CHICAGO | Waterview Tower | 1,047' Official / 1,035' Roof | 89 FLOORS |NEVER BUILT - Page 135

chicubs111 · #**2681** Posted **Mar 3, 2009, 3:54 AM**

I hate this developer for not working there ass off when the times were better for getting a loan.... never in my dreams did i think this project would not get built after it got out of the ground... IM so mad

emathias · #**2682** Posted **Mar 3, 2009, 4:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcchii

I hope they look at other chicago projects

Isn't there a newly-available hotel slot in Aqua ... ?

EarlyBuyer · #**2683** Posted **Mar 3, 2009, 5:49 AM**

The press release states their first hotel in North America is in Vancouver, a city in which Fairmont Hotels dominate. The Fairmont family of brands includes (Fairmont, Delta, Swissotel and Raffles). Shangri-La's launching of its first North American hotel there was a likely a shot across the bow.

emathias' question above does raise a point for thought. The vacant hotel space (whomever fills it), will play nose-to-nose with the Fairmont and Swissotel (one way or another) and they'll be physically connected via the new pedway. Remember, the hotel space at Aqua was designed with significant input from the Fairmont Chicago's owner-Strategic Hotels as well as Fairmont management to have been a new upper echelon addition to the existing hotel.

SLIM (USA) does not state they no longer believe Chicago is a good market, however instead because of the economics the Waterview Tower is facing they pulled out. The new Roundy’s grocery at the Lakeshore East Market Center was picked-up following a falling out of the same grocer at a previously committed-to West Loop location.

Mojava · #**2684** Posted **Mar 3, 2009, 3:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicubs111

I hate this developer for not working there ass off when the times were better for getting a loan.... never in my dreams did i think this project would not get built after it got out of the ground... IM so mad

I find it hard to believe that Teng wasnt work hard to get a loan. I heard through many sources that the financials just didnt work for this project to fund. Overbudget and not efficiently designed.

I think it will be very difficult for this tower and Aqua to fill up the hotel space. (Aqua may be easier though). Both of these projects were specifically designed/built-out for a specific hotel operators program.

ChicagoChicago · #**2685** Posted **Mar 3, 2009, 3:49 PM**

Everything I’ve read says that Shangri-La won’t be filling Aqua. It’s not even an option because of Aqua’s ceiling heights.

andydie · #**2686** Posted **Mar 3, 2009, 4:26 PM**

Imho now that Shangri La has pulled out this tower sadly is Dead

Dirt Lawyer · #**2687** Posted **Mar 3, 2009, 11:07 PM**

Here's another story on the project: http://tinyurl.com/c64wcx

Quote:

“Under the current economic environment, regrettably, the implementation of the hotel project has been suspended with no indication of when activities will resume,” the Hong-Kong-based luxury hotel company said in a statement.

intrepidDesign · #**2688** Posted **Mar 4, 2009, 12:40 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by andydie

Imho now that Shangri La has pulled out this tower sadly is Dead

I don't know if this is altogether a bad thing. The whole hondo (condo/hotel) idea was flawed from the start. Now with Shangri La out of the way, a traditional hotel can come in that wont rely on selling condos to be viable. I guess I'm just trying to see the silver lining.

spyguy · #**2689** Posted **Mar 4, 2009, 9:22 PM**

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=33200

Waterview developer loses Shangri-La hotel
By: Alby Gallun March 04, 2009

Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts has officially dropped its plans to open a hotel in a stalled high-rise development on Wacker Drive.

The Hong Kong-based luxury hotel chain had planned to open a 200-unit hotel in the 90-story Waterview Tower at 111 W. Wacker Drive. But the developer, an affiliate of Chicago-based Teng & Associates Inc., ran out of money and stopped construction last year.

