400 Lake Shore Drive


400 Lake Shore Drive is a proposed set of connected towers to be built in Chicago, Illinois. Related Midwest is developing the project, and the firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill designed the buildings. It is scheduled to be completed by 2023.

Site history

Original plans for the site included the Chicago Spire, which would have been second tallest building in the world had it been built as planned. Related Midwest purchased the debt associated with the property in June 2013. Ongoing difficulties caused by the Great Recession prevented construction of the Spire, and Related Midwest gained control of the site in 2014. After acquiring the deed to the property, Related did not indicate whether it would develop the land or sell it.
Architectural firm Gensler released conceptual renderings for the site in mid-2016, and dubbed their proposal the Gateway Tower. Renders for the site by ZHA leaked in December 2017, but Related Midwest denied these were the final designs for the site.
Related released official plans for the site in May 2018. The designs call for a two tower complex, with one 875-foot tower and a connected 765-foot tower clad in terracotta. In October 2018, the office of Alderman Brendan Reilly disclosed that he had rejected the plans released in May because of various concerns with the development's potential impact on the neighborhood. Reilly objected to the inclusion of hotel rooms and the scale of the podium connecting the two buildings. Without Reilly's approval, the project cannot move forward.