Kennedy’s Chicago real estate development unveiled

CHICAGO — Representatives of the Kennedy family and their three financial partners have unveiled a real estate development for a site along the Chicago River the Kennedys have owned since the 1940s.

The project, introduced Tuesday, calls for a 925-foot office building, a second, 700-foot office building, and an apartment high-rise. The cost of the project has been placed at more than $1 billion.

However, the plan must overcome several hurdles, including expected opposition from residents of a nearby high-rise whose views to the east would be blocked by the proposed towers.

Kennedy Enterprises chairman Christopher Kennedy says the project “gives a great boost of confidence” in downtown Chicago.

The developers hired prominent architect Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, for overall design work. Developers project the development’s completion in 2010.