Yeah, it will look very out of place, at least for awhile. I've been trying to picture how tall it will be compared to the Sears water tower, I'm thinking they'll be pretty close in height.
I will tell you my one concern is that the surrounding area won't properly adapt. Frandor, for example, is a mess to access as a pedestrian from any side - it can be done, but you end up walking along lane edges or through gigantic undesignated masses of concrete anyway you do it. With 1000 more customers just to the south, will they improve pedestrian access, at least from the south?
And then on a related note, will Michigan Ave. get another crosswalk before Harrison? Because I assure you many of those students will not wait until Harrison to cross.
MichMatters was able to find the height of Skyvue in the planning documents a couple pages back in this thread. The main roof parapet wall will rise to 106', the highest point of the roof will be 125'. So the height of the main roof will only be 4' shorter than the Sears water tower, that should make it a little easier to imagine this building being there.
Thanks for keeping us updated with the pictures. It reminds me that I really need to get out and take pictures myself like I used to...
Work here seems to be moving quick, I still find it odd that they're simultaneously drilling the foundation for the new building while tearing down the old one. At this pace the old building should be completely cleared in a couple weeks or less and I imagine vertical construction will begin fairly shortly afterwards.
For whatever reason the mobile version of the article has this new rendering where the desktop doesn't. It's higher quality than previous ones and show that the eastern wing of the building will only be 8 floors.
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And then on a related note, will Michigan Ave. get another crosswalk before Harrison? Because I assure you many of those students will not wait until Harrison to cross.
Comparable building heights:
Sparrow Tower: 9 floors @188ft
Accident Fund: 9 floors @172ft
Capital View: 9 floors @154ft
Victor Office Center: 9 floors @140ft
101 S Washington Square: 9 floors @110ft
Ferris Park Tower: 9 floors @95ft
So somewhere between 101 S Washington and Ferris Park Tower at street level and taller in the back?
Work here seems to be moving quick, I still find it odd that they're simultaneously drilling the foundation for the new building while tearing down the old one. At this pace the old building should be completely cleared in a couple weeks or less and I imagine vertical construction will begin fairly shortly afterwards.