This is a classic example of a city acting as a catalyst
to Effect change on a broad scale.
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American Builders Quarterly
Photo: Tom Rossiter
a home in the sky
It is a fool's
errand
a home in the sky
to search for the Legacy buildingÕs footprint. The skyscraper seems to rise from
nothingÑit looks for all the world as if the historic brick and concrete faades
of JewelerÕs Row in Chicago decided to reinvent themselves on the way up
and transform into the sleek glass tower that soars 825 feet above the cityÕs
popular Millennium Park.
Opposite page: Mesa
Development believes the
Legacy building will bring
tenants with substantial
purchasing power, whose
money will help continue to
revitalize Chicago’s
downtown area.
It was built that way for a reason. The Legacy’s surrounding streets (Monroe and Madison) and avenues (Wabash
and Michigan) owe their atmosphere to the landmark
façades lining them. So, the Legacy, one of the tallest
buildings to go up in North America in 2010, had to be a
perfect marriage between a 19th-century city’s hallowed
old edifices and the lustrous high-rises of the present
architectural age. The result is an illusion of magnificent
proportions, and it has injected a new verve into the
commercial center of Chicago, its glass-and-steel exterior
shining in radiant contrast with the traditionally
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concrete skyline. The final twist is that the Legacy is a
residential building, bringing permanent occupants to a
city district long seen mostly as an area just for tourism
and business.
Essentially, the building came when the time was
right. It took Mayor Daley’s construction of Millennium
Park. It took a special firm to tackle a project of such
scale. And, it took a man who believed in revitalizing
an urban core and bringing not just visitors to Chicago’s
downtown but permanent neighbors. The firm was Mesa
Development, and the man was Richard A. Hanson Sr.
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Urban
Renaissance
Photo: © David B. Seide
a home in the sky
Though he started his career
as an accountant, Hanson Sr.
has had his hand in many of
Chicago’s most notable developments, including US Cellular
Field and the United Center
during his time as president of Stein & Company, a
real-estate-management firm. But, he wanted to expand
his reach. “Frankly, I wanted to build buildings,” he says.
“I was tired of being a consultant, telling people what
to do but not doing it myself.”
And build he did. In 2000, he formed Mesa Development, which quickly became one of the most influential
firms in the city. Mesa teamed up with Walsh Construction and Solomon Cordwell Buenz to put up the Heritage
at Millennium Park, a 57-floor mixed-use building on
Garland Court. And the same group came together for the
Legacy, adding one more structure to the city’s urban
renaissance.
The buildings are both partly the result of the city
of Chicago acting as a catalyst to effect change on a
broad scale. City investment attracted philanthropic
interest to make Millennium Park a global attraction for
Chicago. The park then generated hundreds of millions
of dollars of economic activity, paying a significant
return on the city’s original investment. “The mayor
invested $450 million on [Millennium] Park, and look at
all it has done for the city: there are four million visitors
a year, and it’s the second largest attraction besides Navy
Pier,” Hanson Sr. says as he looks out the window of his
38th-floor office. From there, he can see the Art Institute
of Chicago, Soldier Field, the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra Hall, and the other social gathering spots that
have sprung up because of renewed development in the
past decade. “And we spent half a billion dollars on the
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Above: One of Mesa Development’s first big
projects was the Heritage at Millennium
Park, a 57-floor mixed-use structure that has
also aided in the renewal of Chicago’s Loop.
Right: The Legacy was built behind
historical façades on all four sides, a
decision that camouflaged the structure’s
base in order to preserve a portion of
Chicago’s past.
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a home in the sky
preserving &
Greening the loop
Heritage and the Legacy because of [Millennium] Park,”
he says. “Between them, they pay about $10 million in
property taxes. Seven hundred families live there that
didn’t before, and they brought their purchasing power
with them.”
