CHICAGO | Waterview Tower | 1,047' Official / 1,035' Roof | 89 FLOORS |NEVER BUILT

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by jjk1103

it's going to be relatively cheap to build this one from here on out !!

that is false. if it was going to be relatively cheap to build this tower from here on out, then teng would simply fund it themselves, but the fact is that teng has yet to secure a construction loan for hundreds of millions of dollars, and no matter how you slice it, even in an industry accustomed to dollar figures with lots of zeros, hundreds of millions of dollars does not qualify as "relatively cheap" by anyone's standards.

[jjk1103]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

that is false. if it was going to be relatively cheap to build this tower from here on out, then teng would simply fund it themselves, but the fact is that teng has yet to secure a construction loan for hundreds of millions of dollars, and no matter how you slice it, even in an industry accustomed to dollar figures with lots of zeros, hundreds of millions of dollars does not qualify as "relatively cheap" by anyone's standards.

....that's not what I meant......while I don't have cost figures for the cost thus far......the really small site on this one made the first 20 floors unusually expensive....now that they are finally above their cramped quarters, with a small floorplate for each floor, it should be significantly less costly per floor from this point forward......

.....they probably have 40% of the total cost of the building already sunk.......

[Mojava]

My guess is that they have 15%-20% of the cost so far spent. This is a roughly $400M project. They have a $20M loan from LaSalle and maybe Teng has contributed $40M. I cant imagine too much more equity then that but could be wrong. Interiors of 5 star hotels are very expensive to build out as well.

[dagobert]

Originally Posted by jjk1103

....that's not what I meant......while I don't have cost figures for the cost thus far......the really small site on this one made the first 20 floors unusually expensive....now that they are finally above their cramped quarters, with a small floorplate for each floor, it should be significantly less costly per floor from this point forward......

.....they probably have 40% of the total cost of the building already sunk.......

I don't think the sunk cost is above the 30% mark, it might be closer to 25% or even 20% (that is assuming the transfer floor is included) if we also figure interior completion expenses into the equation. Interior finishing costs are pretty significant and I think typically run at about 1/3 of building's total cost.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by jjk1103

.....they probably have 40% of the total cost of the building already sunk.......

i don't have any numbers in front of me either, but i'd be SHOCKED if the sunk costs were already at 40%, my best guess is that it's somewhere around half of that in the 15-25% range.

EDIT: it looks like i agree with mojava and dagobert

[Brian.]

Originally Posted by jjk1103

....that's not what I meant......while I don't have cost figures for the cost thus far......the really small site on this one made the first 20 floors unusually expensive....now that they are finally above their cramped quarters, with a small floorplate for each floor, it should be significantly less costly per floor from this point forward......

If I may, I'd like to disagree with you here. The higher you go the more expensive everything gets. The reason would mainly be due to the labor costs of getting material hundreds of feet in the air.

If you have a worker waiting on a bundle of rebar that used to take 5 minutes to get from ground to floor now takes 20 minutes. Take that 15 minutes multiplied by 40 workers and it adds up quickly. Add in crane time, concrete pumping time, freight elevator time and this adds up to higher construction costs with each level you go up.

Am I missing anything?

[cbotnyse]

Originally Posted by ColoPrecaster

If I may, I'd like to disagree with you here. The higher you go the more expensive everything gets. The reason would mainly be due to the labor costs of getting material hundreds of feet in the air.

If you have a worker waiting on a bundle of rebar that used to take 5 minutes to get from ground to floor now takes 20 minutes. Take that 15 minutes multiplied by 40 workers and it adds up quickly. Add in crane time, concrete pumping time, freight elevator time and this adds up to higher construction costs with each level you go up.

Am I missing anything?

But the higher you go, the less materials you use as the building gets smaller (slimmer). This would probably be applied better to a building like Trump, with has considerably smaller setbacks, maybe not so much here. But I agree, the labor costs would have to rise.

[cbotnyse]

Originally Posted by chi-arch

Yes I do and this is widely known by those who post here regularily. Certainly, I have contacted the developer about this and my faith is intact. I have no worries at all that this will continue upward. We have known for a long time that the financing of this project had not been secured and unfortunately recent news has created yet another stir. It will get done and we are not going to see a 29 story hotel and parking structure on this site, ever.

I post here regularly. But if I were you, I'd be posting like crazy in this thread! And I figured you did contact the developer, I was just asking. This is your investment! I share your hope that it will get done. I'll be really shocked if it doesnt.

[jjk1103]

Originally Posted by ColoPrecaster

If I may, I'd like to disagree with you here. The higher you go the more expensive everything gets. The reason would mainly be due to the labor costs of getting material hundreds of feet in the air.

If you have a worker waiting on a bundle of rebar that used to take 5 minutes to get from ground to floor now takes 20 minutes. Take that 15 minutes multiplied by 40 workers and it adds up quickly. Add in crane time, concrete pumping time, freight elevator time and this adds up to higher construction costs with each level you go up.

Am I missing anything?

