I sent an email last Friday, to Timothy Desmond, president of Central Station Development Corp., reguarding One Museum Park. I certainly didn't expect to gat a response from him. Below is that coorespondance.
THE INITIAL EMAIL
Dear Mr. Desmond,
My name is Butler Adams, and I am an architecture student here in
Chicago. I have been following the One Museum Park project since the first advertisment was placed in the Tribune several months ago. I was imediately drawn to this project because of its height and location. It will certainly be a new focal point in the Chicago skyline, no one ever thought that something so tall would ever be constructed south of Roosevelt Rd. I do have a few questions for you though.
I've just finished reading the Skyline newspaper that has an article
this week on the "South Wall" of Grant Park. There are several things in the paper that I found interesting including a quote by you ( Desmond said the costs for a 75-story building "were outrageous. The costs just "skyrocketed" as it got taller, and "the pricing in Chicago wouldn't support that kind of height."). I understand that as the building gets taller the prices rise, but don't you feel with this recent condo boom your building could support extra floors? i mean there are 2 residential buildings in Chicago planned for the 1,000' mark (Trump Tower Chicago & Waterview Tower). I visited the sales center this past Monday, and it was crazy there, people everywhere, interested in One Museum Park. Also, it's not often when you have community groups in support of a tall building. There were even reports in the paper that they'd like to see it taller. So would I.
I do like the design for One Museum Park, it's bold and tall. I
certainly hope that you and your partners decide to make it taller.
I hope that you have the time to answer a few questions.
Can you tell ne the exact height of One Museum Park? I've heard reports of 670' as well as 720'. Personally I like the 720' idea, and wouldn't mind if that was increased.
When is ground breaking scheduled?
I hope to hear back from you.
Butler V. Adams
Architecture Student
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THE RESPONSE
Mr. Butler-
Thanks for your email regarding our OMP development. Our sales effort commenced last Monday and we had a phenominal day.
A bit of history may help you understand our thinking process. We originally proposed a 75 story building for this site. However, a building of such height yielded more units than we wanted to bring to the market, and forced us to go further below grade to provide the additional parking required. In addition, we found that the demands on the vertical transportation, mechanical and curtain wall systems were more than the price point of the product we were offering could support. The vertical transportation alone impact was huge, and it required dwell times that were not in keeping with the quality of what we offer.
In response to your questions, may I offer the following;
1) The approved height of the development is 720', which would permit a 65 story building. At present we are only anticipate a 62 story building.
2) We expect a fall 2005 groundbreaking.
3) Fortunatly, your email leads me to believe you're knowledgable about design, construction costs, timing, risk, financing, marketing and the host of other matters involved in bringing such a development to reality. That makes my response easy to frame.
The market research you've done on the other two buildings you noted most likely has revealed to you their profit margins and time challenges. You also understand the difference in the market those two are targeting and the one we are. As you know, construction prices skyrocketed over the last 18 months, especially steel and concrete. It is outrageous, and the market as a whole has long since passed the equilibrium point where such increased costs can simply be passed along to the consumer. As an example, I'm sure you're familiar with the rare use of pile foundations here in Chicago, but for a while steel was so much less expensive than concrete that it made sense to do so!! I'll bet you share my surprise at such an event, given the history of concret pricing in the mid-west. Now the price of both products fluctuates daily, and we routinely design dual systems and pull the trigget as late as we can. I trust you've kept up to date with the voracious demands of the asian market and what that has done to the spot futures market for construction commodities, so you understand the pressure that the combination of all of these factors does to the risk evaluation of any development.
Our decision to do a 62 story building versus a taller building was made in light of all of those factors. We're fully congizant of the two taller residential condo's projects you mentioned, but perhaps the question to ask is why there are only two of them?? If you look at the number of residential developments over 60 stories done in Chicago since 1990, you'd find very few. Part of that answer must also includes the expertise of any developer, and that's an important point to include in your evaluation process. It's the combination of market duration, costs, delivery schedule and experience that makes a building over 65 stories more challenging than normal. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying it can't be done, but I am saying it wasn't prudent for our business plan. Others have different hurdles to jump, and do so differently. Neither is right or wrong, it's just comes down to risk evaluation. That's what makes real estate so fun!!
We are very pleased with the community support that our development has gained, and are pleased with the quality of the architecture as well. Such a development is emblematic of the quality of developement we seek to do, and is among the reasons for the success to date of Central Station.
I hope this brief note has given you a glimpse of our thought process. Thanks for your interest and if you haven't done so, you should visit our sales office at 13th and Indiana. We have a marvelous model of the building and it is stunning. Best of luck to you in your studies, and don't hesistate to call should you have further questions.
B. Timothy Desmond, AIA
President, Central Station Development Corp.
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I hope that information above was helpful. I still have my fingers crossed that the building will at least rise to it's 65-story approved height, but whatever happens, we still have a tall proposal south of Roosevelt Road.