STREETERVILLE’S ONE BENNETT PARK REACHES ITS RECORD-SETTING HEIGHT

The under-construction One Bennett Park skyscraper in Streeterville hit an important milestone this month by topping out at 836 feet, becoming the tallest all-residential building in Chicago. It’s an encouraging sign that ambitious projects proposed during this development cycle are well on their way to completion. According to developer Related Midwest, the new 70-story tower is the tallest constructed in Chicago since 2009—and there are taller towers still on the way.Unveiled in July 2014, the tower proposal from Related and partner LendLease immediately garnered attention for its height and the design team behind the project. Prominent New York firm Robert A.M. Stern Architects was announced as the lead architect and Michael Van Valkenburgh—the landscape designer behind Maggie Daley Park and the 606—was selected to shape the new park at the tower’s base. Chicago’s GREC Architects is serving as the architect of record, a role which helps coordinate all teams involved in design and construction.Related Midwest president Curt Bailey and David Ervin of GREC Architects highlight Chicago’s role in modern architecture and engineering and how the new One Bennett Park will contribute to the city’s legacy by becoming the first—and perhaps only—Chicago skyscraper designed by Stern, an architect who gained prominence during the postmodernist movement.“If you appreciate architecture and design, this is where you’re going to want to live,” says Bailey. “In the end, we’re in the business of developing legacy buildings.”That notion was reiterated by Ervin: “From our standpoint, a legacy building is one that stands the test of time,” he says.