River Point

River Point, previously known as 200 North Riverside Plaza, is a 52 story 730 ft. (213 m) tall skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, located at 444 West Lake Street. The 52-story building has 1 million square feet (93,000 m2) of floor space. It sits on air rights above active railroad tracks and as well the subway portion of the CTA Blue Line, which affected the angle of some support columns, which in turn produced the parabolic arch in the base of the building.

This article is about the building in Chicago. For the building in Limerick, see Riverpoint.
River Point
River Point
Location within Chicago metropolitan area
River Point (Illinois)
River Point (the United States)
Former names200 North Riverside Plaza
General information
StatusComplete
TypeOffice
Location444 West Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates
Construction started2013
Completed2017
Opening2017
OwnerIvanhoé Cambridge; Hines Interests LP; The Levy Organization; River Point Holdings LLC
Height
Roof732 ft (223 m)
Technical details
Floor count52
Floor area92,900 m2 (1,000,000 sq ft)
Design and construction
ArchitectPickard Chilton
DeveloperHines Interests Limited Partnership
Structural engineerMagnusson Klemencic Associates
Main contractorClark Construction; Lendlease Group

Groundbreaking and main tenants

It was developed by Hines and designed by Pickard Chilton. The building was designed before the Great Recession of the early 21st century, and constructed after it.[1] A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the tower in January 2013.[2] The building is seeking Gold LEED certification.[3]

The building became the headquarters of Morton Salt in December 2016.[4] The anchor tenant is the law firm McDermott Will & Emery, which occupies 225,000 sq ft (20,900 m2) of office space,[5] and it moved in to River Point in March 2017.[6] Mead Johnson also relocated its headquarters from suburban Glenview to the building.[7]

Location

The land on which this tower stands is known as River Point because it lies at the point where the North and South branches of the Chicago River form.

It is between Canal Street and the Chicago River, and north of another skyscraper, 150 North Riverside, completed a few months later in 2017, which is also built on air rights over the railroad tracks leading into Union Station to the south of both properties.

As required by the city of Chicago, the building also includes a 1.5-acre (0.61 ha) public park[8] and a landscaped riverwalk that is open to the public. To accommodate the land required for the public park and river walk it is built over a set of active railroad tracks.

Reception

The building's design reflects its location well, where the two branches of the Chicago River begin, with critic Blair Kamin noting "its exuberant curves" and how it reflects the river, like the impressive building across the river from it, 333 Wacker Drive.[1] It was the first new downtown skyscraper to open in seven years, due to the Great Recession. Kamin points out how the structure of this building is affected by the once-surface railroad tracks and the CTA Blue Line subway tunnel running beneath it, requiring a tilt in some support columns. That tilt results in "the building's most distinctive feature: the tall parabolic arch at its base".[1] Kamin concludes that the site demanded, and this building delivered "a memorable statement".[1]

See also

References
  1. Kamin, Blair (December 16, 2017). "Curvy new skyscraper reflects river and rising design ambition". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  2. "Mayor Emanuel and dignitaries break ground on River Point office tower - REJournals.com".
  3. "River Point - Chicago's New Riverfront Landmark".
  4. "Morton Salt To Move Headquarters to New Downtown Chicago Development Along Chicago River - Morton Salt".
  5. "McDermott Executes Lease to Become Anchor Tenant in New River Point Office Tower". McDermott Will & Emery. Chicago. July 10, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  6. "McDermott's Chicago Office Relocates to River Point: Firm Becomes Anchor Tenant in the West Loop's New Iconic Office Tower Located at 444 West Lake Street". McDermott Will & Emery. March 27, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  7. Elejalde-Ruiz, Alexia (March 3, 2015). "Mead Johnson moving headquarters to Chicago riverfront tower". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  8. "River Point – Properties – Hines".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.