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A few months since a $476 million USD construction loan was granted, the early stages of work are moving along for Chicago's next major office tower, set to rise on a site directly south of Union Station. In the weeks after the loan was announced, the project celebrated its official ground breaking and crews mobilized to begin complicated preparatory work in advance of the 1.5-million-square-foot BMO Tower's 222-metre ascent.
Before the Goettsch Partners-designed building can rise 50 storeys, crews are undertaking drilling operations to form the site's shoring system. Recent photos of the site show large diameter caissons being formed, with site workers providing a sense of the caissons' enormous scale. This phase of construction will pave the way for the upcoming excavation and subsequent foundation work.
The tower is set to be anchored by Toronto-based BMO Financial Group, parent company of BMO Harris, consolidating their downtown Chicago offices by leasing nearly 500,000 square feet in the building, where 3,600 BMO workers will be headquartered. Other features will include a 1.5-acre park and a state-of-the-art bank branch.
Chicago developer Convexity Properties is partnering with Riverside Investment & Development on the project, which is expected to be delivered in 2022.
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