CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction - Page 394

the urban politician · #**7861** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 12:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by spyguy

The Ferris Bueller Ferrari under the L. Just thought it was time for a change..maybe it'll return some day.

To make this somewhat on-topic, a rendering to accompany Buckman's photo:

^ Is it just me or did they tweak the design here a bit?

I really hope they use high quality glass, it will make a world of difference

Buckman821 · #**7862** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 12:35 PM**

ChiPhi, I simply could not agree more with your rant. Truly infuriating.

But hey, that new hotel rendering looks much improved! I can't quite put my finger on why - maybe it's just because all buildings look cooler at night.

gttx · #**7863** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 1:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

Many of the historic buildings in the Loop are still around because they make financial sense. Some tenants are willing to pay more to be in a marquee historic building, and that offsets the extra operating cost to the landlord/developer. For example, I once worked in the Santa Fe, and it was meticulously maintained because the building's prestige was high enough to garner significant rents.

In other cases, developers are able to take advantage of tax credits or TIF funding to finance the needed renovations and maintenance.

Yes, buildings like the former Merc slip through the cracks, but overall our historic fabric is very well-preserved.

An interesting article from 1988 (probably online after the 2002 fight over the demolition):

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1...-drive-trading

Sounds to me like the building was anything but "inefficient."

ChiPhi · #**7864** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 1:21 PM**

^^^
According to this, it was 97% leased when demolished. Who knows how reputable a Flickr is though. Regardless, it sounds like the threat of a landmark law provided perverse incentive for the Crowns to tear the building down with the hope that eventually a class A space would make up for the lost income.

Chicago Shawn · #**7865** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 3:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiPhi

^^^
According to this, it was 97% leased when demolished. Who knows how reputable a Flickr is though. Regardless, it sounds like the threat of a landmark law provided perverse incentive for the Crowns to tear the building down with the hope that eventually a class A space would make up for the lost income.

Its true, the building was 95% leased when the decision to demolish it was made. Dumb. I hope the Crown family burned through a lot money on that decision. Even more infuriating is the gravel lot that replaced it. At least some surface parking would have generated some additional tax revenue. This was a truly unique building and an important footnote in Chicago's history as the trading markets here invented the concept of 'futures'. The gold plated elevator doors went to a museum.

The Crowns did redeem themselves somewhat with the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park and K+S tower of good height and design will help heal the empty scar on that block and make up for lost tax revenue.

Hayward · #**7866** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 5:52 PM**

5/23 Lunch

Tri-Hotels

AMLI River North

360 W. Hubbard

Buckman821 · #**7867** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 5:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I really hope they use high quality glass, it will make a world of difference

Snapped these photos on my way out of potbelly. I don't have the technical background to describe what is happening here (somebody help me out with the terminology) but I'd suspect we'll see glass pretty soon.

EDIT: Whoops, looks like Hayward just barely beat me to the punch (and with vastly superior photos too), we must've almost bumped into each other. But anyway, hopefully those brackets mean glass is coming soon.

ChiPhi · #**7868** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 7:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicago Shawn

The Crowns did redeem themselves somewhat with the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park and K+S tower of good height and design will help heal the empty scar on that block and make up for lost tax revenue.

The Crown fountain is nice, but the Crowns are certainly no Pritzkers with regards to civic betterment.

Also, they say it is probably a little whiles off, so we may have to live with this eye sore for years to come. Yeah!

Quote:

Originally Posted by spyguy

I earlier spoke with family patriarch Lester Crown, who emphasized that tenants for the project are probably a long way off.

On tenants Curbed today says:

Quote:

No word as yet on potential tenants, though Google was rumored to be in the mix.

I suppose it seems like a good design for Google, though I imagine they'd fit in more with the creative types in River North than the banker and lawyer types in the loop.

HomrQT · #**7869** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 7:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ardecila

Many of the historic buildings in the Loop are still around because they make financial sense. Some tenants are willing to pay more to be in a marquee historic building, and that offsets the extra operating cost to the landlord/developer. For example, I once worked in the Santa Fe, and it was meticulously maintained because the building's prestige was high enough to garner significant rents.

In other cases, developers are able to take advantage of tax credits or TIF funding to finance the needed renovations and maintenance.

Yes, buildings like the former Merc slip through the cracks, but overall our historic fabric is very well-preserved.

Sorry for the silly question, but are we talking about the twin tower mercantile exchange building?

