Drive | 1988 | 55 | 556 feet (169.5 m) | Apartment |
Swissôtel Chicago [48] | 323 E. Wacker Drive | 1989 | 45 | 457 feet (139.3 m) | Hotel |
The Buckingham [49] | 360 E. Randolph Street | 1982 | 44 | 400 feet (121.9 m) | Condominium |
The Chandler [50] | 450 E. Waterside Drive | 2008 | 36 | 389 feet (118.6 m) | Condominium |
The Lancaster [51] | 201 N. Westshore Drive | 2005 | 30 | 324 feet (98.8 m) | Condominium |
The Parkshore [52] | 195 N. Harbor Drive | 1991 | 56 | 556 feet (169.5 m) | Condominium |
The Regatta [53] | 420 E. Waterside Drive | 2007 | 45 | 466 feet (142.0 m) | Condominium |
The Shoreham [54] | 400 E. South Water Street | 2005 | 47 | 450 feet (137.2 m) | Apartment/Retail |
The Tides [55] | 360 E. South Water Street | 2008 | 51 | 500 feet (152.4 m) | Apartment |
Three Illinois Center [56] | 303 E. Wacker Drive | 1979 | 28 | 350 feet (106.7 m) | Office |
St. Regis Chicago [57] | 375 E. Wacker Drive | 2020 | 93 | 1,198 feet (365.2 m) | Hotel/Condominium |
Illinois Center is a mixed-use urban development in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA, lying east of Michigan Avenue. It is notable in that the streets running through it have three levels. Elsewhere in Chicago, some streets have two levels, with the lower level for through traffic and service vehicles and the upper level for other local traffic. In Illinois Center, the lower level has been split, with a middle level for through traffic and a lower level for service vehicles.
Millennium Station is a major commuter rail terminal in the Loop (downtown), Chicago. It is the northern terminus of the Metra Electric District to Chicago's southern suburbs, and the western terminus of the South Shore Line to Gary and South Bend, Indiana.
Lake Point Tower is a residential skyscraper located on a promontory of the Lake Michigan waterfront in Chicago, just north of the Chicago River at 505 North Lake Shore Drive. Completed in 1968, it has a curving three wing design and is in the Streeterville neighborhood on the Near North Side. Located adjacent to Navy Pier, the building is the only skyscraper in the city east of Lake Shore Drive.
340 on the Park is a residential tower in the Lakeshore East development of the neighborhood of New Eastside/ East Loop Chicago completed in 2007. The building was the tallest all-residential building in Chicago until the completion of One Museum Park.
400 East Randolph Street Condominiums or simply 400 East Randolph is a 40-story high-rise in Chicago, Illinois, designed by Reinheimer & Associates. The building primarily consists of residential condominiums, though there are a few businesses and restaurants also located in the building. Situated on East Randolph Street on the New Eastside, the building sits between the Buckingham to its west and Harbor Point to its east. Two parks, Millennium Park and Lakeshore East Park, are immediately located to 400 East Randolph's south and north faces respectively. It is one of the buildings in the area that predates the new surrounding Lakeshore East development.
The Buckingham, formerly known as Buckingham Plaza, is a 44-story all-residential condominium designed by Fujikawa Johnson & Associates. Located on East Randolph Street in Chicago, Illinois, the building sits between the new 340 on the Park building to its west and the older Outer Drive East building to its east. Two parks, Millennium Park and Lakeshore East Park, are immediately located to the Buckingham's south and north faces respectively. It is one of the few buildings that predates the new Lakeshore East development in the New Eastside neighborhood.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower (BCBS) is on the north end of Millennium Park along E. Randolph Street at the NE corner of Randolph and Columbus Drive, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is home to the headquarters of Health Care Service Corporation.
Aqua is an 82-story mixed-use skyscraper in Lakeshore East, downtown Chicago, Illinois. Designed by a team led by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects, with James Loewenberg of Loewenberg & Associates as the Architect of Record, it includes five levels of parking below ground. The building's eighty-story, 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2) base is topped by a 82,550 sq ft (7,669 m2) terrace with gardens, gazebos, pools, hot tubs, a walking/running track and a fire pit. Each floor covers approximately 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2).
The Grant is the companion structure to One Museum Park in the Near South Side community area (neighborhood) in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located at the north end of the Central Station development.
The Historic Michigan Boulevard District is a historic district in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States encompassing Michigan Avenue between 11th or Roosevelt Road, depending on the source, and Randolph Streets and named after the nearby Lake Michigan. It was designated a Chicago Landmark on February 27, 2002. The district includes numerous significant buildings on Michigan Avenue facing Grant Park. This section of Michigan Avenue includes the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 66. The district is one of the world's best known one-sided streets rivalling Fifth Avenue in New York City and Edinburgh's Princes Street. It lies immediately south of the Michigan–Wacker Historic District and east of the Loop Retail Historic District.
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Lucien Lagrange & Associates or Lucien Lagrange Architects is an architecture firm founded by Lucien Lagrange in 1985. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010. The company is located at 605 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, and it has approximately sixty employees. The company is owned 100% by Lucien Lagrange. Lagrange is a French-born architect who came to Chicago in 1978 after studying at McGill University and who rose to prominence while working for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill after having been a 1950s high school dropout.
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Magellan Development Group, LLC is an American real estate and property development company that was formed in 1996 as a result of a long term corporate partnership between Joel Carlins and James Loewenberg.
Coast at Lakeshore East, originally known as Lakeshore East Building 2-A, is a 46-story residential skyscraper in the Lakeshore East development in the Loop community area of downtown Chicago. The building is located at 345 East Wacker Drive. It is the eighth 21st century skyscraper at Lakeshore East. It is the first smoke-free residential building in Lakeshore East.
Lakeshore East Building I is the address of the as-yet unnamed skyscraper that is part of the 2018 revision of the Lakeshore East development masterplan. The property is located immediately south of Wacker Drive and immediately west of Lake Shore Drive with a potential address of 300 North Lake Shore Drive. The property was approved as part of the Lakeshore East masterplan with a 950-foot (290 m) height.