Worries over the spread of Covid-19 among construction workers have led the developers of a 74-storey residential tower in Chicago to halt work on site.
Ceremonial groundbreaking for the 254-metre-tall, Helmut Jahn-designed tower, called "1000M", took place in October 2019 and the first phase of foundation work has been completed.
The developers are Time Equities, JK Equities and Oak Capitals.
"When the Covid-19 situation arose, we had workers underground, working shoulder to shoulder, making it effectively impossible to maintain proper social distancing," they said in a statement, reports The Chicago Tribune.
"We consulted with our experts and we all felt the safest route was to temporarily halt construction on site to ensure worker safety."
With site work suspended, the project team would proceed with subcontract procurement, procuring and testing the curtain wall, processing building permits and other work "which allow the project to generally stay on track," the developers said.
"We will resume work on site when we feel the situation has fully stabilised," they added.
According to the Tribune, 1000M, on South Michigan Avenue, is the first big high-rise project to close amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Image: Render of the completed "1000M" tower planned for Chicago (From 1000southmichigan.com)
