Fordham Spire

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This article or section contains information about expected future buildings or structures. It is likely to contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the building approaches completion.

Fordham Spire
Official name	Fordham Spire
Height to tip	2,000 ft (610 m)
Height to roof	1,600 ft (488 m)
Floors	124
Ground Breaking	Imminent
Top off	2010 (est.)
Opening	Unknown
Gross floor area	920,000 ft² (85,470 m²) projected [link]

The Fordham Spire is a proposed 124-story skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, designed by Santiago Calatrava for Chicago developer Christopher T. Carley and scheduled to be completed in 2010. At 2,000 ft (610 m) tall, including a 1,600 ft (488 m) high roof, it would surpass Chicago's Sears Tower and New York's Freedom Tower, which is to be 1,776 ft (541 m) tall, as America's tallest tower. The Fordham Spire would have 200 to 250 condominiums priced from $600,000 to $5,000,000 on top of a 20-story hotel. Although this building will be very tall, it will not surpass Burj Dubai, currently under construction in Dubai, UAE. It will, however, be the tallest free-standing structure in North America surpassing Toronto's CN Tower.

Public opinion

The approved skyscraper is to go up along the city's lakefront west of Navy Pier, northeast of Chicago's Loop. More specifically, the Spire is planned for the land at the junction of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River as a welcoming symbol to the City of Chicago. There is widespread support among both the residents of the immediate neighborhood and the city of Chicago as a whole, especially as the thin 124-story building would block less sunlight and obscure less of the skyline than what the land is presently zoned for, two 35- to 50-story buildings, and would also be a global construction feat.

Mayor Daley recently said he approved of the design saying it was environmentally friendly and has been generally supportive of the effort. On March 16, 2006 the Fordham Spire passed unanimously during that day's meeting of the Chicago Plan Commission and on March 23 the same happened at the city's Zoning Committee meeting. On March 29 The Chicago City Council approved the tower. As part of the approval process, the council passed a measure that raised the height limit on structures at the site to accommodate the 2,000-foot tower. Mayor Daley and Alderman Burt Natarus praised the project, with Natarus saying "This is a very unique opportunity for the city of Chicago. This building belongs to Chicago and should be in Chicago." [link]

Opposition from some neighborhood residents comes from concern over increased congestion. Donald Trump immediately came out against this building saying it would be a target for terrorists and doesn't seem to even be a project, although media speculates that Trump is merely trying to downplay the enormous architectural impact Fordham Spire might have on his own lofty project, the Trump International Hotel and Tower, which is currently under construction on the Chicago River just a few blocks west of the proposed site for Fordham Spire.

Images and Renders

Image:Ib5.jpg

See also

• List of buildings
• List of skyscrapers
• List of tallest buildings in Chicago
• List of tallest buildings in the United States
• World's tallest structures

External links

• [Fordham Co.]
• [Fordham Spire]

 

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