Luxury Condo Prices Are Booming But Not in Trump Tower: 401 N. Wabash in River North

401 n wabash #1

In December 2016 we chattered about whether or not you would be a buyer in Trump Tower Chicago with a President Trump in the White House.

You can read that chatter here.

With Trump now in the White House for about a year, Crain’s took a look at the number of sales, and average price per square foot, in Trump Tower at 401 N. Wabash in River North.

Condos in Trump International Hotel & Tower sold for an average of $747 a square foot in 2017, according to data from Gail Lissner, managing director of Integra Realty Resources Chicago. That’s down almost 12 percent from 2016, when sales at the 95-story tower on the Chicago River averaged $846 a foot, according to Lissner.

In the same period, prices in the downtown condo market overall rose by 2.8 percent, said Lissner, who has been tracking sales and prices of more than 20,000 units in 65 downtown buildings since 2007.

From 2014 through 2016, Lissner said, the per-foot average in the building ran above $800.

But what about some other “peer” luxury buildings?

According to Crain’s, the average price per square foot in 340 On the Park at 340 E. Randolph in Lakeshore East, which had been a popular building even during the housing downturn, was up 12% from 2016.

Heck, according to Crain’s, average price per square foot of condos sold in the Heritage, at 130 N. Garland, which is across from Millennium Park in the Loop, saw an increase of 7%. And I wouldn’t consider the Heritage to be a “peer” of Trump Tower.

The number of sales was also down sharply in 2017.

The number of sales at Trump was also down, to 17 from 29, Lissner said. It’s the second year with a steep drop in sales: In 2015, there were 56 sales in the tower, according to Lissner.

While sales at Trump dropped 41 percent in 2017, citywide sales of condos priced at $500,000 or more grew by 15.5 percent, to 3,635 for the year.

But could some of this drop be due to the new luxury buildings popping up downtown like No. 9 Walton, which sold out?  There’s a lot of competition from newer construction.

What have sales done in other “peer” buildings like Aqua, 340 OTP, and 55 E. Erie? That would be a better comparison than simply the number of sales above $500,000.

For some buyers, having the Trump name on the side of the building appears to be a deal breaker.

But two brokers with listings at Trump say some buyers hesitate to look at condos purely because of the association with the president.

“Chicago is predominantly a Democratic city,” said Jennifer Ames, a Coldwell Banker agent whose $9.9 million listing on the tower’s 87th floor is under contract, with closing expected this spring. “When I put together a packet of condos for my clients to look at, and a Trump unit is in the packet, I sometimes hear, ‘I wouldn’t be comfortable living in that building.’ ”

Ames declined to say how many times it has happened other than that it’s been more than once. “Before Trump was elected,” she said, “it was never an issue.”

How much of the slowdown in sales is attributed to the Trump Presidency and how much is simply the fact that the building is nearly 10 years old (it topped out in late 2008 and was finished in 2009) so it’s starting to show it’s “age”?

The luxury market is unforgiving on older finishes, especially with the dozen or more new luxury buildings that have been built, or are in the process of being built, in the last 10 years.

That includes the Vista Tower just to the east, which also has Chicago River views, as well as the possible renovation of Tribune Tower into luxury condos.

Will there be “deals” in Trump Tower Chicago in 2018?

Trump condo prices down 12% in 2017 [Crain’s Chicago Business, by Dennis Rodkin, January 16, 2018]

 

69 Responses to “Luxury Condo Prices Are Booming But Not in Trump Tower: 401 N. Wabash in River North”

  1. Anyone who makes their home in a Trump property is saying to the world that they are OK with racism, grabbing women by the pussy, and nuclear brinkmanship. It would be embarrassing to live in a Trump property.

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  2. I wouldn’t be confortable living in a Trump property. You’d get out of the shower and immediately feel a need to get back in.

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  3. Totally agree with the above sentiments. But further, the more we learn about Trump’s business ethos, scamming and hyperbole throughout his career, buyer’s have to be much more skeptical about viewing this as a luxury building.

    Some luxury buildings have a higher caliber of construction, better quality systems throughout, etc. Others have “glitz”—throw in a few luxury appliances, a nice amenities floor, but not the quality you’d expect for $750/square foot or more.

    We all know well that with Trump, it’s all about the branding, not underlying substance or quality. So, buyer’s will increasingly see the building as not deserving of the “ultra premium” designation or pricing this building had when new.

