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  #881  
Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 10:56 PM
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It's no more dead than any of the other office proposals. ALL of them are floating out there awaiting the critical combination of 1) anchor tenants and 2) financing.

Once a developer has landed both, you can bet Crain's and the Sun-Times (and maybe the city) will be trumpeting it for all to hear.

River Point has a slight leasing advantage because of its location near Metra stations and its dramatic river-canyon views. On the other hand, the city is requiring a costly railroad deck and riverwalk, which means Hines will need to get higher rents. Plus, as Nowhereman mentioned, the building is underparked; we all love this, but a high-powered executive driving in from Hinsdale may feel differently.
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  #882  
Old Posted Apr 28, 2012, 11:01 PM
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Originally Posted by denizen467 View Post
While we wait for spyguy to fill us in on where he got the info ... I just want to admire how incredibly realistic renders have gotten lately. The one above the river looking westwards (with the new el cars) looks like it is blending photographs of existing buildings with high-quality renders of the new building. And the grass and trees are just so photorealistic. It's actually getting kind of scary.
It's a photo montage. You create a base render from a 3D program, and then go to town on making the base render look way more sexy. Surrounding buildings are photographs taken and mapped onto simple geometries. In photoshop you'll swap out flat geometries of the base render with texture elements. You'll take a picture of grassy field for example and paste it into the base render. You'll then start adding all the plants, people, and stuff over that. Finally you'll adjust light levels with filters and gradients.

The post render process can be extremely time intensive. That's why you only see the best imagery after the design is finalized, where in schematic design phases renderings will look dumbed down and conceptual.
     
     
  #883  
Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 12:54 AM
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Originally Posted by ardecila View Post
Plus, as Nowhereman mentioned, the building is underparked; we all love this, but a high-powered executive driving in from Hinsdale may feel differently.
But I doubt there would be more than 250 high flying executives in the building, and everyone else would be absorbed by other parking in the area, whose rates would simply adjust accordingly based on resulting increased demand.

Parking in that area is fairly inexpensive (the least expensive in the downtown area, as near as I can tell)... daily/early bird rates in garages and lots in that area are in the $8-14 range, so I'd say additional demand could be accommodated
     
     
  #884  
Old Posted Apr 29, 2012, 5:32 AM
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Originally Posted by ardecila View Post
which means Hines will need to get higher rents
Which, sigh, like you suggested earlier, met and lost a more-golden-than-ever opportunity when B&M and Wm Blair were on board. All these current tower proposals are going to be fighting over Winston & Strawn and whatever other blue-chips are ripe for Class A relocation. I'll probably root for River Point to win like some others here are.

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Originally Posted by Hayward View Post
and then go to town on making the base render look way more sexy
Kudos and thanks to you and Busy Bee and all the other graphical laborers here for going to town to dazzle us more each time around.
     
     
  #885  
Old Posted Apr 30, 2012, 12:34 PM
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My office in 333 across the river faces this site...would love to watch this building go up. Crossing my fingers.
     
     
  #886  
Old Posted Apr 30, 2012, 3:11 PM
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This building will have some sick views. It's going right in the middle of this pic (taken by me from my apt building on Friday night)

     
     
  #887  
Old Posted Apr 30, 2012, 4:25 PM
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Originally Posted by denizen467 View Post
. . . All these current tower proposals are going to be fighting over Winston & Strawn and whatever other blue-chips are ripe for Class A relocation...
I didn't know that Winston was looking. Cool
     
     
  #888  
Old Posted Apr 30, 2012, 7:27 PM
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^^^ I could only find a Crain's article behind the paywall that I am too cheap to circumvent, but Google is looking for up to 350,000 sq ft of Class A office space, if I'm not mistaken. That was nearly a year ago though, so who knows if they are still looking or have given up. IMO, it seems like a good choice to open a bigger office here. Few of the massive tech firms really have a major impact on Chicago's business scene, despite the fact that we have tons of college students to be poached and two major research universities. Obviously, Northwestern and U Chicago Comp Sci can't compete with Carnegie Mellon, Cal Tech, MIT or Stanford, but they are certainly not shabby departments and the students looking for work are easier to poach when a hometown office offers a job (or an internship). Many firms (both tech and non-tech) adopt a policy of internships as recruitment, and it is easier and cheaper to get qualified kids coming once or twice a week during the school year than to find housing etc. during the summer.

With two major firms, maybe we will see two major starts soon... I imagine Google would go for this or Hines' development across the river over one of the 20-some story buildings in the West Loop (or even that one on the former BOT spot in the loop); both the Hines projects would earn Google the attention that they thrive on. Moreover, this building looks very Google - sleek, modern and cool.
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  #889  
Old Posted May 1, 2012, 2:35 AM
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Originally Posted by spyguy View Post
~45 story, +/- 1 million square foot office tower designed by Goettsch, developed by a former Buck exec
Thanks. As the articles I have found state, I wouldn't expect anything on this for a while. Goettsch isn't actively doing any work on this project yet, but I am not privy to discussions at the executive level so something might be starting in the near future.
     
     
  #890  
Old Posted May 1, 2012, 11:05 AM
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I didn't know that Winston was looking. Cool
The only thing I know is that they were heavily courted just before the bust by one of the city's major developers (I think it might have been for the last Wacker tower that eventually got Skadden), since they are one of the last two or so of the city's international biglaw firms still sitting in an '80s tower (McDermott has a nice perch high up the ex ATT building). So they are a very good candidate to move, although they now have a really nice location. How about someone tears down the Stouffer Hotel P.O.S. and replaces it with a signature office tower (gotta happen someday?).
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Originally Posted by Andrew|W View Post
but I am not privy to discussions at the executive level so something might be starting in the near future.
Sorry if I missed it, but are you with the developer there, or anything like that?
     
