CHICAGO | Boom rundown - everything over 12 floors. v5

[Jaroslaw]

Thanks for the good news. That whole red brick streetwall is such a great way to say, welcome to Chicago, to all the conventioners coming out to the taxi rank. And not saving this building would be especially foolish whenMcCormick chipped in big to reconstruct the Pratt Luggage Building facade at the SE corner of Cermak and MLK, detailed info here:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTA/is_9_18/ai_n15791962

[aaron38]

What's the name of that building again? Yeah, I don't understand why a developer would want to pay millions to teardown and rebuild when there's perfectly usable floor space already built.

At U of I, I've seen the University do amazing things when renovating their old buildings, puting state of the art interiors and whole atriums inside a 100 year old building, while not touching a single brick on the exterior.
Somebody could do a lot with that structure.

[brian_b]

I'm sure that a warehouse floorplan would be pretty easy to convert to conference rooms and other business uses that a hotel catering to convention visitors would gain a competitive advantage by providing.

[pherek]

I posted some pictures on the 'Buildings and Architecture' subforum of the current demolition of the old Cook County Hospital. If you're like me, you never go to that section of this forum, so I thought I'd advertise it here so it doesn't go completely unnoticed. Here's the link:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=144298

[Tom In Chicago]

The restaurant LaStrada at the foot of Doral Plaza is now closed. . . they're planning on returning in 2010. . .

[Sir Isaac Newton]

The Yo is reporting that groundbreaking on the south tower of Walton on the Park will begin tomorrow.

[honte]

Originally Posted by Jaroslaw

Thanks for the good news. That whole red brick streetwall is such a great way to say, welcome to Chicago, to all the conventioners coming out to the taxi rank. And not saving this building would be especially foolish whenMcCormick chipped in big to reconstruct the Pratt Luggage Building facade at the SE corner of Cermak and MLK, detailed info here:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NTA/is_9_18/ai_n15791962

That's exactly right. I am pretty sure this is part of the egg-on-face that is making them move on this one. Hate to say it, but many similar yet better buildings come down in this city, when there aren't these particular circumstances to help them out.

[Tom Servo]

you know... i keep hearing about how chicago's market is in a 'major slump' and this and that on the news and else where. yet, construction continues on and on... are we really building too much? because, the way i see it, if you they'll come, right?

[aaron38]

Originally Posted by AdrianXSands

... are we really building too much?

I searched for one of my old posts because I remember touching on this.
Jaroslaw posted the following:

--estimated downtown condo sales for 2007: 4,000 (down from 5,783 last year and 8,162 in 2005)

--unsold inventory (new and u/c) is at 7,601 units
the supply of unsold condos includes 3,539 units that are under construction and will be completed between now and 2010, according to Appraisal Research...."

7601 units from now to 2010 will be absorbed by sales of 2500 a year, which is 37% less than '07 sales.
Anything started now won't be ready till 2011 at the earliest, and will fill the 2011-2012 demand, which hopefully rebounds.

I don't think we'll see enough '08 starts to worry about a glut.

[Sir Isaac Newton]

Originally Posted by AdrianXSands

you know... i keep hearing about how chicago's market is in a 'major slump' and this and that on the news and else where. yet, construction continues on and on... are we really building too much? because, the way i see it, if you they'll come, right?

I am as big of a fan of Chicago's high-rise boom as anyone else, but I do think we are slowing down a bit. There is still demand for more hotels, rental towers, and office buildings out there, so we are still going to be seeing lots of buildings go up....but the condo market is definitely not as strong as it was a couple years ago. Walton on the Park is about to begin construction, and buildings such as Mandarin Oriental, X/O, 1349 South Wabash, and 565 Quincy could all possibly begin construction in the next few months or so, but that is because they were able to sell a large number of units before the subprime crisis erupted and real estate market started to decline.

