5-Oct-16 – Wolf Point has a date with Chicago Plan Commission to present the second of three buildings visualized for the 3.85 acres near the confluence of the Chicago River’s three branches.

A proposal for a 660-foot-tall, 700-unit apartment tower named Wolf Point East will be presented at the commission’s next hearing on October 20. It is 90 feet shorter and takes up less of Wolf Point than originally planned. It no longer hangs over a riverfront walkway. A restaurant has been moved to make it more accessible to the neighborhood.

42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly says he asked developers to “reconsider the height, density, and site coverage based upon ever-increasing traffic in River North and the fact that the Wolf Point site is landlocked.”

The second tower will include retail space on the ground floor. When it was planned as a 750-foot-tall tower, the estimated cost to build it was $360 million.

Construction will start early next year and finish in December 2019.

(Right) Wolf Point East from the street on the south side of Holiday Inn Mart Plaza, seen at far right. Wolf Point West is visible at right behind Wolf Point East. (Click on image to view larger version.)

Wolf Point East will be a bigger construction project than Wolf Point West, according to Mike Stotz, president of AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation, which has pension money invested in both buildings.

“Wolf Point East will be our largest investment in Illinois to date,” said Stotz at AFL-CIO’s recent constitutional convention. “While we created one and half million hours of union labor with Wolf Point West, just imagine what we will do with Wolf Point East. Hundreds of great paying jobs, with benefits, are coming to Chicago, thanks to the work of our investors.”

Wolf Point West, a 509-unit apartment building that opened in January, was the first of the three phases. Eventually, the development will include a 950-foot south tower with a mix of office, retail, and residential space.

Chicago Plan Commission meets on October 20 at 10:00 a.m. in City Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall, located at 121 North LaSalle Street.