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

[Mehow]

While the 28th. floor of this building has a very important part of the mechanical system, the main components are located on the upper floors as well as the top and roof. As far as opening the hotel and garage, I would find this out of the question do to the fact that the hoist protrudes through the ramps for the garage as well as the kitchens for the hotel.

[Himechme]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

you wouldn't happen to be a part of the Unite Here Union would you?

I am not part of the Unite Here Union!

Just someone who has a vested interest in seeing this thing built!

Teng is having a tough time with this one and it is affecting us all.

[Himechme]

Originally Posted by aaron38

Is there anything left to design at this point? Was that just standard phrasing, or were you implying that Beijing Construction could be making design changes? I hope not, because it would be nothing but value engineering at this point.

Not just standard phrasing. The structure and the exterior are designed. There is alot and I mean alot left to design on the interior. That is one of the major reasons financing has been so tough to get. With Beijing Construction taking over nothing is fixed as far as the interior goes. Shangri-la is most likely going to be out and some other hotel brand will be in the hotel section. Shangri-la has been unwilling to put in any money up front.

And yes I guess we will have to wait until '09!

[chi-arch]

Construction will start up in September. All is good.

[honte]

^ More details please, my friend.

[TheBigHurt]

Originally Posted by chi-arch

Construction will start up in September. All is good.

Your signature leads me to believe you are incorrect.

I hope you're right, I really want to see this one go up.

[dagobert]

Originally Posted by Himechme

Not just standard phrasing. The structure and the exterior are designed. There is alot and I mean alot left to design on the interior. That is one of the major reasons financing has been so tough to get. With Beijing Construction taking over nothing is fixed as far as the interior goes. Shangri-la is most likely going to be out and some other hotel brand will be in the hotel section. Shangri-la has been unwilling to put in any money up front.

And yes I guess we will have to wait until '09!

Pardon my engineering & architectural ignorance, but how could they have built portion of the structure if they didn't have interior designs finished. Are you trying to tell me there are no blueprints & schematics for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, & communications systems. It is hard to believe what you are saying given, that the hotel portion of the building was essentially completed and they were ready to start on the transfer floor.

Are you implying that they have built 28-29 floors of the hotel and parking without knowing where the HVAC ducts & plumbing pipes will go, without knowing how the electrical wiring & communications cables will be routed? Is the current structure a whimsical creation resulting largely from the creativity and imagination of workers who where pouring the concrete and deciding on a whim how the interior will look like?

They were a floor away from the transfer floor and they didn’t have detailed drawing of the transfer floor?

What has Teng been doing the last 4 years? Coloring- in the renderings of Waterview with his Crayola crayons and drawing in the clouds?

Do you also mean to say that the condo floor plates are just a wild guess of how layouts might look like. Even though someone has a contract for a 3 bedroom that condo could turn out to be a 1.5 bedroom or a convertible since no interior plans have been completed & where the 2 bedrooms were supposed to go, they will need to put in an electrical switch station or a water pump?

[Mojava]

^dagobert, i'm quite certain a lot of the basics of the interior design are completed, (mechanical, room locations and dimensions, etc.) but when building a hotel there is a tremendous amount of work in the finishing details and this can take a long time. It is also very, very expensive to fit out lobbys, ball rooms, restaurants, guest rooms, etc. Material selections and esthetics are always changing and VE'ed.

[Mojava]

came across this the other day...yuanda, a chinese curtain wall company is working on waterview. they have a photo of their mock-up. i believe something like this was posted a long time ago. they are also doing legacy.

http://www.yuanda.com.cn/Yuanda/Proj...0070626398.asp

[chi-arch]

There is no VE of the condo tower occuring at this juncture. The sales of these units are understandably tied into a very specific product, fit and finish. The hotel is a different animal and may have some fine-tuning as pointed out by Mojava.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Himechme

Not just standard phrasing. The structure and the exterior are designed. There is alot and I mean alot left to design on the interior. That is one of the major reasons financing has been so tough to get. With Beijing Construction taking over nothing is fixed as far as the interior goes. Shangri-la is most likely going to be out and some other hotel brand will be in the hotel section. Shangri-la has been unwilling to put in any money up front.

And yes I guess we will have to wait until '09!

You have have things designed before you can get permits from the city. Of course minor changes can be made, say if people had bought 2 units and combined them.

