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A Major Skycraper Could Pop Up Soon Next To Union Station

By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 9, 2016 3:08PM

UnionStationSkycraper1.jpg
Rendering via Crain's

The skylines are a-changin’. Mega-developers Sterling Bay are making plans to build a huge, 958-foot skyscraper adjacent to Union Station in the West Loop, according to a Crain’s report. The report arrives just one day after a ceremonial groundbreaking for what will become Chicago’s third largest building, and news of a potentially massive development at the former Chicago Spire site.

So far, things are very preliminary, but here’s what we know. The skyscraper as proposed would cover some two million square feet, and it’s nearly 960-feet height would make it the ninth-tallest building in Chicago (which includes the under-construction Vista Tower). Sterling Bay has tapped towering-architecture superstars Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (John Hancock Center, Willis Tower, Burj Khalifa) for the project's design. And the real-estate developers are reportedly in talks with potential anchor tenants for the proposed office space. (Crain’s identifies Bank of America as a potential match.)

Curbed reported in May that Amtrak had issued a request for qualifications to potential developers in its bid to overhaul Union Station—one that included the possibility of a high-rise venture. Details surrounding any further redevelopment of the train hub are still unclear. A federally funded Transit Center—which connects Amtrak riders at Union Station to CTA buses via underground pedway—was opened to the public on Sunday.

UnionStationSkyscraper2.jpg
Rendering via Crain's