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  4. I suspect Trump buildings will be rebranded at some point. While I think Trump is a narcissist and a buffoon, the TDS hysteria from the left about racism, sexism, and every other kind of ‘ism from Trump is a bit overblown.

    No one seemed to have a problem associating with Trump or buying in his buildings before and now all of a sudden it is an issue? The guy has been in the public eye and just as much of a “personality” for 40 years and people are all of a sudden appalled by Trump now?

    Personally, I wouldn’t buy in Trump because I don’t care for the design ethos of his buildings and the name does kind of seem gauche imho, but each to their own.

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  5. “Anyone who makes their home in a Trump property is saying to the world that they are OK with racism, grabbing women by the pussy, and nuclear brinkmanship. It would be embarrassing to live in a Trump property.”

    anyone who says this to the world with a serious tone is a total brainwashed idiot

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  6. Just like any business dealing with President Bonespurs, you’ll end up with his trademark offer: 10 cents on the dollar!

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  7. Back in late December I had to book hotel rooms for my company holiday party. It was a good year and I wanted to put these guests up at a top hotel as a thank you for their extra efforts in 2017.

    I shopped the normal options and considered Trump for a moment. It is a great hotel with some excellent rooms and amenities. On that night they were offering a large one bedroom suite for about the same price as a view room at other top hotels. But I did not want to create a potential uncomfortable moment.

    That is just not fair to the many great people that created that wonderful hotel. The managers and entire team had dedicated their best efforts to make the hotel a top Chicago property. They won many awards and deserved the recognition. And now the name is tarnished or so divided that they are likely unsustainable in the long term. Clearly it is not their fault.

    My choice instead was to book the Four Seasons as I have a strong relationship with that brand. And ironically in the end they actually upgraded the rooms to suites that night. They too have an amazing staff and great property. And it was a choice without any indirect statement or political representation.

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  8. Why is it everyone immediately goes off topic? We should be discussing the building, but the president. You people are too easy to bait.

    IMHO, and I have been looking at this property for a while:
    – finished are indeed dated (although slightly). The crisis hit while these were being finished and the GC clearly skimped some things (I believe the construction loan went into default/servicing as well)
    – Floorplans are OK, nothing special
    – no rental cap = non-conforming building for mortgage purposes, so it’s harder to get a mortgage
    – assessments seem high, esp since you need to share the gym with the hotel
    – from my research, property taxes seemed unusually high here and seemed to have not adjusted with the lower unit prices. Taxes alone on 1beds are $1k/month, not sure if the city assessor has it “in” for this building or not…

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  9. JAN TERRI CAN NO LONGER STAY SILENT WITH HER TRUMP AFFAIR.
    HE LIKES OLD STYLE AND PEE PEE PARTY LOLZ!!!!!

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  10. It’s not just in Chicago – Trump Properties (other than the DC hotel and Mar a Lago) are struggling:

    https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/jan/16/beginning-end-trump-real-estate-empire

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  11. I was just in Trump over the weekend helping a friend watch their kids while they went to the boat show and bulls game. The number of Asian people staying in the building was stunning. I guess this is where all the wealthy foreign money folks like to stay. The whole racism, sexism, etc post above does not match my experience from 3 days ago. I also give two thumbs up to the room service food and automatic blinds.

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  12. “The whole racism, sexism, etc post above does not match my experience from 3 days ago.”

    DJT went to the boat show and a bulls game? You were watching Barron??

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  13. At any given time 40%ish of the populace will oppose whomever is in office. This is no different.

    I don’t think the Trump name has anything to do with it. Back when Trump was on the Apprentice and the tower was completed, the sales never were what people thought they would be. This is Chicago not New York and there are only so many people who would want to live in that building paying over $800/sq ft when there are better/cheaper options out there. Again, Trump being president does not help but is not the cause of this. IMHO

    Having said that, look at what the early buyers paid for and subsequently sold. They made a very good return.

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  14. Say what you want about Trump personally, but this is an A+ residential tower designed by SOM. For example of cheap detailing and shoddy “luxury” construction, look no further than Aqua Tower.

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  15. Besides the good points made above, I wouldn’t buy, or stay there because of the real threat of terrorism. Trump Tower in NYC is so crazily guarded I could see a group hatching a plot in Chicago and attempting to take down that hotel. Rocket Man, Iran, any African country, London or hell, even Norway is pissed off now. It could be a real big target to send a message to topple a Trump property.

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  16. I dont think Trump has any ownership stake in the condo’s

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  17. GoneFishin, you beat me to it. The main reason I would never buy a unit at TT is precisely because of the higher likelihood of it being a potential terrorist target. The second reason being that I would never knowingly give my money to a brand associated with known rapist, predator, and scammer.

