ChicagoDowntown / Loop

500 North Lake Shore Drive, Streeterville

by Joe Zekas on 11/4/11

Related Midwest began construction in September 2011 at 500 N Lake Shore Dr on a 45-story, 500-unit apartment tower slated for occupancy in May of 2013. The square-block site, bounded by Lake Shore Dr, Peshtigo Ct, Grand Ave and Illinois St, is one of the very few parcels available for development on Lake Shore Drive.

Related Midwest is the developer, in partnership with the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust. Lend Lease is the general contractor, and Solomon Cordwell Buenz the architect.

The building will include ground-level retail space and an unusual all-season “green wall element” that was designed to meet community concerns about the aesthetics of the structure’s parking base along Lake Shore Drive. The project will seek LEED Silver status from the US Green Building Council.

A 30,000 square foot amenity package will include club rooms for entertaining and relaxing on the 11th and 45th floors and a fully-outfitted catering kitchen to service the club rooms, outdoor spaces and residences.

The building will also feature a landscaped exterior roof terrace with a lap-length pool, sundeck, private cabanas and dining spaces with kitchens and a fire pit.

Location and views

530 North Lake Shore Drive sits at the point at which Lake Shore Drive becomes elevated to span the Chicago River. It has very convenient access to Navy Pier, Jane Addams Memorial Park, Olive Park, Ohio Street Beach and the Lakefront Trail. There’s also a 3-acre park immediately west of the building. The density of tourist attractions in the immediate area is either a plus or a minus, depending on your preferences.

Shopping, dining and entertainment venues are plentiful in the immediate area, and there is a Fox & Obel market a short block away.

Views of Navy Pier from 500 N Lake Shore Dr will be almost completely blocked by Lake Point Tower, which is directly east across Lake Shore Drive and also interrupts Lake Michigan views. Views to the south may be disrupted when – if ever – the Chicago Spire site is developed. The building itself will have a negative impact on views from south-facing units at the adjacent 530 N Lake Shore Dr, and will cast an afternoon shadow on Lake Point Tower’s Skyline Park.