I talked to 44 Monroe sales rep Jack Lape this afternoon. We covered a lot of territory, so I'll put the topics in separate categories.
44 Monroe: over 50% of the units are now under contract. The project will be at ground level by the end of July, and will rise a floor each week after that. The cheapest unit is around $520,000. The foot traffic into the sales office has shifted from younger and government workers to those more apt to qualify to buy. There is now more demand for two bedroom units. The architects are still tweaking the final design. They're dissatisfied with the latice work covering part of the parking podium. The rep had no idea about the alternative rendering from DFDCH. I'll email him that image. There are still plans for a 3300 sq ft gourmet grocery on the ground floor.
San Carlos Hotel: the Melikians have been trying to sell the hotel for a couple of years now. The high-rise proposal is an effort to sweeten the pot, as it were. Parking is their main problem. They contracted space at Van Buren and Central where Central Park East is going. Since ASU has that property, they've lost that space. They apparently considered going condo. Their water park concept would be for adults only.
W Hotel: they call 44 Monroe on a regular basis to see what the sales progress is like. Apparently they're gauging the market before proceeding.
Professional Building/Sliver Building: construction is slated to begin this fall turning the Professional Building into a boutique hotel. There will be units for sale too as hotel condos. The Sliver Building would be condos. It could be anywhere from 23 to 40 floors (depending on demand, apparently).