Irish developer Garrett Kelleher is to fund a 124-storey tower in Chicago which will be the tallest free-standing structure in North America and Europe.
Mr Kelleher, executive chairman of Shelbourne Development, has acquired the land and will fund the development of 400 North Lake Shore Drive. Reports from the US say he paid around $64m for the site.
The city authorities have already granted planning permission for the tower, designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava.
The tower will be 2,000 feet or 610 metres high, surpassing the Sears Tower in Chicago and the CN Tower in Toronto. The building will include 300 apartments and a 5-star hotel. Construction on the $1.2 billion development will start in 2007.
Mr Kelleher lived in Chicago for ten years before returning to Ireland in 1996.
Meanwhile, Davy has acquired a major retail and office property in Hamburg, Germany, on behalf of private clients, for €141.3m.
The Spitaler Hof property extends to 225,000 sq ft and is located on Spitalerstrasse, which is Hamburg's busiest pedestrianised retail street.
Hamburg is Germany's second richest city and Germany's largest port. The city has a population of 1.7 million, with over 4 million people in the greater metropolitan area.
Davy said it is currently in negotiations to conclude a number of other investments in Germany.
