CHICAGO | River Point | 730 FT | 52 FLOORS - Page 37

jcchii · #**721** Posted **Jan 15, 2009, 6:34 PM**

there was some kind of backhoe parked in the lot this morning when I went by on green line

andydie · #**722** Posted **Jan 15, 2009, 6:59 PM**

cool news about this one as i liked the design. Hopefully he secured financess and it will move ahead as planned

Tom In Chicago · #**723** Posted **Feb 2, 2009, 6:22 PM**

Lifted these images from the Website - http://www.chicagoriverpoint.com/

©Pickard Chilton Architects Inc.

©Pickard Chilton Architects Inc.

. . .

jcchii · #**724** Posted **Feb 2, 2009, 6:30 PM**

that has the structure much farther from the river than the original render

nomarandlee · #**725** Posted **Feb 2, 2009, 6:35 PM**

What I was thinking. If going by that render that seems to be the case.

Tom In Chicago · #**726** Posted **Feb 2, 2009, 6:48 PM**

Yeah. . . also from the Canal Street side there's a mystery building which I suspect is part of the hotel component they're talking about. . . although I'm not clear on that part either since they have a second building just to the north of the site described in one of their elevation diagrams:

©Pickard Chilton Architects Inc.

. . .

spyguy · #**727** Posted **Feb 2, 2009, 10:06 PM**

Chicago3rd · #**728** Posted **Feb 2, 2009, 10:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcchii

that has the structure much farther from the river than the original render

I thought the plan has always been to build the building in the area west of the tracks and the park over the tracks? Looks like they placed it where it has been planned.

AJphx · #**729** Posted **Feb 8, 2009, 5:29 AM**

http://skylineviews.typepad.com/skyl...uld-cease.html

Expert Panel: If 444 Lake Fails, Chicago Development Could Cease
By Tony Wilbert

CHICAGO (Jan. 27, 2009) - In normal times, a proposed 1.1 million-square-foot office tower that pre-leases about 60 percent of its space to two good-credit tenants is a sure thing to secure financing and get off the ground.

But in these far-from-normal times, it's uncertain whether Hines will be able to get construction financing for 444 Lake, a $330 million tower planned in Chicago’s West Loop submarket. It’s also known as River Point.

Hines has issued a financing package and now must brace itself for the response from lenders.

If Hines and its partners fail in their quest, speculative high-profile development in downtown Chicago could halt, according to a panel of commercial real estate experts. The panel was a highlight of the 7th Annual Commercial Real Estate Forecast Conference & Expo held Jan. 27 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Tom Corfman, a veteran commercial real estate reporter now with Chicago Real Estate Daily.comand Crain’s Chicago Business, moderated the panel and kept it interesting with provocative questions and insight gained from covering the market for so long.

"It would probably kill most - if not all - development in the next couple of years," said Bill Rogers, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle's tenant rep business in Chicago. Rogers and his team represented law firm Baker & McKenziein its 300,000-square-foot pre-lease at 444 Lake, designed by Pickard Chilton.

Steven Schnur, senior vice president of Duke Realty Corp., agreed. "It's probably going to put a cease to building in the near future."

Rogers said he's optimistic, in fact 90 percent certain, that Hines will secure financing for River Point but acknowledged that "it's a little bit of a guessing game." Arthur Nieman, principal-in-charge of product leasing at the John Buck Co., says its competitor Hines stands a "50-50" chance of getting financing. "It's really a tough market," Nieman said.

"It's a good time to be finishing a project," Nieman said. "What's happening with Hines will set a tone."

Bob Bach, chief economist at Grubb & Ellis said financing any project during these times will be tough. He kicked off the forecast event with an overview of the U.S. economy.

“It has been a difficult year for commercial real estate,” he said, though he needed not tell that to this crowd. They live it every day. “A good chunk of credit has been frozen.”

Time will tell whether a well pre-leased signature office tower can help thaw the credit markets.

jcchii · #**730** Posted **Feb 8, 2009, 3:12 PM**

^interesting, and seems right.

if you can't get financing for that, what can you get it for

hopefully it will get going when it gets warm

cbotnyse · #**731** Posted **Feb 8, 2009, 3:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJphx

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Hines has issued a financing package and now must brace itself for the response from lenders.

how does this process work exactly? They put together a package and any lender out there who likes it, takes it?

The biggest thing that needs to return to the market is risk taking. The liquidity should be there, but lenders still need to take that leap and put the money to work.

This will be interesting to see, but the 2 failed projects right down the river cant be helping the cause.

ardecila · #**732** Posted **Feb 8, 2009, 10:24 PM**

^^ Right. Hines needs to make the call on how much of their own equity to put into the project. Earlier, they were very hesitant to increase that percentage. Now it seems they have bitten the bullet.

With so many construction projects wrapping up and material prices falling every day, the construction cost of this tower should be dropping.

The "two failed projects down the river" are residential and reflect a very different set of risks, IMO.

BorisMolotov · #**733** Posted **Feb 9, 2009, 12:01 AM**

The devaluation of the dollar and the decrease in materials and labor should help any project right now and any in the near future. If only banks were willing to lend, then we'd be out of this slump quickly.

Nowhereman1280 · #**734** Posted **Feb 9, 2009, 12:20 AM**

^^^ The dollar hasn't lost value. If anything its gained quite a bit. The only currency the dollar has dropped significantly against is the Yen which has been on an absolute tear. The Euro has crashed, the Pound has crashed, and inflation is nil, therefore the dollar has gained some value, which is actually good because it means that we can buy more Chinese steel and raw materials for less.

BorisMolotov · #**735** Posted **Feb 9, 2009, 2:12 AM**

^ I'm sorry I meant deflation

the urban politician · #**736** Posted **Feb 18, 2009, 3:43 PM**

Some new guy at SSC is reporting that financing is likely to fall through for this one. Not sure how reliable he is

X-fib2 · #**737** Posted **Feb 18, 2009, 9:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Some new guy at SSC is reporting that financing is likely to fall through for this one. Not sure how reliable he is

As someone suggested, if financing falls through on this AAA project then no proposal will get funded. I sure hope this is not the case since this is one of three that I really would like to see happen in the near term.

AJphx · #**738** Posted **Feb 20, 2009, 8:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Some new guy at SSC is reporting that financing is likely to fall through for this one. Not sure how reliable he is

http://www.suntimes.com/business/roe...eder18.article

Well this article from the 18th is about William Blair being in a bind because their current building has refused a lease extension and River Point has not started construction yet. About financing it just says Hines is still confident they will get it soon... Nothing indicating that they are absolutely unable to obtain financing or anything...

hxasmirl · #**739** Posted **Feb 20, 2009, 11:59 PM**

Wow

woodrow · #**740** Posted **Feb 22, 2009, 6:27 AM**

Boy, talk about Exhibit A on how bad the credit freeze is. Hines, a proven developer, with commitments to the majority of the building space by reputable companies, is having trouble getting finance. This really shows how awful things are. F*ck!