“Under the current economic environment, regrettably, the implementation of the hotel project has been suspended with no indication of when activities will resume,” Shangri-La said in a statement. “Accordingly, (Shangri-La’s U.S. subsidiary) in exercise of its contractual rights under the agreements, has served a notice on the developer terminating its contracts relating to this project.”

---
Edit: I see it was already posted above. Terrible news anyway.

BuildCTPlace · #**2690** Posted **Mar 4, 2009, 9:56 PM**

So how long will that empty shell stand there?

Steely Dan · #**2691** Posted **Mar 4, 2009, 10:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuildCTPlace

So how long will that empty shell stand there?

who knows, how can anyone know the answer to that question at this point in time? 6 months? 3 years? a decade? all are plausible at the moment.

chicubs111 · #**2692** Posted **Mar 4, 2009, 11:09 PM**

Man...this just pisses me off...once this building started i felt very confident there would be no problems...i mean what are the options now?... I honestly thought shangra la would hold out longer...I remember an article a little while back stating there commitment to waterview...i mean they really had nothing to lose right? not like they can get anything else started in chicago for awhile anyway.

Jibba · #**2693** Posted **Mar 5, 2009, 12:20 AM**

I can't help but feel that Teng blew this somehow. The sales were there, the location is fantastic, Shangri-La was in...what the hell happened? I can't even explain how much I hate the fact that there is a fat-ass parking garage sitting on Wacker Drive.

the urban politician · #**2694** Posted **Mar 5, 2009, 2:00 AM**

Never Built

left of center · #**2695** Posted **Mar 5, 2009, 3:05 AM**

damn shame. i loved this building... the height, the design, everything about it was gorgeous. hopefully it gets built later on according to plan, without too many value engineering design changes or a decrease in the amount of floors... ugh.

ChicagoChicago · #**2696** Posted **Mar 5, 2009, 3:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by left of center

damn shame. i loved this building... the height, the design, everything about it was gorgeous. hopefully it gets built later on according to plan, without too many value engineering design changes or a decrease in the amount of floors... ugh.

Someone is going to take this thing off of a bankrupt Teng's hands if they don't build it. It has the foundation of a 90 Story building. The plans are there. Prior to last year, the hotel market supported a high end hotel. It will be built. I just hope Teng wises up and dumps the site and gives someone else a chance to produce Chicago's next supertall.

chi-arch · #**2697** Posted **Mar 5, 2009, 2:42 PM**

Teng will go down in history as the biggest amateur developer on the planet. Great project and just poor poor management all of the way around. They literally killed the golden goose on this one and let their own greed get in the way of a proper financial approach at the beginning as they waited to capitalize on the loan arrangements. I doubt another hotel operator will look at the project and it may revert back to office use and apartments if anyone is silly enough to buy out the project and give it another go.

lawfin · #**2698** Posted **Mar 5, 2009, 6:30 PM**

Someone cue Taps....and point the gun salute at Teng

bnk · #**2699** Posted **Mar 5, 2009, 7:15 PM**

Go to Blair's site to comment on this.

Quote:

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/...r-and-shangri-la-hotel--just-went-d.html

Originally posted: March 5, 2009

What to do with stalled Waterview Tower?

Let's hear your ideas

Uh, oh. Our No. 2 frozen-in-place supertall skyscraper--not the Chicago Spire, but the Waterview Tower

...

I just walked by Waterview on the way into work and they've obviously got some housekeeping to do: The construction marquee along the sidewalk is plastered with advertising for the Shangri-La, which now looks foolishly out of date. Meanwhile, the tower's exposed concrete frame is just sitting there--there's no construction going on and the 26 completed floors (out of a planned 90) are looking very lonely.

Clearly, the sloping lower floors could be put into service as a parking garage, which is the purpose for which they were designed...

...

JDRCRASH · #**2700** Posted **Mar 5, 2009, 8:21 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChicagoChicago

Someone is going to take this thing off of a bankrupt Teng's hands if they don't build it.

And who exactly is gonna fill the shoes in this economy?