Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Monday that construction will soon begin on a 95-story skyscraper that will become the city’s third-tallest building.
The Vista Tower along the Chicago River will house a 5-star hotel with approximately 200 hotel rooms, more than 400 condominiums and approximately 9,000-square feet of retail space, according to a press release from the mayor's office.
The building will stand at nearly 1,200 feet tall on Wacker Drive near Lake Michigan, making it the third-tallest. The Willis Tower still takes the city's top spot, reaching 1,729 feet tall to the tip, followed by Trump International Hotel and Tower spanning up to 1,362 feet.
Vista Tower is designed by award-winning architect and Chicago native Jeanne Gang at Studio Gang Architects. The building could also reportedly become the world’s tallest building designed by a woman-owned firm.
The project will create more than 2,000 construction jobs and more than 500 permanent jobs, city officials said.
At a cost of $900 million, the project is China's largest-ever real estate investment in Chicago and one of the largest in the U.S.
