Chicago Adds Another Striking Skyscraper to Skyline

As seen CoStar

The tallest office tower to edge into the Chicago skyline in 30 years opened its doors in the past week at a time when few office workers will be there.

The imposing 55-story building at 110 N. Wacker Drive, a joint venture between Howard Hughes Corp. and Riverside Investment & Development, is the first new Chicago skyscraper completed during the coronavirus pandemic that has largely kept tens of thousands of workers, consumers and tourists out of downtown since March. Bank of America is the anchor tenant.

Sitting in a high-profile location on the Chicago River, 110 N. Wacker’s gleaming, glass-clad trapezoid structure replaces a stout, midcentury-modern building that was once the home of GGP, the real estate company acquired by Brookfield Property Partners in 2018, and Morton Salt before it.

The Goettsch Partners-designed skyscraper, which has a forked architectural base that opens to the Chicago River, took three years to complete. More than 50% of the ground-level space that abuts a 380-foot pedestrian path along the river is framed with a small park on the north end and is publicly accessible.

The building was designed long before the novel coronavirus first appeared in the United States, but developers were able to update their plans.

“Social-distancing guidelines were not something we anticipated, as COVID was not something that anyone would have predicted — but we were able to make enhancements to the many health and wellness and high-technology elements that were already in place,” David O’Reilly, interim CEO of Howard Hughes, said in an email to CoStar News.

Air-quality monitoring systems, for example, were boosted, and a secondary filtration system to neutralize airborne viruses and bacteria was put in place. The system, which tenants can monitor on their smartphones, boasts of delivering fresh air quality up to six times the national average.

The elevators accommodate passengers quickly with advanced destination dispatch controls that developers say cut trip time by an almost unthinkable 80% during peak hours.

“The goal was always to set a new standard for Class A office development,” O’Reilly said. “Many measures were put in place pre-COVID to maximize the overall functionality throughout the building and provide workers with the best-in-class experience, including the integration of expansive open space and the health and wellness features that workers are seeking today.”

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America is expected to consolidate its Chicago offices into 500,000 square feet at 110 W. Wacker. Other major tenants include Jones Day and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, two law firms that are relocating from 77 W. Wacker.

Just south of the bend of the river, 110 N. Wacker sits across Randolph Street from another Goettsch design at 150 N. Riverside Plaza. The distinctive towers complement each other and are a tribute to the significance the river has taken on in recent years. One of city’s goals was to complete the so-called Chicago Riverwalk along the main branch, which established a continuous walkway and recreational amenity for downtown workers and visitors.

“The best high-rise buildings successfully manage the marriage of commerce and culture,” James Goettsch, chairman of Goettsch Partners, said in a statement. “Given its unique site along the iconic Chicago River, my hope is that 110 N. Wacker Drive will be looked upon as a building that is both a successful commercial endeavor as well as a development that enhances the public realm and continues Chicago’s tradition of innovative architecture.”