Willis Tower Renovations Could Include Chance To Rappel Down Tower
By Rachel Cromidas in News on Mar 22, 2017 4:49PM
Skydeck rendering shows potential new glass staircase between floors, via Crain's.
The owners of the iconic Willis Tower are working up plans for a $20 million expansion to the Tower's vertiginous Skydeck, and some of the more out-there possibilities include a place to rappel from one floor to another, or walk outside along a 102-story balcony.
According to Crain's, a new report from Morningstar Credit Ratings shows that Blackstone Group is exploring several exciting new amenities for the 103rd floor Skydeck, as part of a massive, $500-million renovation project to the West Loop skyscraper. The Skydeck is known as a major local tourism draw, receiving some 1.7 million visitors a year, thanks in part to the popularity of "The Ledge," a spot where visitors stand in a clear glass box that just outward from the building and looks down over the city streets below.
Among Blackstone's potential plans include a chance to rappel between the 103rd and 102nd floors inside an enclosed glass box, similar to The Ledge, and a "Ledgewalk," an exterior balcony rimmed with tall glass panes, but otherwise exposed to the elements from the top, which would wrap around part of the 110-story building at the 102nd floor. The changes would double the Skydeck's capacity, according to Crains. Additionally, Blackstone is planning a retail section and food court for the Skydeck.
Though it appears the plans are just in their first, beginning stages of development, they look like exciting architectural updates to make already popular local attraction even more interesting for gravity-defying tourists and photographers—in other words, bring on the selfies and yoga poses.