In Depth Analysis: CalculatedRisk Newsletter on Real Estate (Ad Free) Read it here.

Monday, June 22, 2009

CRE: Chicago Eyesore

by Calculated Risk on 6/22/2009 06:00:00 PM

Waterview Tower Chicago Michael sent me this photo of the halted Waterview Tower project in Chicago.

Click on image for larger graph in new window.

Photo Credit: Michael C.

The development was halted at 26 stories - the plan was for a 90 story building with a combination of condos and a hotel.

Every CRE bust leaves what Crain's Chicago Business calls the Waterview: "a 26-story concrete monument symbolizing the excesses of the real estate boom" ... here are couple of recent stories on the Waterview.

From Crain's Chicago Business: Waterview Hotel project on the market

CB Richard Ellis Inc. is taking on one of the toughest jobs in today’s languishing downtown real estate market: finding a buyer for the stalled Waterview Tower and Shangri-La Hotel project on Wacker Drive.
...
The developer is tangling in court with the Bank of America, which is trying to collect on a $20-million loan, and construction firms that claim they’re owed a combined $85 million.
And from the Chicago Sun-Times: City wants high-rise crane removed
Impatient about the stillborn construction site on Wacker Drive, city officials are demanding the removal of the high-rise crane at the proposed Waterview Tower. No work has been done on the planned 90-story building since last year, and now it stands as a shell about 27 stories tall at the southwest corner of Wacker and Clark.

A spokesman for the city's Buildings Department said it is worried that an unused crane can pose a safety hazard.
Another CRE eyesore.