Construction Milestone Reached at 300 N. LaSalle

August 18, 2008

Construction Milestone Reached at 300 N. LaSalle

CHICAGO – The Clark Construction Group, LLC, team building the 300 N. LaSalle project in downtown Chicago reached a milestone recently when the 60-story tower topped out, signaling the completion of all significant structural framework. Rising 800 feet above LaSalle Street and the Chicago River below, the 300 N. LaSalle project is among the tallest in Clark Construction's 100-year history.

Construction on the 1.6 million-square-foot 300 N. LaSalle project began in July 2006. When complete, the building will offer dramatic views of the city's skyline and, with a waterfront café, fine-dining restaurant, and half-acre public plaza, will serve as a natural gateway to the downtown area.

300 N. LaSalle will have 52 floors of office space, retail and conference center floors, and three levels of below-grade parking. The structure consists of 24-foot diameter belled concrete caissons, concrete core, and shear walls surrounded by structural steel framing with concrete slabs on metal deck. The building facade is primarily a unitized curtainwall system with stainless steel accent covers incorporating metal panel buttresses at the top of the building as well as precast concrete panels adjacent to an existing office building to the west.

Project owner Hines has secured global law firm Kirkland & Ellis, LLP, as the building's main tenant. The firm will occupy 675,000 square feet over 28 floors. More than 400,000 square feet of tenant space is shared by multiple tenants.

300 N. LaSalle is being built to meet LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The numerous sustainable elements in the project include using collected rain water in the HVAC system and drawing water from the Chicago River for use in the building's cooling system, eliminating the need for cooling towers.

Completion of the 300 N. LaSalle project is expected in December 2008.

Pickard Chilton, of New Haven, Conn., is the design architect and Kendall/Heaton Associates, Inc., of Houston, will serve as the Architect of Record for this project. Magnusson Klemencic Associates, of Chicago, is the structural engineer, and Alvine and Associates, Inc., of Omaha, Neb., is providing MEP engineering services.