Tallest Building Title May Return to New York

Chicago may soon lose bragging rights for being home to the country’s tallest building.

That distinction belongs to Chicago’s Willis Tower, which is 1,450 feet high. But that is soon to be eclipsed by the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center in New York that is now under construction, according to Marshall Gerometta, database editor for the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in Chicago.

Chicago’s hope has been tied to plans for Chicago Spire, a 2,000-foot tower designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava slated to overlook Lake Michigan. But financial problems have stalled construction since 2008 on the proposed luxury residential building.

Most recently, Anglo Irish Bank Corp. moved to foreclose on a defaulted mortgage valued at about $77 million including interest and other unpaid charges held by the developer, Shelbourne Development, according to a recent filing in Circuit Court of Cook County, Ill. Lorig Construction Co. of Des Plaines, Ill. earlier filed suit seeking about $512,386 for what it alleged was unpaid work on the project.

The country’s tallest building title “would go back to New York,” if the Spire doesn’t go forward and the New York building is completed as planned, said Mr. Gerometta, who is keeping an eye on the Spire’s progress. An attorney for the Spire’s developer said the project isn’t dead and Shelbourne still is seeking other sources of financing.

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Maura Webber Sadovi for the Wall Street Journal Blogs