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Downturn be damned — when it comes to high-rise construction, Chicago still rules the roost. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, our city weighed in with the tallest building completed in 2009 (the Trump International Hotel & Tower), seven of the 50 tallest towers completed in ‘09, and more new high-rises over 200 meters than any other city in the world.
Of those seven, four — including the aforementioned Trump — were new residential buildings. They are:
- Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago, 401 N Wabash St: 98 stories, 423 meters / 1,389 feet
- Aqua, 225 N Columbus Dr: 87 stories, 262 meters / 858 feet
- One Museum Park, 1211 S Prairie Ave: 62 stories, 224 meters / 726 feet
- The Elysian Hotel & Private Residences, 11 E Walton St: 60 stories, 209 meters / 686 feet
View the entire list of 2009’s tallest towers in PDF format.
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Maybe I’m missing something, but shouldn’t Legacy at Millennium Park have made the list?
Mark:
I called Jan Klerks at the CTBUH to find out. He says the determination of when a building is “completed” is an inexact science. Often they’re going by a developer’s announcement or an official grand opening — for example, the Burj Khalifa is considered a 2010 completion because its official opening was on Jan. 4, even though the building was in practically the same state on Dec. 31. Otherwise, they have to keep an eye on a building themselves and make a call on whether they think it’s finished or not. (Is there any visible equipment on/around the building, do units appear to be occupied at night, etc.?)
Having been inside the Legacy already, and knowing that there have been closings there, I would have considered it an ‘09 completion. The Elysian was on roughly the same timetable and made the list. Maybe they felt Chicago needed to save a building or two for this year.