[LouisVanDerWright]

^^^ The difference is that this building doesn't need to be VE'd. They aren't trying to force historic features that should be hand crafted or at least made of real materials. The fins on the window system likely aren't any pricier than the fins on Trump or 300 N LaSalle. They might even be cheaper since stainless steel isn't cheap itself! It's not like they are plated in gold.

That's the thing though, this building is of our era. It's not some hoaky transplant from the past that will be executed poorly because those skills and tradespeople simply don't exist any more. This building is like any other glass clad 21st century tower and therefore there's a lot less of a risk of VE'ing because you are going to be using that glass curtainwall no matter what. The only VE you would see here is if they decided to somehow use a window wall instead of a curtain wall which I just don't see happening on a 1400' signature project.


The other thing this proposal has going for it financially is the renovation of Tribune itself. It's likely that the developer's proforma will totally pay for the cost of acquiring both the building and the land and then some once the Tribune itself is sold out. At that point they are basically playing with house money building on land they now own as of right. That makes financing a big tower like this a lot easier. And let's face it, you basically can't lose selling the Tribune as condos, it's literally on Michigan Ave, one of the most prime addresses in the entire city, and one of the most iconic edifices around. The so called "most beautiful building in the world". Those upper floor penthouses in the buttresses are going to be exceptional and I expect the pace of sales for this entire conversion will be as well. Once they have the zoning and have the conversion sold out, it's just a matter of time before this proposal (or a similar future design) gets built. This isn't like Spire or other failed projects, this is one of the best located lots in the city and has serious developers with a long track record behind it. This has more in common with WPS and Vista than all the visionary BS that has gone belly up in Chicago. Buildings like the remainder of LSE and Wolf Point are guaranteed to be built eventually because they are part of multi decade long term plans by extremely experienced and well financed individuals. CIM and Goulb are the same way, if 2019 isn't the right time to break ground on this, they can wait until 2021 or 2022 for things to improve and will probably make even more money doing so. Patience is THE virtue in Real Estate.

So let's all hope these guys blow out the numbers on the condo conversion setting us up for another 100 years of a preserved Tribune Tower and setting them up to build a new landmark behind it!