The controversy surrounding the site of Santiago Calatrava's ill-fated Chicago Spire continues, as the city stalls the pair of skyscrapers that SOM's David Childs has proposed for the vacant waterfront plot.
Child's 400 Lake Shore Drive, designed for developer Related Midwest, was rejected by Chicago's vice mayor Brendan Reilly on Monday 22 October 2018 ? 10 years after construction on Calatrava's 150-storey Spire was halted.
Reilly announced the news in a letter sent to the community surrounding the Spire Site, which is located where the Chicago River flows into Lake Michigan.
He highlighted a number of issues with the "sister skyscrapers" ? including security, the esplanade along the Ogden slip, the height of the podium base, and the inclusion of a boutique hotel ? which would need to be addressed before progressing.
"The 400 North Lake Shore Drive proposal will not be moving forward in its current form and is therefore rejected," said Reilly in the letter.
"In the event the developer chooses to address the legitimate concerns regarding their proposal, my office will be sure to provide all impacted neighbours with an update."
In the letter, Reilly details a number of meetings held to address the community's concerns with the projects. These were then listed in a memo sent to Related Midwest on 13 August 2018, but had not been taken these into consideration.

Reilly's rejection of the scheme follows a series of stop-and-starts with the S...