On the anniversary of his first year in office, Mayor Rahm Emanuel showed he's visibly leaving his mark on Chicago.
Real estate company Ivanhoé Cambridge will build a 45-story office tower in the West Loop, Emanuel announced Wednesday. The $300 million project is expected to close by the end of May, and construction should start by year's end.
"It's the first office tower since 2008," Emanuel said. "I can't. think of a better way to celebrate."
The building aims to open for occupancy in early 2016. It will create 1,000 union construction jobs and house 3,400 office jobs.
Emanuel called the tower, named River Point, the largest real estate project to be launched in the past five years in Chicago.
“River Point is a vote of confidence for our city, welcome news for the local economy, and a signal that Chicago is leading the nation in job creation and economic development,” said Emanuel.
The tower, designed by architectural firm Pickard Chilton, will be built at 444 W. Lake St. on the west bank of the Chicago River. It will contain about 900,000 square feet of leasable space and includes plans to construct a 1.5-acre public park.