    Paul on January 17th, 2018 at 9:23 pm
    At any given time 40%ish of the populace will oppose whomever is in office. This is no different.

    Actually it is, disapproval is at 54%; 26% higher than this average.

    There are clearly a lot of variables as to why sales dropped in TT. In the article, Jenny Ames’ anecdote about buyers’ discomfort toward the Trump brand is not an outlier as I know a few other realtors — including the one I work with — that have echoed this exact sentiment from a few of their buyers. They worry about resale, constant protests, getting harassed, etc. Every day on my commute I walk through the outdoor walkway attached to southern part of the Trump Tower and on multiple occasions have almost stepped in human feces. I never encountered that problem before 2016.

    It’s hard to pinpoint what sort of quantifiable impact Trump’s self-tarnished brand has on his buildings. I would concede in saying that it’s probably small given the reasons you mentioned. Nevertheless, to definitively say that “I don’t think the Trump name has anything to do with it” seems a bit naive. Perceptions matter.

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  18. “Say what you want about Trump personally, but this is an A+ residential tower designed by SOM. For example of cheap detailing and shoddy “luxury” construction, look no further than Aqua Tower.”

    This should be discussed further. Aqua Tower does look cheap, the curved balconies are simple cheap concrete slabs like you’d see in a 1970’s condo bldg. Nothing more. Trump was chosen by the Canadian Jews that owned the Sun-Times at the time. I think it was owned by swindler Conrad Black. Ring a bell now?

    The Canadian Jews sought out Trump, presumably because they didn’t think any local Chicago developers were worthy of the massive site. Who would they give it to? Fifield? He wasn’t into the product type yet, and all the other condo developers like Christopher Farley et al, weren’t deemed significant enough.

    So, Trump was basically GIFTED the deal by the Sun-Times out of town owners. Trump didn’t come to “second-city” Chicago seeking any deals. Please. But when gifted the chance to do a skyscraper in another city famous for high-rises in America, who can blame Trump?

    What happened next, is that in order to max out the height and bulk sq. ft. of the site, they needed a Planned Development zone change. In order to get a large building, MAYOR DALEY demanded that Trump use a hometown architect and the job fell to Adrian Smith of SOM.

    So, if anyone has any complaints about the building, don’t blame Trump. SOM designed the poorly located retail. SOM designed the building without any balconies, decks, or windows that open fully. There’s no place to put even a grill.

    When sales were lackluster, recall that many condos in this great city went back to the lenders, Corus bank went bust, and many of the condos became rentals. I read that the Ritz on Mich Ave, still isn’t sold out. Anyway, Trump’s sales fared not much better than the rest, but the deal did not go bust.

    Trump did decide to build out all the kitchens on a spec basis, using Snaidero and they all look the same, so the building isn’t that customized.

    I wouldn’t live in it (compared to its comps like 340 on the Park) due to the windows and lack of balcony space. 800 N. Michigan has small open spaces and balconies. It’s meaningful imho.

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  19. Is any of the retail space along the riverfront occupied yet? The vacancies there are really surprising to me.

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  20. “the TDS hysteria from the left about racism, sexism, and every other kind of ‘ism from Trump is a bit overblown.”

    Yes, let’s talk about this in Chicago and the “Asians” anecdote that someone posted above.

    We basically have 3 demographics who buy at these price levels: whites (split 50/50 btw based vs. shitlib), Jews, and Asians. There might be some technology types from India too.

    Even in blue Chicago, I suspect that half the whites voted for Trump. I doubt any of the Jews did, they hate him. I suspect that most wealthy Asians voted for Trump too. So, there you have it. The people who hate Trump don’t like his name on a building. I suspect that if Obama had any business experience, the same % would have avoided his businesses too. As Paul said: “At any given time 40%ish of the populace will oppose whomever is in office. This is no different.”

    What’s truly disgusting are the champagne socialists and lakefront liberals who can afford to live in elite buildings at $800/sf claiming any moral high ground whatsoever. These people are the world’s biggest hypocrites when we have so many homeless in Chicago. They drive by them in their expensive cars and ignore them. They placate their horrible consciences by thinking that voting for Obama was a virture? Lol, ask the southside what he did for them.

