Archive for Downtown New Construction Real Estate
Pictures from Trump Tower
To see more photos click here: http://jimojimo.smugmug.com/gallery/5936452_DVKmB#P-1-12
The T & C Team
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For more information about Trump Tower, please contact Christine Hancock or Tim Duquette at 312-296-9300 or chancock@rubloff.com.
How to Sell a Haunted House
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And you think you’ve been having a tough time selling your home …
By Geoff Williams
Farkas says that he has been able to communicate with ghosts since his 20s, but he recently started to make a full-time living out of it. It isn’t always a matter of getting rid of a specter, but negative energy, for instance, the type emitted in the house due to ongoing bad feelings of a divorce. But he does claim to be able to talk to the beings most of us will only admit to seeing on TV and in the movies.
Ghosts, says Farkas, are really just like us, except for the problem about not living. He recalls one of the first ghosts he spoke to, where he asked the poltergeist if he knew he was dead. The answer: “Well, that would explain a lot.”
“Ghosts — they don’t have a clue,” Farkas says. “Many have stayed behind because they believe they have unfinished business. Or sometimes there are unresolved feelings, and they just wind up staying. But most of the ghosts don’t know they’re dead, or once they do know they’re dead, they may not have the energy to try and leave.”
Most ghosts, like most people, are friendly and just want some attention, he says. Some aren’t so nice. He refers to those as demons but clarifies, “To me, it’s a technical term like a bacteria or virus. They’re parasitic and opportunistic where they feed on negative energy and create more and more chaos.”One can chuckle, of course, but according to Farkas, any snickering stops after he has “cleared” a house of the dead. Frequently, after he has come and gone, people have sold their house in a matter of days. While Farkas may be one of the few ghostbusters making a living at what he does, there seems to be a demand for his profession.
“I’ve definitely had to bring in the hired help,” says Nicholas, who figures that on a dozen occasions at least, in the last 25 years, he has hired priests and “spiritual persons” to bless the house and, of course, home stagers to “brighten it up and make it cheerful.”
Step 4: Rest in Peace After Last-Resort Tactics
If you’re quite desperate, you might even want to consider changing your house’s address if it’s been severely stigmatized by a murder, says Michael Soon Lee, a real estate broker and consultant for 30 years in Dublin, Calif. He says that was done at the house where child beauty queen Jon Benet Ramsey was killed.
And if there are some serious concerns among a jittery public that something wicked might be living in your den, lying low and waiting to attack a hapless new homeowner?
“You may have to bring the price down, way down,” says Nicholas, who suggests going as low as 20 percent to 25 percent off the selling price. “You may have to make it attractive for an investor, not for someone who will live there, but someone who will want to scrape the house and build anew.”
New photos of the Chicago Spire
Posted by: | CommentsBelow are renderings of the proposed Chicago Spire residential tower. The images were provided by Shelbourne Development Ltd.
The Chicago Spire Image of kitchen
The Spire Suite
The Spire Bathroom
2 Bedroom True Concrete Loft For Sale
Posted by: | Comments[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OUHST7bOYI]
Spectacular 1400 SF Concrete Loft with huge 30′X12′ Patio. Home features 10 ft. ceilings, floor to ceiling windows, hardwood floors with an open living room dining room, gas fireplace and in unit laundry room. The master bedroom features a private bath with huge walk in closet. Large Island Kitchen with maple cabinets and black appliances. True walk to work location!
Click here to check the availability of Metropolitan Place
For more information about Metropolitan Place, please contact Christine Hancock or Tim Duquette at 312-296-9300 or chancock@rubloff.com.
The Chicago Spire Emerges Below Ground
Posted by: | CommentsDeep foundation work proceeding for world’s tallest residential building.
- Chicago Spire
The Chicago Spire, the most significant residential development in the world, is emerging on a site near the intersection of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Deep foundation work is proceeding on this spectacular 2,000-foot twisting tower that will dramatically change the Windy City’s skyline.
