Famed architect proposes 2 skyscrapers on site of failed Chicago Spire

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A famous architect has proposed building two soaring skyscrapers that would stand on the site where the Chicago Spire was originally going to be built.

The plan would transform the Chicago skyline. In place of the deep, now-overgrown hole in the ground at 400 North Lake Shore Drive, where the infamous Spire was going to be built, architects imagine erecting what they call "the gateway to Chicago."

"It's an extraordinary place," said architect David Childs.

The towers would be the newest creation of David Childs, who designed New York City's One World Trade center, and the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merril, who designed the Willis Tower and 875 North Michigan (formerly known as the Hancock Center) in Chicago.

Childs imagines recreating the spot where the Chicago River meets Lake Michigan.

"Where the river comes down and enters the lake is extraordinary motion, but it also happens to be a place of memory where the city itself was founded," he said.

Newly-released renderings show two towers of different heights; the taller is 1,100 feet above Lake Shore Drive, housing a total of 850 condos, 175 hotel rooms and underground parking.

Developers and 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly debuted the proposal before a room of inquisitive, longtime Streeterville residents. Some were not so eager to welcome the project into what they said is an already-congested neighborhood.

Beyond the tower, developers plan to finally crate DuSable Park, a long-promised park space that's sat empty for decades.