    The Asians aren’t averse to Trump because they aren’t stupid about race, or letting their nations like Japan or China or S. Korea get overrun with immigrants from inferior countries and continents. You’d think the most vicious Trump-haters, the Jews, would appreciate what Trump did for them with the Israeli embassy move. But they still hate him! Meanwhile, these same people support arch-conservatism for their cohorts in Israel. Rahm-IDF is a prime specimen of this hypocrite species. Well, their little hypocrite game is up, because yesterday the ADL finally had to back down and admit that Israel’s refugees are today’s version of Anne Frank, and it don’t look good when the Jews oppress helpless people. Ha, about time. So, if these people don’t want to buy in Trump’s building, who cares? Who would even want such haters and hypocrite fakes as neighbors?

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  21. “If these people don’t want to buy in Trumps buildings, who cares?” Well, I would think many people care if their building is in bad shape. Vacancy buildings = bad shape. If that retail filled up, the HOA would be in great shape. Maybe Amazon can use it for storage.

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  22. @Madeline. Yeah — I don’t think any of the retail has ever been occupied. Probably some kind of tax loss scam initially but also probably un-leasable at this point given risks associated with being in a building that bears the divider-in-chief’s name.

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  23. “Is any of the retail space along the riverfront occupied yet? ”

    No.

    “The vacancies there are really surprising to me.”

    Why? It’s not really accessible, and it’s 70,00 sf, and Owner has wanted Mich Ave rental rates.

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  24. I had a direct view of the Trump site from my old office. It was something to watch it go from a hole to completion. I think it’s an awesome building. That its name association is now considered toxic by roughly 75% of people with advanced educations and/or more than two cents to rub together goes without saying. What does merit saying, and is often left out of pro-Trump histories of this development and others, is that when sales were “lackluster” everywhere during the financial crisis, Trump had his bankruptcy lawyers assert, with a straight face, that he be let off the hook because the financial crisis was a force majeure. Now that was rich!

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  25. “The vacancies there are really surprising to me.”

    It’s been 10 years. 10 years of vacancies in what is now a rather hot retail/restaurant area with several boat tours that dock right next to the building.

    Why would you leave it empty when you can rent it out for cheaper and at least make some money? It makes the building look like it’s a failed development especially with restaurants/stores just up the steps in and near the Wrigley Building as well as right across the river in the River Walk.

    What a wasted opportunity.

    Dumb.

    Oh- and remember the idea to convert the area into a wedding ballroom location (or at least some of it?) Whatever happened to that?

    Notice that the restaurant space in the bottom of new commercial buildings just up the river near Lake Street are already occupied. Had no trouble putting a burger joint in over there and there aren’t even any tourists getting off boats right in front of the building.

    Like I said- DUMB!!!!

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  26. “Even in blue Chicago, I suspect that half the whites voted for Trump.”

    Like I said- do we need MORE evidence that Helmethofer doesn’t live in Chicago?

    This is the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen him say. He has no understanding of what happens in the city of Chicago. It’s easy to live far away and read about it on the Internet but, clearly, he has no idea how the city works.

    Clinton won Chicago 83.7% to Trump’s 12.5%.

    Chicago Magazine breaks it down by precincts and by ward. Trump won just 51 out of Chicago’s 2069 precincts.

    Clinton totally crushed him (it was a similar crushing in other big cities like Los Angeles, where I believe Clinton actually won 85% of the vote.)

    Chicago Magazine breaks it down by white-plurality, black-plurality and Hispanic-plurality.

    And no, HH, half the whites didn’t vote for Trump.

    And if 40% of the population will oppose whomever is in office at any given time, how to you account for Trump’s polling at under 40%? That means 60%+ are actually opposing him and have been for months.

    http://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/November-2016/Chicago-Election-Results-President/

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  27. “Anyway, Trump’s sales fared not much better than the rest, but the deal did not go bust.”

    Oh- but the deal DID go bust. It’s just that the building had already gone up and the lenders couldn’t afford to walk away (as they did with the Spire, which wasn’t built yet.) So Deutsche Bank bailed out his ass.

    Is it any surprise that he only “owns” 10% of the building now?

    Shouldn’t the best developer in the world own more than 10% of his own darn building?

    He’s just a con.

    Although I think the building actually turned out well- despite Trump being involved.

    And, again, HH would know the reason there are no balconies is that the building is simply too tall. Even the balconies that they do have (the outdoor terraces on the terrace level) aren’t allowed to keep “grills” or any patio furniture out there because of dangerous winds etc.

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  28. “Back when Trump was on the Apprentice and the tower was completed, the sales never were what people thought they would be.”