..ok ok ...you guys win !!

...let's just hope it gets built !

[honte]

The latest Waterview Tower newletter was just released (damage control? no mention of Roeder obviously), and it indicates that cladding will commence in summer. So, if you don't see any for a few months, don't get out your crystal balls.

Construction Update

The building is approaching the 27th floor, which is the top floor of the hotel. Once completed, the 27th floor will contain Shangri-La's Presidential Suite. The 26th floor, which was just poured, will contain the CHI spa, hotel pool and the exclusive Spa Suites. Spa Suites allow treatments to be performed in the privacy of your own room. In the coming weeks work on the transfer floor and the residential amenity level will begin. Installation of the supports for the glass and granite curtain wall has begun, which will enable the curtain wall mounting to begin this summer. For photographs of the construction progress, please visit waterviewtower.com, and then click on the "construction status" link at the bottom of the page. You can view photos of the construction process, updated every week, on our website at www.waterview tower.com, or drop in the sales center to look over the site from our conference room window.

[NYC2ATX]

No wonder it's taking a while. First a spa floor with a pool (which takes a while to build; ref: The Harmon, Las Vegas), and then a transfer floor. Chillax guys, you're gonna getcha supertall.

[Chi649]

Originally Posted by StatenIslander237

No wonder it's taking a while. First a spa floor with a pool (which takes a while to build; ref: The Harmon, Las Vegas), and then a transfer floor. Chillax guys, you're gonna getcha supertall.

But the transfer floor hasn't begun yet or maybe just started.

The timing of this is interesting, just as the transfer floor is about to begin. Soon visible progress will slow considerably and some people will perceive this as a work stoppage. I doubt the rumors will stop anytime soon

[HighRiser]

Time will tell Friday April 10th because thats when the contractors are rumored to stop work. Rumored for the fact that contractors have contacted the unions and are not continuing until payments are recieved for work performed. Word is the big subs concrete,electrical etc have not recieved payout for months. The way I see it why wouldnt they stop now and force the hand, without the mechanical floor the project is dead. For the concrete contractor alone my guess would be that they are running 500 to 600 k a week in labor and material. They are contractors and not banks do you think they want 8 to 10 mil hanging in the wind. If the project can eventually complete parking and hotel and some condo floors and reaches a point of "temp cap" , coming back later and finishing full height may be economically unfeasible due to the site room and additional requirements for constructing a building while occupied. Just a perspective from someone who does this for a living.

[LaSalle.St.Station]

This project lies within the north loop redevelopment zone..should qualify for incentives for development for that zone, but city hall has redirected all funds too non north loop sites lately....

[ufdigga]

hundreds of millions of dollars does not qualify as "relatively cheap" by anyone's standards.

Maybe Don Trump will give them a loan.

[LaSalle.St.Station]

^ not likely, for some reason Teng is on the out at city hall, and therefore we have the issue of a stalled building on our hands right now....pride and Irish....not mutualy exclusive

[cbotnyse]

Originally Posted by HighRiser

Time will tell Friday April 10th because thats when the contractors are rumored to stop work. Rumored for the fact that contractors have contacted the unions and are not continuing until payments are recieved for work performed. Word is the big subs concrete,electrical etc have not recieved payout for months. The way I see it why wouldnt they stop now and force the hand, without the mechanical floor the project is dead. For the concrete contractor alone my guess would be that they are running 500 to 600 k a week in labor and material. They are contractors and not banks do you think they want 8 to 10 mil hanging in the wind. If the project can eventually complete parking and hotel and some condo floors and reaches a point of "temp cap" , coming back later and finishing full height may be economically unfeasible due to the site room and additional requirements for constructing a building while occupied. Just a perspective from someone who does this for a living.

thanks for your perspective. I can report workers are on the job this morning, so no walk out yet.

Any idea why they wouldnt get the hotel ready to open and start producing revenue like Trump did?

[Jaroslaw]

Originally Posted by cbotnyse

Any idea why they wouldnt get the hotel ready to open and start producing revenue like Trump did?

Because Shangri-La said they're not interested in that. Plus the small site would really make that difficult.

On the costs, I seem to recall a few months back someone from the inside, maybe even Teng itself, gave a figure for the foundation work, it was surprisingly low, something like $10 million? Anyone remember this?

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by cbotnyse

thanks for your perspective. I can report workers are on the job this morning, so no walk out yet.

Any idea why they wouldnt get the hotel ready to open and start producing revenue like Trump did?

Maybe Solar can keep an eye out seeing as he works in 77 W. Wacker. Also, well know by monday if things were halted.

[IRLaw]

Hey guys, I don't post often here but this thread has caused some alarm for me. I work next door at a certain law firm in the LaSalle Wacker building, good news is, workers are still right out my window as i type this, and just as many as there have been in the recent weeks. Also, I have spoken to a few of the contractors on the site and they were all very confident that the building is going to be finished as planned. Sorry to report, I have not been able to get any insider info, but if I do you'll all be the first to know.