High-Frequency Trading Fight Escalates as a New Tower Blooms
- Despite being sued, Scientel just erected tower near Chicago
- Structure will enable trading at CME, the exchange next door
This article is for subscribers only.
The tower generated controversy when it was just an idea, before a single metal pole went up in a mostly empty plot in suburban Chicago. It became a reality within the past two months and now looms about a thousand feet from what’s arguably the most important financial market in the world.
The 195-foot structure belongs to Scientel Solutions LLC. The company’s neighbor, CyrusOne Inc., was so enraged by the plan that it sought to block the tower in January 2018 by suing Scientel and the city of Aurora, Illinois, which had approved the project. That case is still going on, but to some degree it’s moot: Construction wrapped up this month, and the tower is blooming with antennas.