    Um…that’s because there was this thing called, “the Great Recession.”

    Building was topped out in 2008 and completed in 2009.

    Ring a bell???

    Stock market crash might have had something to do with it. Thousands of layoffs on Wall Street. The largest banks going under. The bailout of the auto sector.

    Yeah…remember all that?

    But I guess people should have been buying luxury condos while it was all going down.

    Did the early buyers make any money? I don’t think so. Most of the athletes who bought in as original buyers lost money (I documented several of them here on Crib Chatter as did other sites like Crain’s.) It’s possible “friends and family” who got “deals” originally made something.

    But it hasn’t been 30 E. Oak, that’s for sure. Or 340 OTP.

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  29. “Dumb”

    Oh sure, Trump is dumb. He only owns top level properties, was a media TV star with top show, and got elected president of the USA.

    Only a stupid person could have accomplished this! LOL. The hatred and viciousness of Trump-bashers is based in JEALOUSY. Bloomberg is jealous that Trump is better. Bloomberg could only get elected to the highest office in the Big Bagel, nothing more. Trump’s TV ratings were better than anything that racist haters Whoopie Goldber (fake name) and Rosie O’Donnell could produce. Rosie’s attempt at TV was a failure, Trump did better. Oh, and Trump had succeeded in real estate development/ownership better than Neil Bluhm! Ha ha, haters. You lose.

    Sabrina, are you aware that Chicago is about 30% white? So, if 50% of this group voted for Trump, that would make about 15%, which is not too far off your “hate figures” whatever the source is. We are not in disagreement.

    Fact is, that Chicago is a racist city, and almost every non-white and Jew voted against Trump. Why are we even debating this? It’s a fact. So, again, about 50% of whites voted for Trump, which is about 15%. The question still remains why all other races in Chicago vote in racist cohesion but whites do not.

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  30. Re: no balconies because Trump Tower is too tall.

    Let’s hear from an expert, not Sabrina. How do we explain 800 N. Michigan or Aqua?

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  31. “Shouldn’t the best developer in the world own more than 10% of his own darn building?”

    Not necessarily. If your return developing properties is higher than the cash they throw off, why would you want your money parked?

    It’s pretty common to have someone lined up to buy the property once benchmarks are hit.

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  32. I don’t think Trump is dumb at all. Who do I think is dumb, tho? Anyone that voted for him.

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  33. ““friends and family” who got “deals” originally”

    Trump cancelled all those contracts, and got sued for it:

    http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20070113/ISSUE01/100027082/dumped-by-trump

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  34. Anon – And as I recall, he “won” all of those lawsuits. One woman in particular felt that she got a raw deal and was all over the local media with her complaint. The defense was that she should have “read the fine print” which showed that the Seller was basically free to alter or abolish the contracts at will.

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  35. I recently saw a condo listing in this building, and the listing fails to mention that this is Trump Towers, and more interestingly when you look at the listing photo of the building, it looks like they airbrushed the “TRUMP” off of the building facade.

    Lemme see if I can find it…

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  36. “Oh sure, Trump is dumb. He only owns top level properties, was a media TV star with top show, and got elected president of the USA.”

    Um…yeah. Being a “media star” for a show he didn’t even create, is, yeah, dumb. And plenty of those on tv are complete morons.

    Also, plenty of dumb men have been president, see Grant and others.

    He “owns” 2 top level properties? Well, he owns a small percentage of those. Too bad all of his other businesses have failed.

    No, 50% of the whites didn’t vote for Trump. Again, look at the precincts. If they did, he would have won the “white” north side precincts. But he didn’t win any of those.

    But HH, you would know this if you actually lived in Chicago. You would know how Chicago actually works, where voters live, how the precincts work etc. But you don’t. So yeah- Trump got crushed by the black vote, the white vote, the Hispanic vote and every other vote out there. Lol.

    And if the ongoing strategy of the Republican party and this president is to win elections based on winning the white vote, then Texas, and certainly Arizona, will be lost in 2018 and beyond. Whites are a minority. Why would you base your electoral strategy on that?

    Like I said, DUMB!

    Oh- and alienating all the women?

    Even dumber- as the second year of women’s marches shows.

    Hey- where’s my check from George Soros? He owes us even MORE money this year. 3 million women marched last year and 4 million this year. That’s a LOT of checks.

    Ignore women at your peril.

    I’ve changed my mind. 2018 isn’t going to be like 2010. It’s going to be much, much worse for the Republican party.