ChiTownCity · #**7870** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 8:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiPhi

Seems like a legit reason to tear a building down. Don't let that joke mislead you; This really pisses me off! The building was a tax-producing beauty and is now an empty parking lot because of the impotent landmark laws that we have (this building somehow wasn't landmarked). And this lot is not one of a kind. There is plenty of great space in the West Loop, a little in the loop and even the Sloop that could accommodate class A space before it is necessary to tear down something so beautiful... Chicago land is not Manhattan land. It is not such a commodity that all land must be used to the best of its potential. There are still tons of surface parking lots. And now instead of one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, we get a parking lot. And while I appreciate Crown for getting a well designed (if incredibly derivative) design drawn up, it is really too little, too late. I understand that this is a business and nearly always side with developers' decisions to make a place profitable, but when a useful, beautiful building is torn down I wonder whether we could have avoided such a loss. And we all lost this piece of our history - the old Merc building can never be reproduced - and it makes me so F***ing mad that our government couldn't do anything to stop it. I swear to god, If Crown goes after LEED certification after tearing down a workable (and not to mention beautiful) building, I will scream! The audaciousness of the USGBC to give out an award to so wasteful an action as tearing down a beloved building would infuriate me greatly (I know it is a simple point system and not an award being 'given out').

Rant Over. Sorry about that, but I cannot handle when we all lose great, older buildings before their time is up simply because we are unable to find a way to stop it. I think my anger comes as much from my sense of helplessness as anything else..

Just curious. What did the building you're talking about look like? Or do what was its address?

BraveNewWorld · #**7871** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 8:15 PM**

How tall is that Crown Tower supposed to be ? It looked like it could easily be over 200 meters.

BraveNewWorld · #**7872** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 8:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomrQT

Sorry for the silly question, but are we talking about the twin tower mercantile exchange building?

No, the old mercantile express. I would hope that they wouldn't tear down the newer mercantile express.

Buckman821 · #**7873** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 8:45 PM**

We're getting way off topic but hopefully this link will wrap it up.

This is what the crown family tore down:

http://www.emporis.com/building/chic...chicago-il-usa

Joe Zekas · #**7874** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 9:09 PM**

I was on the site today, from the ground level to the half-poured 13th floor. Will have video with Owen Smith, a McHugh Project Engineer who showed me around, within a day or two.

Here's a shot from the third-floor lobby level, looking toward the connection with Halsted Street ....

And another, from the 13th floor ...

Larger images here, and here.

ChiPhi · #**7875** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 11:21 PM**

^^^
Thanks so much for the work that you do Joe; they always are very informative and your promotional business model is a pretty novel scheme. Out of curiosity, is K-Stuff a paying client? If you work with the Fifields, have they let anything slip about their tower at the Jewel site in the Gold Coast?

Mikemak27 · #**7876** Posted: **May 23, 2012, 11:54 PM**

Joe, thanks for the pictures and the video. Are they now on the schedule of pouring a new floor every 3 days? Do they have an estimated time for when the building will be topped off? How about when people will be able to move in? I'm trying to schedule my next move to when the market is going to be flooded with new rentals from the various apartment towers. Thanks.

rgolch · #**7877** Posted: **May 24, 2012, 12:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by spyguy

http://www.suntimes.com/photos/galle...roperties.html
[/B]

So... that rendering can't be to scale. By my estimation, the building in front of the K+S rendering is 101 N. Wacker, which is 325 ft. The K+S building looks about 3x as tall as 101 N. Wacker in that rendering, making it pretty much a supertall. Could that be right?

BraveNewWorld · #**7878** Posted: **May 24, 2012, 1:00 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgolch

So... that rendering can't be to scale. By my estimation, the building in front of the K+S rendering is 101 N. Wacker, which is 325 ft. The K+S building looks about 3x as tall as 101 N. Wacker in that rendering, making it pretty much a supertall. Could that be right?

It is a 213 meter building, we should have atleast 3 buildings over 200m rising at the end of the year, maybe even 7.

There is

Clark and Wacker
Crown Tower
River Point
Wolf Point Tower 1
Wolf Point Tower 2
435 N Park
400 West Randolph

Joe Zekas · #**7879** Posted: **May 24, 2012, 1:20 AM**

Thanks for the kind words, ChiPhi.

I'm not being paid for the K2 coverage, and do my best to remember to disclose when I am.

I've always wanted to cover a high-rise from start to finish, from multiple perspectives, and the Fifields and McHugh have been very cooperative at enabling me to have an unusual level of access to the site and the people involved in it, and have been generous with their time.

I haven't spoken to the Fifields about the Jewel site. If I had, and had learned anything in confidence, I'd never disclose it. I hear a lot of things in the course of a week that don't leave the room I heard them in. One slip and no one would ever again tell me much of anything. That's also a policy that keeps people from using me as a conduit for disinformation.

If I learn anything that the Fifields want shared about the Jewel site, I'll pass it on.

MikeMak27,

They are on a 3-day pour schedule, and there's a tremendous amount of work on the lower floors – actually beginning to frame and prep for drywall on floor 4.

Occupancies are targeted for late Feb / early March of next year.

You can see the activity at the building in this video walkthrough, from bottom to top, shot earlier today.

Chicago_Forever · #**7880** Posted: **May 24, 2012, 1:27 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BraveNewWorld

It is a 213 meter building, we should have atleast 3 buildings over 200m rising at the end of the year, maybe even 7.

There is

Clark and Wacker
Crown Tower
River Point
Wolf Point Tower 1
Wolf Point Tower 2
435 N Park
400 West Randolph

Def 3 but def not seven.