     
  #891  
Old Posted May 1, 2012, 12:51 PM
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Originally Posted by denizen467 View Post
Sorry if I missed it, but are you with the developer there, or anything like that?
I'm with the architect, temporarily (and thus limited in what I can say about any of their current projects). But I think it is safe to say that no one in the marketing department or on the design floor are currently, or have been working on it. Since it has been announced that Goettsch will design the building, I can only assume that discussion has gone on between the partners and the former Buck exec.
     
     
  #892  
Old Posted May 1, 2012, 2:40 PM
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^^^
Sorry to get O/T, but does this mean that the 400 W Randolph proposal by Adrian Smith is dead? It was pretty bland and I tend to like Goettsch better than Smith though (which is strange, but I think that, while Smith may be great programatically, his designs are aesthetically lacking)...

I assume that we are discussing this 400 W Randolph proposal.

Here is a quote from he article I link to above on timetable:

Quote:
Don’t look for it to happen soon. O’Donnell said he’s betting the market will be ready for his building by 2016 or 2017.
Also, since I mentioned Google's search for space earlier:

Quote:
O’Donnell said he’s targeting tech-oriented companies for the space, which would be across Randolph from the Boeing Co. headquarters, also built over the tracks, and would enjoy close access to the commuter stations. When I commented that he’ll probably be paying a call on Google Inc., which is looking for space downtown, O’Donnell laughed. “It would be great to have them, but I’m not expecting it,” he said.
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  #893  
Old Posted May 2, 2012, 1:39 AM
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Hines needs to grow a pair and build this to the original height of 52 floors. I loved the original design and this is looking a little to squat for this location. Plus, with the Metra stations 3 blocks aways, a green line EL stop a mere block away and once in a lifetime river views they need to create a bit more density. Wasn't the very first plan supposed to incorporate a mixed use design with a hotel or condos on top and then the broke it out into two separate buildings?
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  #894  
Old Posted May 2, 2012, 2:16 AM
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Originally Posted by Andrew|W View Post
I'm with the architect, temporarily (and thus limited in what I can say about any of their current projects). But I think it is safe to say that no one in the marketing department or on the design floor are currently, or have been working on it. Since it has been announced that Goettsch will design the building, I can only assume that discussion has gone on between the partners and the former Buck exec.
Wait, are you talking about the River Point building, or some other Chicago proposal ?
     
     
  #895  
Old Posted May 2, 2012, 4:07 AM
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^ He is talking about what ChiPhi was talking about.

---------------

Quote:
Originally Posted by Neuman View Post
Hines needs to grow a pair and build this to the original height of 52 floors. I loved the original design and this is looking a little to squat for this location. Plus, with the Metra stations 3 blocks aways, a green line EL stop a mere block away and once in a lifetime river views they need to create a bit more density. Wasn't the very first plan supposed to incorporate a mixed use design with a hotel or condos on top and then the broke it out into two separate buildings?
I believe the response is "Yes" to all four of your sentences.
     
     
  #896  
Old Posted May 2, 2012, 2:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Neuman View Post
Hines needs to grow a pair and build this to the original height of 52 floors. I loved the original design and this is looking a little to squat for this location. Plus, with the Metra stations 3 blocks aways, a green line EL stop a mere block away and once in a lifetime river views they need to create a bit more density. Wasn't the very first plan supposed to incorporate a mixed use design with a hotel or condos on top and then the broke it out into two separate buildings?
This isn't about Hines "growing a pair" but about economic reality. As much as I would love to see a taller building, that simply isn't possible. IMO, the chance of Hines signing enough tenants to get this thing going seems like a long shot. And the original design called for a boutique hotel to the north of the building. There were only massing models of that, so we don't really know what the status on that is at this point. Personally, I'd rather see the lot filled horizontally than vertically to create a terminus to the Wacker canyon. And 650' really isn't bad at all. In fact, if this does get U/C it'll be the tallest building under construction in Chicago (save for maybe the former Waterview if Related can "grow a pair" as you would say and not go with the design that was leaked).
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  #897  
Old Posted May 2, 2012, 2:59 PM
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Originally Posted by ChiPhi View Post
This isn't about Hines "growing a pair" but about economic reality. As much as I would love to see a taller building, that simply isn't possible. IMO, the chance of Hines signing enough tenants to get this thing going seems like a long shot. And the original design called for a boutique hotel to the north of the building. There were only massing models of that, so we don't really know what the status on that is at this point. Personally, I'd rather see the lot filled horizontally than vertically to create a terminus to the Wacker canyon. And 650' really isn't bad at all. In fact, if this does get U/C it'll be the tallest building under construction in Chicago (save for maybe the former Waterview if Related can "grow a pair" as you would say and not go with the design that was leaked).
Agreed. Office vacancy in the CDB is like 14%. It would be a surprise if this gets built anytime soon really.
     
     
  #898  
Old Posted May 2, 2012, 5:17 PM
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I spoke with someone at Hines while in Houston last month and they didn't have anything on the radar for Chicago. . . how did we determine this was a "revived" development?

. . .
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  #899  
Old Posted May 2, 2012, 5:21 PM
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^ spyguy said so, and he has always seemed to have his ear pretty close to the ground.
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  #900  
Old Posted May 2, 2012, 5:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago View Post
I spoke with someone at Hines while in Houston last month and they didn't have anything on the radar for Chicago. . . how did we determine this was a "revived" development?

. . .
Their site has updated with a new design, new details, and a changed height.
     
     
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