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  37. “Bloomberg is jealous that Trump is better.”

    Yeah- I doubt a true billionaire gives a rat ass what Trump thinks.

    Poor Donald. He can barely afford to give away $5 million to veterans groups. He couldn’t even give his own campaign more than $10 million. Can you imagine?

    Hell, Rauner self-funds himself here in Illinois by 4 to 5 times that. And is he even a billionaire?

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  38. “Oh, and Trump had succeeded in real estate development/ownership better than Neil Bluhm! Ha ha, haters. You lose.”

    Can we just stop with any discussion of Trump actually being a “developer”? He isn’t one. He licenses out his name. That is all. He doesn’t “develop” anything and he hasn’t changed any city he’s ever been in like true developers like Jorge Perez and what he’s done in South Florida.

    In Chicago, one could argue that CMK, Belgravia and JDL Development have done far more than Trump has ever done in one city in terms of development and impact both architecturally and culturally.

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  39. Hey HH- since you know so much about Trump, please explain why there hasn’t been any retail in his building in 10 years?

    Can’t they even get a Starbucks in there?

    There will probably be retail in the building going up on that sliver of land just east of Trump Tower before there is anything in Trump Tower. Heck, Trump Tower will probably still be an empty shell 10 more years from now.

    Dumb!

    Just stupid business.

    The least they can do is open a tee-shirt shop selling Trump shirts.

    Lol.

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  40. “If 50% of this group voted for Trump, that would make about 15%, which is not too far off your “hate figures” whatever the source is.”

    The “source” is the Chicago Board of Elections.

    And if you look at the map, you can see that the white precincts voted overwhelmingly for Clinton. That blows your theory.

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  41. “The question still remains why all other races in Chicago vote in racist cohesion but whites do not.”

    Actually, if you bothered to look at the map, there were several majority black wards where Trump won the vote.

    Go figure.

    No racial “cohesion” there.

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  42. Oh- and alienating all the women?

    Glad you speak for all women.

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  43. its going to be really hilarious when Trump gets re-elected
    TDS will go into like stage 5

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  44. Politics aside: When the tower was first announced I didn’t believe that anyone here would want to live in a “Trump” building. His style is so garish and reputation so New Yorkish I thought Chicagoans would reject it, especially at those prices. Alas, I was wrong and quite a few of our neighbors decided to emulate the Real Housewives of New York.

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  45. And if 40% of the population will oppose whomever is in office at any given time, how to you account for Trump’s polling at under 40%?

    Yup, the same polls that also predicted Clinton would win.

    Polls mean nothing at all in this day and age. Ever read the polling methodologies? land lines are still used in a large percent.

    Point is that even when Obama was Prez, a large % (40% I would guess), did not like him. This is simply the nature of the two party system – fact.

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  46. Paul, the final 2016 polls showed Hillary winning the popular vote by 2-4%, which is what happened.

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  47. Here’s the building photo, listing by Sotheby’s, that has the TRUMP logo airbrushed off the front of the building:

    heh.

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  48. feh. stupid bbs…
    Look up 401 N Wabash Avenue Unit 34A,
    on www. sothebysrealty. com

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  49. “Glad you speak for all women.”

    I speak for the 300,000 of them that were in the largest protest in Chicago history over the weekend. And if you think there’s no political significance to that, then you really need to re-think things.

    The women’s marches we’ve seen over the last 2 years are the largest in US history. Even in red states. Women are not going away and we’re not going to go quietly into the night.

    But it’s okay. It will become very evident on March 20 what will happen in November. It will go the way of Alabama and Virginia.

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  50. “its going to be really hilarious when Trump gets re-elected”

    So the US will be humiliated further?

    Do you really think the turnout will be low again in places like Milwaukee and Detroit?

    I have to hand it to this administration. It’s so messed up that it’s managed to bring those on the other side together in a big way. Much like 2010 did for the Tea Party. You need to feel the threat before you will stand up, give money, get involved.

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  51. So now we’ve gone from you speaking for all women to 300,000? I didn’t realize that everyone there comprises a monolithic entity that you were elected spokesperson of.

    The political significance is the “300,000” don’t like the president and never would. You can’t even get the basic facts correct on one of the core tenant of your protest, yet want to be taken seriously.

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  52. You can’t even get the basic facts correct on one of the core tenant of your protest, yet want to be taken seriously.

    Typo? Or real estate-relevant pun?

