Sanjay Shah isn’t the only person living in the clouds. Chicago is home to seven of the 12 tallest residential buildings in the United States, including two—Trump International Hotel & Tower and the John Hancock Center—that rise more than 1,000 feet. They’ll soon be joined by the proposed 88-floor Wanda Vista, designed by Jeanne Gang and expected to break ground in 2016. Why does Chicago have so many tall buildings? In part because it’s the birthplace of a lot of the architectural innovations—fireproofing, steel frames, elevator technologies—that make the high life possible. That, and a healthy, if unofficial, competition with New York.
432 Park Avenue
(unoccupied)
Opening this fall
Height: 1,396 feet
Percent residential: 85%
Highest residential floor: 96 (of 96)
Trump International Hotel & Tower
Height: 1,388 feet
Percent residential: 65%
Highest residential floor: 89 (of 92)
Trump’s spire counts in the height because it’s nonfunctional. The Hancock’s workhorse antennas don’t qualify.
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How can Shah’s 89th-floor penthouse sit above the Hancock’s 92nd-floor peak? Ceilings in most Trump units are 10 feet, versus Hancock’s 8.5.
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Residents include the Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane, the Bulls’ Derrick Rose, and comedian Steve Harvey.
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John Hancock Center
Height: 1,128 feet
Percent residential: 47%
Highest residential floor: 92 (of 100)
1,400 feet
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Zoom to the top in 39 seconds on the fastest elevators in the United States.
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Chicago’s most affordable tall tower: The price per square foot is in the $300 range.
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One57
Opened: 2014
Height: 1,005 feet
Percent residential: 69%
Highest residential floor: 75 (of 75)
900 North Michigan
Height: 871 feet
Percent residential: 38%
Highest residential floor: 66 (of 66)
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Real estate and casino magnate Neil Bluhm’s 900 N. Michigan unit reportedly has a custom glass staircase and art by Andy Warhol.
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An elevator connects the residential portion directly with the Four Seasons and the hotel’s fancy amenities.
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New York by Gehry
Opened: 2011
Height: 870 feet
Percent residential: 91%
Highest residential floor: 76 (of 76)
Trump World Tower
Opened: 2001
Height: 861 feet
Percent residential: 100%
Highest residential floor: 90 (of 90)
Water Tower Place
Height: 859 feet
Percent residential: 54%
Highest residential floor: 74 (of 74)
A mixed-use pioneer, Water Tower Place includes a Ritz-Carlton, a 133-store mall, and 200,000 square feet of offices. Until 1989, this was the world’s tallest reinforced concrete building.
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Oprah Winfrey owns adjoining units on the 56th and 57th floors that add up to a 9,625-square-foot über-duplex.
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Aqua
Height: 859 feet
Percent residential: 76%
Highest residential floor: 81 (of 82)
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Aqua is the only Chicago tower on the list that both rents and sells units (67 percent are rentals).
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GPS guidance ensured that the curvy balconies—different for each unit—precisely matched the blueprints.
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Two Liberty Place
Opened: 1990
Height: 848 feet
Percent residential: 34%
Highest residential floor: 56 (of 58)
Park Tower
Height: 844 feet
Percent residential: 70%
Highest residential floor: 67 (of 68)
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A 400-ton pendulum hanging within the roof regulates swaying caused by high winds.
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During planning, developers increased ceiling heights by about 18 inches, raising the tower from 650 to 844 feet, with the same floor count.
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The Legacy at Millennium Park
Height: 822 feet
Percent residential: 78%
Highest residential floor: 72 (of 73)
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Because of the building’s wedge-shaped design, almost every unit has views of Lake Michigan and Millennium Park.
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There are two-story terraces on the 42nd and 60th floors.
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