A look at plans for Chinese developer's massive skyscraper on Chicago River

Something was missing Wednesday when city officials unveiled drawings of a Chinese developer's plans for a massive, mixed-use skyscraper along the Chicago River: the 89th floor.

As currently conceived, the building would be 88 stories tall not 89, as had been widely reported.

In China, eight is considered a lucky number. Many Chinese skyscrapers are 88 stories tall. The Beijing Summer Olympics began on August 8, 2008 8-8-08.

So the change could be product of superstition. Whatever the reason, plans for the $900 million, mixed-use mega-tower, called Wanda Vista, boast impressive numbers and beg the question about where the high-rise would rank among the giants of the Chicago skyline.

To be built on a riverfront site along East Wacker Drive, the $900 million tower would contain a five-star hotel with about 250 rooms, 390 condominium units and about 9,000 square feet of shops. Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration characterized the project, which it said would generate 2,000 construction jobs, as the largest real estate investment by a Chinese firm in Chicago and one of the largest in the United States.

"This is huge," said a spokeswoman for the mayor. "The mayor has put a significant amount of time and energy into ensuring that we open our arms and make this city for international businesses and international visitors."

The timing of the announcement coincided with the onset of U.S.-China trade talks in Chicago.

The developers the Wanda Group, which is controlled by mainland China's richest man, Wang Jianlin, and Chicago-based Magellan Development Group want to break ground in 2016. With Wanda Group's investment, many expect that the project may not need pre-sales before starting construction.

But the developers' path is not without obstacles.

They confront a downtown market awash in new and planned hotel rooms, including a 290-room Conrad Hotel that local hotelier Laurence Geller wants to build inside a vacant office building at 101 E. Erie St.

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A look at plans for Chinese developer's massive skyscraper on Chicago River