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  53. Ha

    Unfortunately I can’t claim that I’m that clever

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  54. Hey Tone

    The popular vote does not matter now does it? The polls I was referring to were for the electoral college. Clinton was shown winning the midwestern + PA blue states, which she did not.

    Pollsters don’t tell you anything is the point.

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  55. Sabrina, what exactly are women protesting? The fact more women are in college than men? That women have reached the highest levels of politics and business?

    Was it a women’s march or a Trump protest? How can you protest Trump while ignoring democrats / leftist doing the same stuff?

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  56. The womens’ marches have no point whatsoever. They all should have met in Hollywood and protested Weinstein. Instead they direct their rage towards the demographic of their own fathers, brothers, and nephews. I cannot imagine that many of them are married or have offspring, because that would be embarrassing your own kids to don that idiotic pink hat.

    Basically, this is peak narcissism and an open manifestation of the failure of the baby-boomer generation to produce anything of significance to the cultural or moral advancement of the nation.

    50 years ago, we were putting a man on the moon, cartoons like the Jetsons predicted an advanced future for mankind. In 2018, we have dykes and feminist idiots marching wearing pink hats. We have BLM race riots, 1/2 the country on food stamps, and millions of homeless. Our “elite” class of citizens are sexual perverts and culturally decayed kabbalists.

    “Politics aside: When the tower was first announced I didn’t believe that anyone here would want to live in a “Trump” building. His style is so garish and reputation so New Yorkish I thought Chicagoans would reject it, especially at those prices. Alas, I was wrong and quite a few of our neighbors decided to emulate the Real Housewives of New York.”

    This is a dumb comment and it reflects the intelligence level of TDS – derangement syndrome. How is Trump Tower in Chicago, designed by Adrian Smith of SOM “garish”? He was hand-picked by Daley, and even (((Blair Kamin))) didn’t have a problem with it, until Trump defeated the Democrats and NeverTrumper Neocons that are his people.

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  57. “The womens’ marches have no point whatsoever.”

    Oh…Helmethofer. Tsk, tsk.

    The whole point was to get ready for this year’s elections. Register to vote. Raise money. Go to the polls.

    Women will CRUSH the Republicans in 2018. They have NO chance. Trump is basically already a lame duck and certainly will be so in late 2018.

    By the way- there were plenty of children at the Chicago rally and at rallies across the country. Someone is giving birth to them. It’s certainly not you HH. Lol.

    Why do women threaten you so? Is it because we’re about to take your power away?

    Awww…

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  58. “50 years ago, we were putting a man on the moon, cartoons like the Jetsons predicted an advanced future for mankind.”

    If anyone needs a reminder that HH is 70 years old…here you go.

    Would a 30 year even know who the Jetsons are?

    Lol.

    HH. You betray your age ALL the time on this blog. And that’s okay. There’s no age limit here, that’s for sure. But why do you lie? You should embrace your age and your experience. Others do. It just seems pathetic that you’re acting like you’re 40 years younger.

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  59. “Was it a women’s march or a Trump protest?”

    Oh- it was a march all right. Over an hour of speeches about how to help get more to the polls, how to register, how we’ll turn out in March and in November.

    Women are sick of being silenced. We’re sick of being paid less. We’re sick of being harassed on public transportation. We’re sick of living in fear when we walk down the street.

    Yes, basically, we’re just tired of it.

    It hasn’t even been 100 years since we got the vote and STILL we’re being told to sit down and be quiet. So tired of the misogyny.

    This year, a woman was nominated for best cinematography at the Oscars. She is the first nominee in this category in 90 years.

    90 YEARS.

    Really?

    Greta Gerwig is only the 5th woman to be nominated for Best Director. Imagine what will happen when 2 are nominated in the same year? OMG!

    This is why we march Russ. THIS.

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  60. “The political significance is the “300,000” don’t like the president and never would.”

    Really?

    And you think the same thing about the 5,000 people at the Tea Party protests on Tax Day of 2009??? Really JohnnyU? Do you?

    The ones holding signs against Obama and calling him a Kenyan?

    Those didn’t matter either?

    And those were a measly 5,000 people.

    And they went on to take the Congress in 2010. The same thing will happen here. Only worse. Even more seats will be lost by the Republicans.

    Protests, of all sizes, matter. You know why? I’ll tell you. Because it means people actually bothered to get off their couch, and in this case, 2 years in a row, and go somewhere uncomfortable and cold and expensive.

    It’s so unusual that it never happens. It didn’t even happen in the Vietnam War. Those protests were actually small compared to the women’s march. And the women bothered to come out in every large and medium and some small sized cities in America.

