Vista Tower’s construction tops out at floor 101
Will be Chicago’s third-tallest
Vista Tower reached its final height on Friday, when construction workers poured concrete to form the Chicago skyscraper’s 101st and final floor.
That marked the highest point of construction in Chicago in more than a decade, and it brought Chicago’s Magellan Development Group closer to its planned spring 2020 completion of what will become the city’s third-tallest skyscraper.
Topping out the 1,191foot-tall Vista Tower came more than a decade after Trump International Hotel & Tower reached its full height in August 2008, in the throes of a real estate crash. Trump’s 1,389-foottall condo and hotel tower, Chicago’s second-tallest building, was completed in 2009.
The 1,451-foot-tall Sears Tower, now called Willis Tower, topped out in May 1973 and was completed the next year. It was the world’s tallest building for 24 years, but has since been surpassed by 16 skyscrapers — all but one of which are outside the United States.
Magellan and its Chinese investment partner, Dalian Wanda Group, broke ground in September 2016 on the $1 billion Vista project. The Jeanne Gangdesigned condominium and hotel tower is near the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, at 303 E. Wacker Drive.
Here is a look at Vista Tower by the numbers.
How the tower was built
115,000 Cubic yards of concrete used to build the skyscraper — the equivalent of 12,800 full concrete mixer trucks.
12,600 Tons of reinforcing steel — which the developers say is the equivalent of 16,800 cars or 4,200 elephants.
775,000 Square feet of exterior glass — enough to cover about 13 1⁄2 football fields.
How big is it?
Vista Tower will be the third-tallest skyscraper in Chicago. Here’s how it compares:
1,451 feet: Willis Tower 1,389 feet: Trump International Hotel & Tower 1,191 feet: Vista Tower 1,136 feet: Aon Center 1,126 feet: 875 N. Michigan Ave. (Formerly John Hancock Center)
Inside the tower
396 Number of condominium units, nearly half of which are under contract. The condo count has decreased from an originally announced 410, because some buyers have combined multiple units.
192 Number of hotel rooms planned in the lowrise portion of the skyscraper.
$840,000 The lowest price among pre-sold condos.
$18.5M The highest price of a pre-sold unit.
When will it be finished?
The tower is estimated to be completed in 2020.
September 2016: Groundbreaking
June 2018: Halfway point reached
April: Construction tops out
Spring 2020: Expected completion of building