An Irish company is to develop the world's tallest residential building in Chicago.Shelbourne Development was given planning permission by the City of Chicago Planning Commission to construct a 2,000ft high twisting tower at the mouth of the Chicago river on the shores of Lake Michigan.
The Chicago Spire, designed by award-winning Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, will be the tallest building in the US or Europe and the tallest residential building in the world.
It will house 1,200 apartments on 150 floors and will feature a four-storey transparent lobby and underground parking for 1,350 cars.
The 3,000,000sq ft tower will be surrounded by a one-acre plaza, designed by Calatrava, which will be open to the public and will connect to Du Sable Park, a three-acre city park also being created by the developers to honour Chicago's founder, Jean Baptiste Pointe Du Sable.
Work on the project is expected to begin next month with a completion date in 2010. The apartments will begin to go on sale this summer for prices yet to be finalised.
The estimated cost of the project is thought to be in excess of €800 million.
Shelbourne Development, with headquarters in Dublin, was established by Garrett Kelleher, now chairman of the company, in 1987. It is a major residential and commercial property developer in Ireland and is pursuing projects in the UK, France, Belgium and the US.
The company took over the development of the Chicago Spire in July last year after a previous developer failed to acquire the necessary financing for the project.
Mr Kelleher said the spire represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the home of high-rise and the mecca of modern architecture.
"This is probably the best residential site in North America," he said. "There will be unobstructed views of lake from the building forever."
He said the engineering challenges represented by the development would be met by a team of international specialists. "I've got the best global team of engineers in the world," he said.
The project's architect is known in Dublin for his design of the James Joyce Bridge, which opened in 2003 and he has been commissioned to design the Beckett Bridge at Macken Street.
