Developer Says The Chicago Spire is 30% Sold
The Chicago Spire is apparently 30% sold, according to a press release by the developer.
They’ve been criss-crossing the globe marketing the building for the last four months.
Apparently, you need to put down a 15% deposit in order to purchase.
From the Chicago Tribune:
Spire spokeswoman Kim Metcalfe said the sales were achieved in just four months of marketing and counters critics who claimed the 2,000-foot-tall structure would never go up.
Metcalfe emphasized that the 352 units booked are sales, not just offers of interest accompanied by deposits. “This is clearly a benchmark,” she said.
The Spire is designed with 1,194 units, including a $40 million penthouse, which is still for sale. The building is scheduled for completion in 2012.
One condo buyer is James B. Weber, a former Cubs minor league player and now an owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Weber divides his time between Scottsdale, Ariz., and Chicago, where he lives in Streeterville with a view of the Spire site.
“In December, when I saw [construction] activity, I realized it was actually going to happen,” Weber said. The project is in the earliest stages of construction at the confluence of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River.
Weber said he is paying $1.5 million for a two-bedroom residence on the Spire’s 10th floor with a skyline view of Chicago.
“I love coming in at night and seeing the skyline,” Weber said. “It is almost like looking at the ocean. You have constant movement. You never tire of that view, ever.”
By comparison to other “luxury” buildings currently for sale:
- The Legacy in the Loop is about 80% sold (and under construction)
- Trump Tower in River North is about 75% (and will be completed in 2009)
- Waterview Tower is over 50% sold (I don’t have the latest numbers on the building) and is also under construction
- Ritz-Carlton on Michigan Avenue is 40% sold (and supposed to start construction any day)
Trump Tower has been stalled around 75% sold for over a year or more.
The developer of the Spire said that the sales were equally split between local and overseas buyers.
Construction is halted at Waterview tower as of late April, there are rumors that it will restart in June but lets wait and see.
I don’t understand the Spire’s timeline for construction however. They’re spending at least 9 months on foundation work? I really hope it gets built but have my doubts given the current environment.
The foundation work in this case includes completing the seven story underground parking structure. If I remember correctly this is by far the most complex foundation ever done in the city. SSDD
“They’re spending at least 9 months on foundation work?”
I posted on the other Spire thread (with urls that require moderation), but the World Trade Center took 24 and 29 months from groundbreaking to the first steel (north and south towers). The Sears Tower took 10 months from groundbreaking to steel.
Kevin,
Glad to hear it. Maybe I was just expecting it to be quicker because the hole they are digging doesn’t look that big. But I’m not an architect nor structural engineer in the least so I’ll take your word for it.
Maybe I’m just a little antsy for the tallest building in the western hemisphere to be built in our backyard 😀
If they can fill this building then all the more power to them but I just don’t get how you can sell that many expensive units. For instance, the cheapest unit currently in the MLS is unit 1308, listed for $815K with a $916/month assessment. That gets you 890 sq. ft., air conditioning, and heating. It must be a studio because it only shows 3 rooms and no bedroom.
Who can afford so much money for so little? Anywhere else in the country that would buy you a mansion.
Oh…and those assessments…who knows what they will ultimately end up being once the association is in operation.
The success of these super high-end places just shows that some folks always have money and that not only are they not troubled by busts and recessions, but often profit from them.
Except that I’m reading of many more foreclosures in places like Beverly Hills than just Ed McMahon’s.
But those will only create more favorable buying conditions for that tiny demographic that is always there to seize opportunities while everyone else is being washed out.