CHICAGO | Legacy at Millennium Park | 819 FT / 250 M | 73 FLOORS | 2010

[rgolch]

I presume nothing new with this one. Just wanted to bump it back to pg1.

[kayosthery]

My Business Group Manager said they are in the process of selling units.

[STR]

Damn, I totally got that tower wrong. Oh well. It'll be nice to work on something tall after a day of working on 400 footers.

[Loopy]

Originally Posted by soleri

^I see these kind of battles everywhere and they seem to have the same rhetorical pitch: all or nothing. In a sense, it's the wisdom of the hardball negotiator. Start high and slowly whittle the differences down to manageable size. I'm not suggesting NIMBYs are completely cynical, just that their concerns get juiced up as a necessary precursor to eventual compromise.

The same formula is used by preservationists as well.

They make a big stink about buildings that no one cares about in order to create a sense of sacrifice that allows them to save buildings that matter.

It's a grand old Chicago tradition pioneered by Saul Alinsky and the Back of the Yards organization.

[Wild Onion Mike]

The incorporation of old and new can work really well. I'm glad the facades will be saved because I'm getting a little tired of projects that consume half a block, or even an entire block with the same colors, textures, and themes. Probably a result of podium buildings without enough retail to add flavor to the street. Cities are great when they are hodge-podge collection of styles, colors, and eras.

European and Asian cities have been doing this for centuries. Maybe not frequently on this scale, but the juxtaposition can be very satisfying.

The Legacy, like the Heritage, could be the start of a long standing trend in Chicago. I'm happy to see the compromise as long as its for saving true landmarks and not knee-jerk NIMBYism.

[StevenW]

Very nice tower! I like it a lot.

[STR]

The fixed Legacy is in the spotlight. People having difficulty understanding the design should be especially pleased.

[beachdoc06]

Wow, that's so damn impressive. Comparing that middle section of the skyline viewed from Grant Park before Heritage was built to 2010...what a difference a few 600+ footers makes.

[Fabb]

Originally Posted by HK Chicago

Did they add a few touches of greenery at the setbacks ?
I don't like that. This beautiful building should be purely mineral.

[ltsmotorsport]

I love that second look, STR. That vantage point is going to be killer in a few years.

[VivaLFuego]

Originally Posted by HK Chicago

This view shows all kinds of greatness... this is a class tower based on it's contextual relationships - alot like TTC in this regard.

Could you explain these contextual relationships? I'm not an architecture student, and I very much like the building, but I don't quite follow your use of the term in regards to that shot.

[STR]

^The setbacks are related to the surrounding buildings.

eg. The first setback relates to the roofline of the building just to the south of Legacy. The 2nd to top setback refers to Mid Continental Plaza's roof.

[Marvel 33]

Originally Posted by beachdoc06

Wow, that's so damn impressive. Comparing that middle section of the skyline viewed from Grant Park before Heritage was built to 2010...what a difference a few 600+ footers makes.

That's kind of cool. From Grant Park you'll be able to see many of the new towers in Chicago: Trump Tower, Water Tower, Fordham Spire, One Museum Park, One Museum Park West, 340 on the Park, Legacy, the Mandarin, Aqua and the Columbian.

[HK Chicago]

In addition to the related setbacks this tower presents a different face to each direction - it is literally 4 towers put together. Not much in a bubble, but well done on the skyline.

The difference in the tower's E/W faces is like the difference between, well, Michigan and Wabash. The thin, tallest part looks over Grant Park while the better proportioned face with a clear base/tower/crown fronts Wabash.

I may be making this up (I know nothing about academic architecture), but it looks like they designed 1 tower for each cardinal direction and then figured out how to put them together.

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by Marvel 33

That's kind of cool. From Grant Park you'll be able to see many of the new towers in Chicago: Trump Tower, Water Tower, Fordham Spire, One Museum Park, One Museum Park West, 340 on the Park, Legacy, the Mandarin, Aqua and the Columbian.

And if you took just those towers alone and clustered them together, you would have one of the most impresseve and tallest skylines on earth! Each one of those buildings alone are 500+ feet tall. We are so spoiled.

[spyguy]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/hlife...s-city10s.html

High-rise planned near Millennium Park
March 10, 2006
BY BILL CUNNIFF Real Estate Reporter

Sales have begun for the Legacy at Millennium Park, a 72-story tower planned near the popular downtown park. The building will have 355 units.

A sky bridge on the 13th floor will connect the high-rise to the University Club of Chicago. The tower is designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz.

Prices range from the mid-$300,000s to $5 million. Units have 1 to 4 bedrooms. Sizes range from 875 square feet to 9,301 square feet.

"The Legacy is our sequel to the Heritage at Millennium Park," said Richard A. Hanson, principal with Mesa Development LLC in referring to another nearby high-rise.

"The international acclaim of Millennium Park -- including the Renzo Piano addition to the Art Institute -- helped to fuel the success of the Heritage and spurred the development of the Legacy," he said.

Condos will feature expansive windows and gourmet kitchens, most opening onto a terrace or balcony.

The development team also includes Walsh Investors LLC, architect Solomon Cordwell Buenz, Walsh Construction and sales and marketing agent Equity Marketing Services.

"The residences will have panoramic views of Millennium Park and the lake," he said.

The schedule calls for the building to be completed in spring 2010.

Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the architect for the Legacy at Millennium Park as well as the Heritage at Millennium Park, has designed numerous major Gold Coast, River North and downtown residential properties, including the Bristol and 340 on the Park.

The Legacy at Millennium Park, Chicago. A sales center is open at 18 S. Michigan, seventh floor. Mesa Development LLC, (312) 252-0060.

[Norsider]

Damn that's a good looking building

[TransitEngr]

I REALLY love this building. I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but it looks incredibly fragile, sleek, and dashing from Grant Park, and very strong, bold, and brutish from the loop. That's a fairly difficult architectural effect to caputure and it makes the building stand out from either vantage point. When in Grant park facing west anything that's slim and fragile looking will stand out because quite frankly nearby buildings in the East loop are so forcefull looking... standing in a skyscraper in the loop facing east it will stand out because the lake and grant park are such soft elements while Legacy's west side is so bold and powerful. Superb job they did.

The ONLY gripe I have is... why ONLY 73 floors? For such a prominent site I swear they could have sold out a 90-100 floor building.

I guess I'm spoiled by the current boom.

[Jaroslaw]

<< the "architectural effect" is a function of the shape of the building, which is a trapezoid. The west side looks to be three or four times as wide as the east side; the north and south slope about 30 degrees, so almost every unit will have some lake view. The renders don't emphasize the shape, we'll see how it looks in reality. Not too awkward, I hope. I can't think offhand of any other building in Chicago that looks like a cheese wedge. Hm, the new Sofitel?

[Chicago Shawn]

^Swiss Otel as well