Right. It took a very long time. But to "have doubts" as the previous post I was replying to about at least this stage happening seems to be moot at this point, no?

What do you think are the chances that this building won't be completed once real construction begins? Can this project really sit unfinished like Waterview?

Guy I used to sit next to during my internship had once consulted on a project that had a groundbreaking ceremony for the pure sake of appearing legitimate. The site then sat empty for about a year without anything happening. Granted, the project was done by some shady developer down in Florida or something, but yeah groundbreaking ceremonies are just that, ceremonies. I'm holding out hope for this one though (:

Maybe I'm biased towards the South Loop, but I consider this building to be in a VERY desirable area. True, it's not adjacent to luxury retail or Michelin-star restaurants, but judged on the basic concept of liveability, I would live in it in a heartbeat (if I had the money).

It's Immediately adjacent to the city's largest park, 2 blocks from a Red/Green/Orange line station, ON Michigan Avenue (with a ton of transit options), a block from Roosevelt, which feeds onto the expressways, steps away from Museum Campus and the lakefront trail, and two blocks away from a Jewel and a Trader Joe's.

The South Loop isn't sexy, but it has everything you need to live a very comfortable, walkable city life. This building, NEMA, and Essex are all capitalizing on this fact.

yes, the ceremonial groundbreaking apparently happening this thursday is for show.

BUT, Bombardier, one of this forum's most reliable construction insiders, did report that McHugh is the GC and that he heard they are targeting a december construction start.

so....... maybe this one actually will happen?

time will tell.

I agree 100%. And the views here will be among the best in the city. Although to be fair for the record Washington, Lincoln, Jackson and Burnham are all bigger than Grant Park. It is, though, certainly the most prominent green space in the city.

October 22, 2019





Across Michigan Avenue, filming of Aaron Sorkin’s "The Trial of the Chicago 7."

Same here. The smallest units are actually not that expensive, starting at $259,000 for 305 sqft, and the HOA fees are surprisingly low, only $153 for this 305 sqft unit, though I have heard of new condos that lure buyers with very low HOA fees initially, but after just a couple years the fees start skyrocketing.

I agree 200%, especially regarding the views. IMO this is the most interesting Chicago residential tower that's potentially going up in the near future.

305 sq/ft is very small. . . like Manhattan-apartment small. . . unless I'm calculating this wrong price per sq/ft at $850 seems to be on the high end. . .

. .

Digging up the parking lot and hauling away the rubble at the moment. Also setting up some sort of large tent.

^ that counts as "site prep".

niceeee

For a second there I thought the CPD were wearing their throwback uniforms for the day

Yes this would be too small for me as well, but big enough for some people.

For the units listed on Redfin.com, the range is $601/sqft - 1476/sqft.

When I was (extremely briefly) in the downtown apartment business, I had a few clients who specifically wanted as small as possible in a nice building and nice location. They weren't going to be in the unit much so they didn't care about the size of the space, but when they did stay they wanted ultra-convenience. $260K seems like a great price for that size for a retired couple who simply wants to have a cool place to stay for a weekend now and then in downtown Chicago, across from the park, and close to the train.

23 October, 2019 -- evening

https://i.imgur.com/RqYkN9Oh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1O3xlANh.jpg

Crains has a good article up today questioning what is really going on here. It is a good summary of a lot of the details that keep me skeptical of this development, even if the marketing team is trying to present everything as moving forward as planned.

I can't really tell what is likely to happen at this point, but this falling through wouldn't be a bad outcome. The thumb on a pedestal design is underwhelming and ill proportioned (and drastically inferior to the original proposal).

The sales numbers Crains estimates look just OK. Wiith such a large percentage being smaller units I wonder if part of the programming change was done as bulk sale to an investor that will effectively run them as apartments. The numbers look quite bad if that is the case.

This was interesting. . . specifically related to financing. . .

So they're not interested in talking about specifics to the public. . . I get that. . . it's taken a long time to sell a luxury product in a non-luxury location. . . hopefully the banks will agree with their scheme. . .

. . .

Interesting, this is saying GS is financing 1000M: https://chicago.curbed.com/2019/10/2...groundbreaking

Well there ya go. . . I can bump up my odds for this getting built. . .

. . .

from the arcticle:

that's a gigantically huge announcement, if true.

that's a proper reason to throw a ceremonial groundbreaking shindig.