Designed by Spanish architect and engineer
Santiago Calatrava, The Chicago Spire will be the world’s tallest exclusively residential building and the tallest building in the western world upon completion in late 2011/early 2012. In addition, it will be the most slender super-tall building in the world, based on a base-to-height ratio approaching 1-to-10. Rising 150 stories, the twisting tower will house 1,194 unique residences with the finest amenities available anywhere in the world. Each level in the seven-sided structure will rotate an average 2.44 degrees between floor plates, giving the structure its distinctive fluid appearance; the building will turn a total of 360 degrees.
Calatrava is known for his ability to create public landmarks on a grand scale, and he has used his expertise to create a building that showcases cutting-edge architecture, engineering and construction. The Chicago Spire is destined to be an iconic structure.
“Santiago Calatrava’s design is an organic form that was conceived in response to the building’s location and its juxtaposition with the city,” says Niall Collins, project director for Shelbourne Development Group. “The shape of the building is a solution for a number of factors — to maximize the aspect of the units as they are arranged on the floor plates, and equally to address other engineering challenges like wind and deflection.”
Calatrava is serving as lead architect/engineer for the concrete and steel structure, which will sport high-performance glass on its exterior. One of the world’s most influential architects, Calatrava initially made his name building bridges throughout Europe and is known for such highly-creative designs as the Milwaukee Art Museum and the “Turning Torso” in Malmo, Sweden — the tallest building in Scandinavia. He’s also responsible for the Velodrome designed and used during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. In 2005, he was awarded the American Institute of Architect’s Gold Medal — its highest honor.
Chicago Spire
Other principal design team members involved with The Chicago Spire include Perkins+Will, architect of record; Thornton Tomasetti, structural engineer; and Cosentini Associates, mechanical/electrical engineer.
Additional components of the project include a 1-acre landscaped public plaza and newly constructed ramps from lower Lake Shore Drive that will give the building its own Lake Shore Drive access.
Initial work on the foundations began in July 2007 when Case Foundation Co., Roselle, Ill., began drilling the first of the 34 caissons (14 perimeter caissons and 20 rock caissons) that support the building. The caissons are being drilled 120 feet deep into the bedrock.
“The testing that was done on the rock caissons succeeded anything else that has been done in the United States, certainly in Chicago,” Collins says.
Under its foundation contract, Case crews excavated a 104-foot-diameter cofferdam 78 feet deep to create a dry work environment, and began constructing a perimeter wall 3 feet wide and about 80 feet deep. “The perimeter component, the bathtub, is being formed with a combination of slurry walls and secant pile walls, and is obviously designed to keep out the water on three sides of this project,” Collins says.
“Ninety-eight bell caissons are being constructed right now that will support the garage elements,” he adds. The top-down construction of the plaza and garage will begin after this underground phase is completed in July.
Inside The Chicago SpireCalatrava designed each of the homes in The Chicago Spire to be unique, so no two units are alike. The collection of residences includes a Calatrava signature unit called a Gallery. Larger in size than a suite, the Gallery features a custom-designed circular bed enclosure with sliding glass doors to provide a separate sleeping area and wood wall panels to cover sections of ceiling.
With 10-foot ceilings and windows combining vertical and trapezoidal glass panels, residences will provide breathtaking views of the lakefront, skyline, city neighborhoods, and four states (Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan). Materials for the residences have been carefully chosen from a natural palette and include: wide-plank herringbone hardwood floors, elegant granite, marble and onyx stone, crafted European cabinetry, integrated American and European appliances, and European plumbing fixtures.
Lobby and amenity space will occupy the lower floors of The Chicago Spire. The 53-foot-high transparent lobby will feature Calatrava’s sinusoidal motioned maple ceiling. The lobby’s footprint will measure 15,220 square feet.
The Chicago Spire will also include approximately 55,000 square feet of amenity space on floors four through seven. Amenities include a recreational pool, fitness center with basketball court, climbing wall, golf simulator, cigar room, residents’ library, children and teen games area, private movie screening theater, business center and conference room, and private dining rooms.
Aiming For GoldConceived as an environmentally sensitive project, The Chicago Spire will incorporate world-class sustainable engineering practices to meet the Gold standard of LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification. These practices include: recycled rainwater for landscaping maintenance; river water for cooling; special glass to protect migratory birds; bike storage; planting and development of parkland; underground parking to reduce environmental impact and heat gain; incorporating Intelligent Building & Energy Management System to provide efficient use of resources while optimizing comfort; waste storage and recycling management; monitoring outdoor air delivery to maximize occupant comfort; and being 15 percent more efficient than current energy regulations.