Shangri La isn't out of anything. They were to just be the managers of the hotel/condo portion. Remember, the rooms are for sale, it's not a conventional hotel. I wouldn't really put any money in something that I didn't own either.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Mojava

came across this the other day...yuanda, a chinese curtain wall company is working on waterview. they have a photo of their mock-up. i believe something like this was posted a long time ago. they are also doing legacy.

http://www.yuanda.com.cn/Yuanda/Proj...0070626398.asp

Let's post it anyway




They also have listed the Mandarin Oriental.

[chi-arch]

Originally Posted by honte

^ More details please, my friend.

The best I can share is this information was not obtained from hearsay at a cocktail party.

[dagobert]

Originally Posted by Mojava

^dagobert, i'm quite certain a lot of the basics of the interior design are completed, (mechanical, room locations and dimensions, etc.) but when building a hotel there is a tremendous amount of work in the finishing details and this can take a long time. It is also very, very expensive to fit out lobbys, ball rooms, restaurants, guest rooms, etc. Material selections and esthetics are always changing and VE'ed.

You are 100% correct, but my post was aiming at the statement Himecheme made that "There is alot and I mean alot left to design on the interior."

I think you would agree that material selections and esthetics changes and VE of them is completely different than working on designing the interior of the tower itself.

If that was the case per Himchees statement it would seem that the financing was hard to get because the developer couldn't tell the banks what kind of ceramic tiles will be used what color the carpet is going to be.

[dagobert]

Originally Posted by chi-arch

The best I can share is this information was not obtained from hearsay at a cocktail party.

Hey, it was a very late breakfast

[Himechme]

Originally Posted by dagobert

You are 100% correct, but my post was aiming at the statement Himecheme made that "There is alot and I mean alot left to design on the interior."

I think you would agree that material selections and esthetics changes and VE of them is completely different than working on designing the interior of the tower itself.

If that was the case per Himchees statement it would seem that the financing was hard to get because the developer couldn't tell the banks what kind of ceramic tiles will be used what color the carpet is going to be.

OK, I can see how my statement could have been taken the wrong way! The mechanical design is mostly complete. What is left is the interior "finishes" and the specialty areas like the ball rooms, spa floor, lobbies and the like as well as the finishes in the individual condo units, which no upgrade plan has been established to date.

This has caused great turmoil in getting a loan as most lenders want to see 80% of the construction costs committed, that is, under contract, at a minimum. As of now Teng has only about 70% of the estimated cost committed/under contract. With the "finishes" left to design and bid out.

Due to the elaborate nature of this project and the cost overruns in the hotel portion, mostly based on Shangri-la's ever changing specifications, it has been hard for Teng to show what the actual final estimated cost will be.

[KING.640]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

Of course minor changes can be made, say if people had bought 2 units and combined them.

What if I bought 2 penthouse floors and combined those into a duplex? Would they allow that kind of a change, do you think?

[Himechme]

Originally Posted by KING.640

What if I bought 2 penthouse floors and combined those into a duplex? Would they allow that kind of a change, do you think?

YES! Of Course! Anything is possible. Most likely though you would not be able to get your own stairway between the two floors as all of the existing stairwells are fire stairwells. Adding a stairwell between the two units would affect the structural design and at this point that is pretty well set.

But with enough money most things are possible. At least for consideration.

[dagobert]

Originally Posted by Himechme

OK, I can see how my statement could have been taken the wrong way! The mechanical design is mostly complete. What is left is the interior "finishes" and the specialty areas like the ball rooms, spa floor, lobbies and the like as well as the finishes in the individual condo units, which no upgrade plan has been established to date.

This has caused great turmoil in getting a loan as most lenders want to see 80% of the construction costs committed, that is, under contract, at a minimum. As of now Teng has only about 70% of the estimated cost committed/under contract. With the "finishes" left to design and bid out.

Due to the elaborate nature of this project and the cost overruns in the hotel portion, mostly based on Shangri-la's ever changing specifications, it has been hard for Teng to show what the actual final estimated cost will be.

OK, this makes sense. Thanks for the clarification.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by KING.640

What if I bought 2 penthouse floors and combined those into a duplex? Would they allow that kind of a change, do you think?

i'm sure that's possible, but it's not too practical. you'd have like a 12,000 - 13,000 sq ft unit.

i suppose an opening could be left in the floor and stairs could be built.