Design overhaul for proposed S. Wacker tower

(Crain's) — Development Resources Inc. has reworked the design of its proposed office tower at 401 S. Wacker Drive, and recently began marketing the bigger, fancier new plan to prospective anchor tenants.

View of proposed 401 S. Wacker from the south. Rendering provided by Development Resources Inc.

The Chicago development firm is now calling for a 31-story, glass-encased building that would feature an expansive lobby with a 50-foot high ceiling. The building would total about 865,000 square feet and cost an estimated $325 million to build.

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The former plan, hatched in early 2004, called for a shorter, 673,000-square-foot tower that was glass and concrete and would have cost just more than $200 million to build. The architecture firm OWP&P spent the last nine months reworking its original version with Development Resources, whose chairman is seasoned developer Jim DeRose.

"I would admit that at our initial pass at this, we missed the market," says Brett Opie, an executive vice-president with Development Resources. "Now we have a design that is worthy of a Wacker Drive address."

Still, Development Resources faces stiff competition from bigger developers including Hines Interests L.P., John Buck Co. and Fifield Cos. that are also marketing new office towers to tenants.

Mr. Opie hopes the new design for the building, located just south of Van Buren Street, will be more attractive to a law firm, accounting firm or a financial services company — whereas marketing previously was geared more toward back-office tenants less interested in a building's glitz and curb appeal.

In addition to the all-glass façade, one of the biggest changes is a cantilever that creates a 2,000-square-foot space on each level that juts out over a plaza planned for the northeast corner of the property. Mr. Opie sees that space as ideal for a conference room or corner office with a view up Wacker Drive and looking south down the Chicago River.