I think that there will still be some condo highrises beginning construction in the next few years, but just not nearly as many as what we've seen in the last couple years. Towers in great locations, like Lakeshore East (Arquitectonica), Central Station (Grant Park Tower 3), or next to Lake Shore Drive (Peshtigo) will still be successful. High quality buildings such as Walsdorf-Astoria also should have a fairly good chance at success. Developers such as CMK who offer condos at extremely competitive prices should also still be successful in building new high rise towers. But projects not offering a great location, building, or price, will have a tough time getting built as the market isn't as strong as it was a couple years ago.

Not saying the boom we've experience over the past few years or so is dying....but it should definitely slow down somewhat during the next couple of years or so. One thing to keep in mind, is that Chicago getting the 2016 Olympics would probably give this boom a second wind, to say the least.

I think we had a record number of construction starts in 2007? (does anyone know the exact number?) While I would imagine that there will still be a solid number of construction starts in 2008, it won't be anywhere close to what it was in 2007.

[Eventually...Chicago]

^^^^ all good points and remember, things tend to turn around pretty quickly. Especially considering that you can't throw a (ba)rock without hitting a politician talking about mortgage bailouts and saving the sub-prime market.

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Eventually...Chicago

^^^^ all good points and remember, things tend to turn around pretty quickly. Especially considering that you can't throw a (ba)rock without hitting a politician talking about mortgage bailouts and saving the sub-prime market.

Politicians giving handouts is not going to do shit to help the economy. What will help the economy is having all the firms that made stupid loans weeded out, i.e. Countrywide getting bought out by BofA. That's how the economy works. No politician no matter how powerful has the ability to outpower the economy, but they have the ability to make it much much worse by bailing out people who deserve to be punished...

[Eventually...Chicago]

Whether or not sub-prime lenders should be bailed out is not the issue. (although it should be and they don't)

but of course politicians can influence the economy...
who do you think writes the tax code? Establishes banking standards? Oversees FHLMC, GNMA, FNMA? Anyone from the airline industry want to talk about how nice it would have been to get a post-911 bailout and what that would have done for their industry? Our economy operates within the laws of our political system, therefore whoever makes the laws can influence the economy.

Regardless, i think chicago building will be just fine. Whole neighborhoods have been built in the past 10 years, a small lull to allow them to build a definable history and an identity is a good thing.

[SolarWind]

January 15, 2008

[the urban politician]

^ So it has begun? Great!

[Nowhereman1280]

Originally Posted by Eventually...Chicago

but of course politicians can influence the economy...
who do you think writes the tax code? Establishes banking standards? Oversees FHLMC, GNMA, FNMA? Anyone from the airline industry want to talk about how nice it would have been to get a post-911 bailout and what that would have done for their industry? Our economy operates within the laws of our political system, therefore whoever makes the laws can influence the economy.

I never said they can't influence it, I said they can't make it better, they can only make it worse by interfering.

This is completely off topic so I won't say more than that, if you want to continue start a thread in Skybar or something and its on...

[BVictor1]

01/12/08

[jjk1103]

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

The restaurant LaStrada at the foot of Doral Plaza is now closed. . . they're planning on returning in 2010. . .

...I hope they never return !!

[denizen467]

Originally Posted by honte

Originally Posted by Jaroslaw
Thanks for the good news. That whole red brick streetwall is such a great way to say, welcome to Chicago, to all the conventioners coming out to the taxi rank. And not saving this building would be especially foolish whenMcCormick chipped in big to reconstruct the Pratt Luggage Building facade at the SE corner of Cermak and MLK, detailed info here:
findarticles.com/p/articles/m...8/ai_n15791962

That's exactly right. I am pretty sure this is part of the egg-on-face that is making them move on this one. Hate to say it, but many similar yet better buildings come down in this city, when there aren't these particular circumstances to help them out.

Rather ironic you extol this example; aren't you some of the same folks who usually rail against facadectomies?

I agree they are far from ideal, but I think they are a reasonable last resort. For example, I derive plenty of pleasure walking along the SW corner of Madison & LaSalle -- and the fact that it's now a modern skyscraper brings high quality uses and vitality to that lovely facade.

[Busy Bee]

Is the drooling emoticon being repurposed to represent barfing?