    The Vietnam War protests were enough to persuade Johnson not to run again however.

    Huge crowds at marches and protests, no matter what the country, are a threat to those in power. It’s what brought down the Soviet Union in its satellite countries. It nearly brought down the Chinese government. There’s power in crowds.

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  61. And you think the same thing about the 5,000 people at the Tea Party protests on Tax Day of 2009??? Really JohnnyU? Do you?”

    I thought that the TP was non-partisan (Tho based on policies were heavily slanted against Dems) group that were upset with the fiscal mis management by the government.”

    As far as the Womens/DACA/Dont nuke the gay whales/etc march I didnt see anything that called out Dems or Government in their handling of Sexual assault. Did anyone call out HRC or WJC for their actions? Is anyone calling out MSU and the state Gov for allowing Larry Nasser unfettered access to young children? While there are serious issues facing women (Not the made up ones you cite about the wage gap) the march is about being Anti trump with a healthy dose of Hollywood glitz.

    As far as congress, I’d be careful about getting too excited about the Dems chances. The Senate election cycle doesnt favor the Dems w/ WI, MO, MT, WV, PA & IN in the mix.

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  62. “Would a 30 year even know who the Jetsons are?”

    im in my 30’s and watched that growing up as a kid…

    as for your feminist rant… yeah… ok

    basically you’ll never be happy until women do everything… problem is that you put women in mens jobs and high stress careers and they can’t handle it mentally and are miserable assholes, I see it everywhere

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  63. problem is that you put women in mens jobs and high stress careers and they can’t handle it mentally and are miserable assholes, I see it everywhere

    I think most everyone in a “high stress” career is a miserable asshole; people just expect/excuse assholery from men but not from women.

    And if you’re looking a true high stress careers, it doesn’t get much stressier than nursing, a profession that is primarily female.

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  64. Sabrina, where are women being paid less than men for doing the same job, productivity and performance? If companies can pay women less for the same job, then why would they ever hire men?

    We know companies will move operations overseas and import cheap labor to save a buck, but then we are supposed to believe they stop thinking this way when it comes to women in the labor force and choose to pay more to men when they could get away with paying women less?

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  65. “I thought that the TP was non-partisan … group”

    C’mon. Be serious.

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  66. Russ, The most recent was the Mark Wahlberg/Michelle Williams situation in the reshoot with Christopher Plummer when they booted Kevin Spacey. Google it if you don’t know about it. I have so many personal examples of women in my life, including me, getting paid less. It’s so ingrained in our culture, you don’t even see it. What women go through is very difficult. Russ, let’s say you are walking down a deserted side street in Bucktown or wherever, and a white guy turns a corner and starts walking toward you? Chances are, he doesn’t even register in your mind. He isn’t a threat at all. But 100% of women would see this as a threat. I’m not saying scary panic scream threat but women will cross the street or figure out how much of a threat this guy could be. It all happens in split seconds. I will look directly at him and glare so he knows I’m not going to be easy if he is up to no good. And, most of the time, the guy is fine, just going about his business with no ulterior motives. But this takes so much energy but women must do this. It’s inate. Please don’t be so obtuse by asking for examples that you will shoo away anyway. It’s systemic in our culture. In fact, women being abused is systemic in most cultures. Did you see on the news a husband cooked his ex wife?

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  67. “According to an industry insider who spoke to TheWrap, Williams’ original contract required her to do any necessary reshoots, while Wahlberg’s did not. So when director Ridley Scott called for 10 days of reshoots after the movie’s original star, Kevin Spacey, was replaced by Christopher Plummer, Wahlberg had the opportunity to negotiate additional pay.”

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  68. “problem is that you put women in men’s jobs and high stress careers and they can’t handle it mentally and are miserable assholes, I see it everywhere”

    I’m a secretary in my day job. I would NEVER work for a woman. Neither would most of my admin colleagues. It’s a myth that women give their sisters a leg up the ladder. There’s a female managing director whose secretary’s hair started falling out from the stress of working for such a miserable “C” who seemed to relish publicly humiliating her. Another one reamed out her secretary for pre-ordering oatmeal cookies at a conference instead of chocolate chip ones because our CEO had happened to ask for chocolate chip.

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  69. helmethofer – I voted for trump dorkwad. I said his reputation was garish and his personality was New Yorkish. Feel free to put forth an idiot argument that his reputation was not garish and he’s not NewYorkish. Apparently it’s impossible for you to put politics aside.

    mic drop.

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