9 Aqua Townhomes Under Construction
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February 26, 2009 – With construction on Aqua set to wrap this year, work is also underway on the nine townhomes that are next to the Park at Lakeshore East. The townhomes are also the work of architect Jeanne Gang, just like Aqua, and the building blog states that the developer will start marketing on this phase of the project sometime this spring. The townhomes will all be three story units, and as soon as more information becomes available we will post it here.
As for the tower itself, Aqua is certainly one of the most recognizable high-rises in the 28 acre, $4 billion Lakeshore East complex. This Chicago real estate development, which is really more of a planned community, is about one third complete according to a recent article by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The CTBUH also stated that Aqua is actually 88 stories tall, not the widely listed 82 or 83 stories that most assume. The building’s eight story base will be crowned with an 80,000 square foot terrace with landscaped gardens, pools, gazebos, hot tubs, trails for walking and running and a fire pit.
As for the trademark wavy balcony design, the article went on to explain that every floor plate in the building is a different shape on every level. The balconies are what gives Aqua its ripple, and in some cases they jut out up to 12 feet from the glass curtain wall. The floors in these Chicago condos are an average of 9 inches thick, but the balcony floors become thinner as they extend out from the building, adding to the ripple or wave illusion.
There is still no word about what will fill the vacant hotel space at Aqua, which was to include one of the largest ballrooms in the city. At one point developer Magellan considered adding more apartment units, but with news that apartment rents are sliding and added competition from Rent to own condos in Chicago, that may not be something they are still contemplating.
[tags]Aqua, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]
