CHICAGO | Chicago Spire | 610 M / 2,000 FT | 150 FLOORS | NEVER BUILT

[UPChicago]

Sooooo...no this?

[F1 Tommy]

May have to pull the archived Chicago Spire thread up again soon!!

Does the last version have a flat top?? I thought they rejected that design.

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

HomrQT, I have always liked that version of the building the most.

Damn, I can't believe we're talking about the Spire again. Now you see, this is wrong. First it started getting built, we all got excited, then the recession happened, some hope lingered, but then we all accepted that this project was dead.

But now there is this glimmer of hope, but you can't be sure. This is the ultimate tease.

Agreed, it's surely a tease, but I'd rather have the possibility of it still going up then leaving NYC and LA to be building monsters without us.

I also like the idea of an antenna on top, make it fit in with the other supers in the city, but I do think that capped one I posted previously is the winner so far.

[HomrQT]

Originally Posted by F1 Tommy

May have to pull the archived Chicago Spire thread up again soon!!

Does the last version have a flat top?? I thought they rejected that design.

We're just shooting the breeze with images found on the web, no design changes have been announced that I know of.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by HomrQT

We're just shooting the breeze with images found on the web, no design changes have been announced that I know of.

for clarification, this was the final design when the project when into limbo:




that flat-topped version you found was an earlier calatrava design study.

[DonMendigo]

Pretty amazing how much the background of that render has changed over the last few years between all the development in Streeterville and Trump

[Onn]

Yess!!!! I knew they were going to build this, it's too beautiful not to! Hudson Spire meet Chicago Spire!

*FINGERS CROSSED*

[LouisVanDerWright]

^^^ The neighborhood certainly has matured quite a bit. Hopefully that bodes well for the Spire's chances.

Originally Posted by DonMendigo

Maybe a dumb question... what does this mean as far as Related's bid for the site? Who's in the driver seat now?

Kellher has never been out of the driver's seat. The foreclosure suit by the lender (now Related) against Kellher is the legal mechanism by which a lender tries to force the developer out of the drivers seat. The bankruptcy is a tool that the developer can use to temporarily fend off creditors (like the lender and their foreclosure suit) while they attempt to reorganize.

If the Atlas news is true, then that would represent a recapitalization of the project on the behalf of the developer and would result in the satisfaction of all the debts owed in the bankruptcy. Once that is complete, Kellher would then own the property free and clear (unlike when he started with the Anglo Irish Bank loan) and have about $20 million cash in his pocket. This is particularly interesting because, unlike some earlier comments, Kellher not only has a clean slate, but $115 million in equity in the property which can be borrowed against. It's not "back to square one" because Kellher now owns the site free and clear and can already borrow another $100 million plus to resume construction. Of course that is nowhere near the total they need, but he is in a significantly better position than he was in 2008 since the foundation work is all done and he no longer owes a dime to anyone.

As far as the relationship between Kellher and Atlas? Who knows unless you see their exact agreement, but it sounds as if Atlas is a backseat equity investor for at least the entire apartment component. I assume they will either use their own equity or be responsible for raising equity to fund the 550 apartments they want to own. Kellher is apparently still the managing partner for the project and therefore "still in the driver's seat".

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

for clarification, this was the final design when the project when into limbo:




that flat-topped version you found was an earlier calatrava design study.

this would be the best looking skyscraper on earth. wow

[emathias]

Originally Posted by bnk

The spires penthouse was already held to be sold to the beanie babie billionare. I suspect he may jump back in.
...

But he's had a lot of legal issues since then.

[Steely Dan]

^ and apparently a really tough childhood. that's why he couldn't pay all those taxes.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

this would be the best looking skyscraper on earth. wow

I don't even know whether it'd be the best looking in Chicago, but it'd be quite helpful if they could finally build it. No doubt.

[HomrQT]

Someone on another site posted their insight into the subject. I found it interesting and could help those of us that are more just fans of these large projects and not necessarily involved with them in some aspect for a living.

Username - cafeinado

I look at these kind of projects for a living and wanted to give some objective perspective.
Getting out of bankruptcy is a good step, but it just gets you back to zero. There are likely some salvageable assets from the previous project (plans, studies, some FF&E) but anyone who has seen the job site knows little actual construction has been made. Maybe the project will scale down? Maybe we won't have a spire? That remains to be seen.
On the financial side, they will need to restructure the deal (which may already have partially been done behind the scenes with the Bankruptcy investor) That means having to restructure debt based on new investors/investments, projections and cost estimates. Then they will have to line up debt sources, investors, buyers, work with the City, etc. Additionally, one of the biggest challenge with these huge developments is the time it takes and as a result how to deal with that risk. It is very hard to predict the future 3-4 years+ out and that makes debt sources and investors worried when they are going to have their money tied up that long. That will be a major hurdle this time as obviously that is part of the reason this deal went south in the first place.
All in all, this is a promising sign but I would NOT bet on the project remaining the same or being completed just yet. They were underwater and this just gets them back to the surface. To rise above will require clearing a number of very challenging hurdles. There is hope, but we need to see what develops after they emerge from Bankruptcy.

And it looks like he got a reply from our resident nowhereman1280

Maybe you know a lot about finanincing projects like this, but you must not know much about construction if you think there has been "little" work done on site. The building is probably about 20% complete right now, you just can't see any of the work. They sank 20 something enormous cassions down to bedrock which is enormously expensive. They lined the entire site with a 7 story deep slurry wall, again, very pricey. There is over $200 million sunk into the ground that you can't see on what is probably a $1.2-1.5 billion project. They also built those off ramps from LSD which are also quite pricey. Saying "little" has been done is quite inaccurate. There has already been more money spent on this site than the total project costs of any of the towers currently rising in the city right now (not including River Point which hasn't started work in earnest yet on the tower). That's right, the foundations of this building were more expensive than the total cost of entire towers under construction right now.

[SJPhillyBoy]

Is there still a big round hole in the ground?

[Plokoon11]

^ Yeah it leads to China!

[chicagogreg]

Oh boy. Here we go again. Crossing my fingers and my toes—let's see what goes.

[supertallchaser]

someone add it back to diagram!!!

[aaron38]

And I had been thinking it was finally time to surrender and edit the Spire out of my avatar. Now it's staying!

[Pilton]

A serious case of "if you build it they will come" today! Arab sheiks and Russian oligarchs flying to Chicago to escape the cold. ROFLMAO!

[chris08876]

This needs to be built. Lets hope the developer keeps trying. The way I look at it, the tallest in the U.S. is definitely something to boast about. Worth the fight!