Navy Pier is set to get a new Ferris wheel in 2016. According to the mayor's office, the new attraction will be 196 feet tall, or 49 feet taller than the pier's current wheel.
The project will cost $26.5 million and will be financed with a loan from Fifth Third Bank. No public money will be used for the purchase.
The new wheel is one of many redevelopment efforts at the pier in preparation of its 100th anniversary next year. New green space, an interactive water fountain that will double as an ice skating rink, and more retail and restaurants are all expected to be completed in 2016.
This announcement comes just a month after Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced a plan to loosen open container laws at Navy Pier. If that goes through, patrons may have the opportunity to consume obnoxious amounts of booze while trapped in a box nearly 200 feet above Lake Michigan.
Correction: The projected Ferris wheel cost was originally reported as $115 million.