Garret Kelleher, head of Dublin-based Shelbourne Development Ltd., on Wednesday said he has bought the 2.2 acre site at 400 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago for $64 million and intends to keep the same twisting design by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.

The building was to be named the Fordham Spire, after the development firm The Fordham Co., but the name is among the aspects of the project that will change.

"He's putting up 100 percent of the equity so he doesn't have the financing problems (the original developer) had," said Tom Murphy, general counsel for Kelleher on the project.

A year ago, local developer Christopher Carley said he intended to build a 124-story luxury hotel and condominium high rise at the mouth of the Chicago River. But a spokesman for Kelleher said Carley was finding it difficult to finance.

Kelleher and his Shelbourne Development companies will take the assets of the project while the Anglo Irish Bank will take on the debt, according to Murphy. Kelleher said in a release that the $1.2 billion development will include 300 luxury condominiums costing from $600,000 to $5 million. A 20-story hotel will be of five-star quality, his representatives said.

Kelleher says he came to Chicago fresh out of Trinity College in Dublin with just $500 in his pockets. From 1986 to 1996 he worked as a subcontractor and a developer before going back to Ireland with his family.

Murphy describes Kelleher as a "reserved man," who is devoted to his family of six children.

One of Ireland's largest property entrepreneurs, he has projects in London, Paris, Brussels and other European cities.

"I love the city of Chicago," said Kelleher in a statement. "It has a special place in my heart. Two of my six children were born here and it will always be my second home. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to contribute to the Chicago skyline and look forward to developing a property that the city and the mayor can be proud of."

Murphy said, to his knowledge, Kelleher does not personally know Mayor Richard Daley.