This is a trend city planners think will only
continue. In the 1920s, the US population was spread
evenly between rural and urban living. “Today, around
85 percent of people live in cities,” Hanson Sr. says. “The
urban core is the new place to be.” Subtly, people are
being forced to move to cities. It’s the price of gasoline,
the price of insurance, the time it takes to spend two
hours a day stuck in traffic on one of Chicago’s expressways. “That’s a created nightmare,” Hanson Sr. says. “If
we had better core forms of transportation, it could be
alleviated. But we don’t. And so for me, the future of Mesa
is urban residential development. We’re trying to be
thoughtful about where the future is and what the needs
of society are.”
From inside the Legacy, the
views are stunning. Seen through
floor-to-ceiling windows, Lake
Michigan stretches away without
end. Below, sightseers take
pictures of the reflective Cloud
Gate sculpture (affectionately
known worldwide as the “Bean”)
and play in Crown Fountain. It
would be easy for the residents of
any of the 356 units to plop down
in their living rooms and get lost
in the twinkling cityscape.
Budgeted at $355 million,
the 1.1 million-square-foot
skyscraper was first proposed in
2002. Governed by an intense respect for the landmark
buildings at street level—including antique designs by
Holabird & Root and Adler & Sullivan—the developers
decided to restore the iconic façades instead of razing
them. Behind them, however, work began in earnest. “We
supported the façades with a five-story structural-steel
frame when we demolished the buildings,” says Richard
C. Hanson Jr., the son of Hanson Sr. and the director of
programming at the Legacy. “We then reattached the
façades to our new building structure after it was built.”
The building was primed for empty nesters and
young professionals alike, and because of the Legacy’s
exceptional privacy, a few players from the Bears and the
Bulls have decided to make it home as well. As Hanson Jr.
walks through the building, he points out some of the
high-end features: marble countertops, hardwood floors,
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Maximizing The Potential Of Urban Living
2011
2011
2010
2010
Emporis Skyscraper Award -Top 10 in 2010
Friends of Downtown - Best New Residential Building
CTBUH Tallest 20 in 2010; Tallest in North America.
Midwest Construction Award - Project of the Year in
Multi-Family Residential/ Hospitality
Architecture | Planning | Interior Design
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125
a home in the sky
Navy Pier
The Legacy
Willis Tower
Cloud Gate
Art Institute of Chicago
standing amid
icons
Buckingham Fountain
Built right
downtown, the
Legacy is within
walking distance of many
of Chicago’s
major attractions. Here
are just a few.
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John G. Shedd Aquarium
The Field Museum
Adler Planitarium
Soldier Field
American Builders Quarterly
a home in the sky
Clockwise from top left:
The Legacy’s shape affords
lake views on all sides but
the west; the building’s
public spaces are outfitted
with high-end detailing; it’s
estimated the structure
saves 150 acres of land over
suburban structures; and
on top is one of the highest
green roofs in the country.
etc. There’s also plenty of recreational space, including
exercise facilities, a pool, and two outdoor party spaces.
Residents even have access to five squash courts, a rare
amenity in any building.
“It was very important to us and Solomon Cordwell
Buenz that this building was not only gorgeous on the
outside but livable and functional on the inside,” Hanson
Jr. says.
The developers and designers also paid special
attention to sustainability. Mesa Development estimates
that the building saves nearly 150 acres of land when
compared to a suburban project that would have served
a similar number of people.
“There’s also a green roof, and [being] at the
800-foot level, it’s among the tallest green roofs in the
country,” says Gary Klompmaker, an associate principal
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at Solomon Cordwell Buenz. “ The cooling system shares
the Thermal Chicago chilled water district, which is more
efficient because now you don’t need 600-ton water
chillers on the roof.”
Thanks to the building's triangular shape, units have
views of the lake on all sides except the west. “We thought
this could be a very slender profile that presents itself to
the park,” Klompmaker says. “It’s a very striking image.”
The renovations to the structures surrounding the
Legacy and the sustainable solutions within it display a
keen consciousness of Chicago’s history and environmental health that is sure to draw residents. And as the
structure revitalizes the Loop further with money from
its new tenants, it will be seen—like Millennium Park
before it—as another grand investment with an even
grander return. ABQ
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