Quote:
Originally Posted by Baronvonellis
The building looks so tiny. It's only taking up a sliver of the lot. I was hoping it would block more of the Sun times building lol. I know there will be other phases I hope, but who knows how soon they will start.
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It can only be a partial blockage. Vornado, purchaser of the Apparel Center building (now known as the Sun-Times building), purchased view corridors equal to 50% of the towers' frontage looking south that are forever protected. The West, South and East Towers on Wolf Point cannot block a total of more than 50% of that southward view.
The 1998 sale of view rights by Wolf Point was to mollify the existing lessee, Holiday Inn, which had threatened to pull out of the building. Vornado would not have purchased (for $625M and chunk of Vornado) the package deal of the Merchandise Mart and Apparel Center if the Holiday Inn bolted. A later 2004 sale by Wolf Point was done to help Vornado induce the Sun-Times to sign a lease in what in now known as the Sun-Times building.
Vornado sold the Apparel Center to Shorenstein (from SF) about 3 months prior to filing for the current zoning at Wolf Point. Vornado still owns the Merchandise Mart. The 1,285 parking spaces being built at Wolf Point include 485 spots promised to the Merchandise Mart and the Sun-Times Building. Only 800 spaces are allocated to the 3 towers planned for Wolf Point.
After all 3 towers are built at Wolf Point, I doubt anyone will even notice that the Sun-Times building is still in the back behind them.