When speaking of Chicago condominiums and Chicago real estate, one has to mention the still in construction Chicago Spire. Once completed, this tower with a unique twisting corkscrew design will set not only a new price for Chicago condominiums, but also a new standard. 534 square foot studios would start for $750,000 while the 10,293 square foot penthouse would start for $40 million. This is a marked increase in price and value from other Chicago loop condominiums. Before, the highest price paid for a downtown Chicago condo was $8.27 million and this particular Chicago property was located on Michigan Avenue.

The Chicago condo penthouse itself features two stories and a private elevator. Its pricing breaks down roughly to about $4,000 a square foot of living space. There are around two hundred other units priced below $1,000 per square foot most of the others fall somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000. That all adds up to less than $2 million for the number of Chicago condominiums in the upcoming Chicago Spire.

The Chicago Spire, once completed, will be the world's tallest residential structure. A seven sided building, the Spire will climb 150 stories high and comes at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion. All 1,193 Chicago condominiums inside will have different shapes. This is due to the Spire's unique twisting structure.

Additionally, cantilevered corners and four concave sides will surround each floor. At the very top of the Chicago Spire, a community room will provide residents a view of four different states. The lobby will be four stories and feature translucent glass walls and framed by arching, steel reinforced concrete vaults. Other notable features include recycled rain and river water used for cooling, ornithologically-sensitive glass, intelligent building and management systems, and monitored outdoor air delivery.

Once finished in late 2011, the Chicago Spire will stand taller than the Sears Tower, Toronto's CN Tower, New York's upcoming Freedom Tower. At 2,000 feet, it will be North America's tallest freestanding building. This contributes to the high, record-setting prices of the Chicago condominiums within. However, the fact that the building was designed by noted Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava brings up the price as well.

Calatrava is a world-renown architect and the winner of numerous awards and recognitions for his work, including the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects and the Eugene McDermott Award from the Council for the Arts of MIT.

His name alone on the Chicago Spire alone allows the pricing of the Chicago condominiums within to soar. Also, the luxury Chicago condominiums within and the Chicago Spire's location contribute to the extremely high pricing.

The Chicago Spire will stand in the downtown Chicago neighborhood of Streeterville in the northeast Chicago Loop. Its actual site is off of Lake Shore Drive where the Chicago River meets Lake Michigan west of Navy Pier.

Adjacent to the building site, DuSable Park is being developed. Its property would actually adjoin that of the Chicago Spire and its Chicago condominiums. DuSable Park's grounds actually acted as staging ground for the construction of the Chicago Spire.

However, the Chicago Spire will not be the tallest building in the world. The Burj Dubai, currently being built in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, will be 684 feet taller.