The Chicago Boom

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by 60-minutes-II

I am kindof shocked. Who has the money to afford such luxury?

Rich people

Also, Im not sure what projects you're referring to, but the one I just posted is an extended-stay hotel (for example, business people in town for a couple months). So its not as if its a luxury condo.

[60-minutes-II]

Originally Posted by via chicago

Rich people

Also, Im not sure what projects you're referring to, but the one I just posted is an extended-stay hotel (for example, business people in town for a couple months). So its not as if its a luxury condo.

I was referring to the original. Besides there are not that many rich people to buy all those condos.....

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by 60-minutes-II

I was referring to the original. Besides there are not that many rich people to buy all those condos.....

Well they wouldnt be building it if the developers didnt expect a return on their investment. In many cases you need a certain amount of presales to even secure a loan from a bank. In the case of the Chicago Spire, sales are being directed at an international clientele (wealthy Asians, Europeans, etc)..with the dollar at its current level, for them its a steal to get a piece of property like this at the price they're paying, especially compared to property in their home countries which is way more expensive for something comparable. For most residents it will be a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th home, or an investment...i.e. jet setters. This is not a demographic that gets pinched by economic downturns.

For others, you would be surprised. One Museum Park is virtually sold out. Sales have also been extremely brisk at Aqua and will probably be sold out before construction is complete. Trump is around 70% sold (and the other portion is hotel). Almost half of Waterview will be comprised of the Shangri-La Hotel. I'm not sure where sales with the Legacy stand, but I know the Heritage (which was completed by the same developer) was sold out before the building topped out. Many of these residents are wealthy empty-nester suburbanites looking to downsize and get rid of their cars and to be able to walk to shops and cultural attractions...for them high-rise living makes more sense than some McMansion on a huge estate.

And you're correct that there was a glut of luxury units, and many of these projects never materialized, are on life support, or have been pushed back (Park Michigan, Canyon Ranch, the Mandarin Oriental, Interconti Tower, etc)

300 N LaSalle, the BCBS expansion, and 200 N Riverside are all office buildings, so thats a different market entirely.

[chet everett]

Kelleher is one heck of an amazing story. If he pulls this off it'll be Horatoi Alger/Tony Robbins/ Donald Trump with an Irish brogue for the 21st century.

He has 20 years of experience finding private sources of funding and running with it.

Chicago Spire launches in Singapore, then Malaysia | urbanseven+ malaysian property & living blog

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by 60-minutes-II

I was referring to the original. Besides there are not that many rich people to buy all those condos.....

Well, obviously there are. All housing that sells is "affordable" to someone.

[via chicago]

Aqua is going to be incredible once its finished. This thing is coming out matching the renderings to a T

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by via chicago

Aqua is going to be incredible once its finished. This thing is coming out matching the renderings to a T

I was walking around downtown Saturday, enjoying the San Francisco-esque drizzly weather, and noticed that Aqua, even viewed from the Michigan Ave Bridge, retains that beautiful undulating shape from the balconies. It almost seems like they installed different types of windows to magnify the effect...or maybe its just the type of reflection in the glass.

Trump is also turning out better the taller it gets. I went running along the lake tonight, and the view of trump from around Belmont Harbor is brilliant. It looks like its going to appear almost white in the evening hours once all the cladding is complete. It really sticks out, in the best possible way, in the middle of the skyline from that perspective.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

I was walking around downtown Saturday, enjoying the San Francisco-esque drizzly weather, and noticed that Aqua, even viewed from the Michigan Ave Bridge, retains that beautiful undulating shape from the balconies. It almost seems like they installed different types of windows to magnify the effect...or maybe its just the type of reflection in the glass.

Trump is also turning out better the taller it gets. I went running along the lake tonight, and the view of trump from around Belmont Harbor is brilliant. It looks like its going to appear almost white in the evening hours once all the cladding is complete. It really sticks out, in the best possible way, in the middle of the skyline from that perspective.

The library in my school is on the sixth through tenth floors, and on the seventh through tenth floors there's a pair of big comfy lounge chairs right in front of a great big window looking north up State Street. If you sit in one of those chairs you're looking straight toward the Trump Tower. I do class prep sitting in those chairs pretty frequently, and it's been interesting watching the progress of the tower from week to week.

[Ron.]