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Old Posted Nov 15, 2010, 1:15 PM
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Spocket Spocket is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LeftCoaster View Post
??? Encana is a perfect example of exactly the opposite point you are making.

Encana is easily large enough in square footage to be a supertall but it was built shorter and fatter becuase it is much cheaper and more efficent to build that way. Notice how it is just under that magic 800ft number?

Encana did exactly what I said most developers do, in fact I was going to use Encana as a point to support cutting height in favour of bulk, it really is the perfect example.

Like I said before, building a supertall is more about ego than economics. With the exception of a few select cases it does not make sense.
No , it doesn't act against my point . The Bow is deluxe and EnCana paid far more than they had to for their needs ... that's the point .

Supertalls are still profitable because they also tend to be prestige buildings and can therefore command higher rental rates per square foot . So yes , that ties in to the vanity argument but it doesn't seem to be doing much to disprove that a supertall can be profitable . More expensive , sure , but not unprofitable . Again , it's a function of the going lease rates per square foot . If a developer can turn a profit on a supertall then it's because the lease rates in some city are high enough . As a prestige building with class A space , it will attract tenants who can easily afford the rent and consider it as much an advertising investment as a consolidation move .
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tal.424/pdf

Frankly , I just don't think we're on the same page here . I already know that supertalls are costlier to build but that's not the point . What you guys seem to be saying is that supertalls cost more and therefore nobody will build them except as a statement that they have a bigger d#ck than the next guy does . Well , MAYBE that's true but it hasn't stopped anybody from building supertalls and those buildings are still making a profit . It would appear that even in mature economies , supertalls are still being proposed by people not planning to occupy the buildings themselves or for any single tenant either . Obviously then , supertall construction isn't simply about vanity nor is it stopping anybody from turning a profit on them .

Like I said from the start , leasing costs aren't always the most important thing to any given company . They might find it more important to have their HQ all under one roof or perhaps they consider it an investment in another way .
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