Caisson permit issued for Parcel O at Lakeshore East

A caisson permit has been issued for Parcel O, a mixed-use tower in Lakeshore East. Addressed at 193 N. Columbus, the development is being led by Magellan Development Group and will occupy a vacant parcel within the Lakeshore East masterplan.

Designed by bKL Architecture, the development underwent a redesign in 2021 which saw the scope of the building revised to contain only one hotel with 269 keys rather than two hotels with 570 keys. The developer had also reduced the number of apartment units from 640 to approximately 629 apartment units. The redesign also includes three levels of co-working space and two retail spaces in the building, including an approximately 5,500-square-foot retail space adjacent to Upper Columbus Drive and an approximately 3,500-square-foot retail space adjacent to North Park Drive. As a result of these revisions to the program of the building, there are also reductions in the building height and the overall square footage for the building. The revised height of the 47-story building will be 502 feet.

Permit filings show a slightly revised scope, with the hotel key count down to 239 from 269 and the residential unit count down to 607 from 629. Residents will have access to 25 parking spaces on one of the lower floors, with hotel conference space and residential amenities also in the lower levels between N. Columbus Dr and N. Park Dr.

The massing of the building has been designed with a sawtooth plan that creates dynamic movement along the façade and strong vertical lines that pull the eye up to the building’s crown. The facade’s articulation reverses direction between the residential and hotel floors, highlighting the change in program. The tower massing is pushed to the eastern side of the site, allowing for a base that is more in scale with the adjacent buildings on the park.

The project originally received approval from the Chicago Plan Commission in 2018 and planned to begin construction back in 2021 after receiving site plan approval for the revised design. With the caisson permit issued, general contractor Power Construction can begin work on the new building. A timeline for construction is currently unknown.