CHICAGO | Chicago Spire | 610 M / 2,000 FT | 150 FLOORS | NEVER BUILT

[cbotnyse]

Originally Posted by harryc

Little spire.

the cladding turned out awful, its too brown. I hate the base too.

[Downtown Los Angeles]

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

[Downtown Los Angeles]

Originally Posted by NoSmallPlanner

Maybe they're not dead - they're just on hold.

NSP

Maybe the animals might be cancelled for such a dumb idea!

[Vanzetti]

Originally Posted by harryc

Little spire.

You know, this shape will make a really cool skyscraper.

[Starsky]

I certainly wont be crying if it doesn't get built. The look of the building is just off. I honestly don't see what people see in it, other than that its really tall. It wouldn't be such a big issue if it was 500ft, but this will dominate the skyline. I would not want a giant seashell to dominate the skyline in my city!

[OhGreatOne]

It looks more like a drill bit than a seashell. In recent renderings, well, it still looks like a drill bit, although a little less so. That said, I would like for this to get built.

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by Starsky

I certainly wont be crying if it doesn't get built. The look of the building is just off. I honestly don't see what people see in it, other than that its really tall. It wouldn't be such a big issue if it was 500ft, but this will dominate the skyline. I would not want a giant seashell to dominate the skyline in my city!

Do you realize what huge scale busters both Sears, John Hancock and AON were? JHC was more than twice the height of anything north of the Chicago River. Sears was built in a area of downtown where no large buildings existed at the time. The tallest buildings on Wacker Drive before Sears were Hartford Insurance Plaza (20 stories, 1961), old USG tower (18 stories, 1963); 300 South Wacker (36 stories, 1971) and Civic Opera (45 stories, 1929). Skylines evolve over time, and if one becomes obsessed with context, then nothing ever changes.

[harryc]

From above


higer res 2007 series - 2008 Q1 series - 2008 Q2 series - 2008 Q3 & 4 series - 2009 series

The park - with Navy Pier in the background






Panasonic DMZ TZ4 - Picasa - Autostitch - Photomatix HDR

[10023]

harry I've been meaning to thank you for keeping us all up to date on how that hole looks...

[shakman]

As long as the same photo is posted month after month...

[lio45]

Can't Obama just get a few billion in bailout money for his "hometown" Spire? It'd be a droplet of water in the ocean of free money being given left and right, and would at least produce something tangible (the country's highest building) and, arguably, very cool.

[Harold92]

^^^^ Agreed!!!!

[PEORIA]

HE BETTER NOT! That would be categorized as " pork spending " AND such an allocation would be " political suicide " during THIS, great, economic crisis.

(image from starphoenixbase.com)

[Nowhereman1280]

Give it a rest people, every week or two someone comes in here and brings it up. Isn't it obvious that stimulus money is not going to be spent on this? I mean have you been paying any attention to the stimulus at all? All the money being spent is going to prop up banks or build infrastructure, have you heard of one example of it being spent on a private real estate development? Can't we figure this out on our own without having someone ask every week or two?

[lio45]

1) I was totally kidding

2) Forgive me for not having read the 79 pages (let alone the other 10k post thread) before posting

[nequidnimis]

Originally Posted by BTinSF

Friday, April 24, 2009
Builders tap HUD dollars for housing
‘They give you the money’
San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen

Several Bay Area housing developers are turning to a little-used HUD program to jump-start stalled market-rate apartment construction after traditional financing dried up.

San Francisco-based developers Menlo Capital Group, the Emerald Fund and Martin Building Group are all applying for Housing and Urban Development’s Section 220, a program that insures loans for multifamily housing projects located in areas that are designated for redevelopment or revitalization. Under the program, the federal government essentially guarantees 40-year loans by providing Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance to lenders.

The program, which only covers rental apartments and works for market-rate but not luxury housing also has a non-recourse provision, meaning that the developer does not have to put up personal property as collateral.

Yes, I have heard of one example being spent on private investment. It's definitely government money. I am not sure but I suspect HUD saw its funding increased as part of the stimulus. Unfortunately in this case, the size of the loans is limited, and other restrictions apply.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by OhGreatOne

It looks more like a drill bit than a seashell. In recent renderings, well, it still looks like a drill bit, although a little less so. That said, I would like for this to get built.

A drill bit is a pretty cool shape for a skyscraper. Might seem weird at first sight, but that's how all classics have begun. If it gets built, I predict that within a few decades almost all Chicagoans will eventually love it.

[Indescribable]

A new drill bit but no Spire.

[Tom In Chicago]

OK everyone's had their jabs. . . let's just chose to let this thread die peacefully on it's own. . . off topic comments from here on out will be met with disciplinary action. . . that includes you whiners who want this thread shut down. . .

. . .

[Tacoma Boy]

Seeing the giant hole makes me sad.
I remember going thru Chicago back in '94. I was like 12 at the time, and the tallest thing I'd ever seen was the Fiberglass Tower in Toledo. When I got the chance to stand at the foot of Sears and look up, it blew my pre-pubescent mind.

I was really looking forward to repeating that experience at the foot of the Spire.
This thread certainly isn't the place to postulate on the economy or whatnot, but of all the projects 'round the country that are on hiatus, I have hope that this is the one that comes through.