“We are aiming for LEED Gold,” says Collins. “Calatrava has done a lot of projects in Europe where it has become an everyday event to have a LEED-type building and to incorporate sustainable components into the design. Some of the components in The Chicago Spire are elements that are disguised behind the facade or within the guts of the building.”
Among its many engineering achievements, The Chicago Spire will have the world’s longest elevator run at 1,864 feet. The building will be serviced by 17 elevators (14 passenger elevators in four banks, and three freight/fire elevators).
Gearing Up For MultiYear ProjectShelbourne Development Group anticipates a large on-site workforce during the multiyear project. “We are anticipating in excess of 2,000 workers at the complete peak of activities between shell and core and the finishes,” says Collins. “So, there will be a small village of people.”
“And that doesn’t event count the people involved in the creative process on the other side,” says Kim Metcalfe, a project spokeswoman. “The intellectual capital that comes into Chicago from all corners of the globe to plan the various portions of the building to the minutia is amazing. So, not only will there be a small village building this building, but you literally have the most amazing brains working on this project from almost every country.”
Approximately 50 lead consulting firms are participating in the construction of The Chicago Spire, and they are joined by hundreds of subconsultants. “It takes a massive team,” Collins says.
Shelbourne Development Group, which has offices in Ireland, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, is overseeing every element of the project. “We are very much a hands-on type developer,” Collins says.
Collins, a 15-year development professional, says Shelbourne and other members of the project team are excited to be involved with the landmark building. “It is a fantastic project,” he says. “For me, it is the top of my career for the moment to be involved in a project like this. It is a dream for anybody in real estate or development to have an association with The Chicago Spire. Everybody is passionate about delivering the project.”
By Tom Hale — Construction Digest, 6/9/2008
Click here to check the availabilty of the Chicago Spire
For more information about The Chicago Spire, please contact Christine Hancock or Tim Duquette at 312-296-9300 or chancock@rubloff.com.
Rubloff's New Website
Posted by: | CommentsPlease checkout the new Rubloff.com website, Rubloff was the 1st Chicago Real Estate company to have a website and they have really outdone themselves with this new site, Polygon Search Tools, Neighborhood Searches, School Statistics, Birds Eye Views and more….
Trump's hotel opening may be delayed
Posted by: | CommentsWith ‘soft’ launch two weeks away, city hasn’t yet issued necessary permit
Developer Donald Trump is running into one tough customer as he races to get his riverside luxury hotel opened by Dec. 3, as originally promised.
With only two weeks to go, Chicago’s Department of Buildings has not yet issued the necessary occupancy permit for the 339-room Trump International Hotel & Tower at Wabash and the Chicago River, which Trump wants to open in phases over the next few months.
“Even though it’s almost all done, things can go wrong and people would hold the city liable,” said one source close to City Hall. “The administration is being very cautious.” The hotel will occupy floors 14-27 of the 92-story residential tower, which is still under construction.
The “soft” opening called for three hotel floors to open Dec. 3. The remaining guest floors would be phased in, with completion expected in the first quarter.
The gradual opening would allow the hotel to start generating revenue from closing on sales of condo-hotel units and from room rentals. Condo-hotel units are sold to individuals who have the option of placing them in rental pools when they are not using them.
“We’d like to open on Dec. 3,” Trump said Monday afternoon. “This is the date we’re shooting at, but that’s up to the city.
“They want to make sure everything is perfect, and it is,” he said.
Talks are continuing and the developer said he hopes for further word later in the week. Because of the phased nature of the opening, Trump is seeking a “partial certificate of occupancy,” and the city is still reviewing the request, said Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the Department of Buildings.
“When deciding whether to allow occupancy, the safety and well-being of all occupants is our first concern,” he said.
The city has been shaken by a number of building-related incidents in recent years, including the 2003 stampede at the E2 nightclub, which left 21 people dead, and a Lincoln Park porch collapse the same year that left 13 people dead.
The Trump “structure is entirely different than those,” said McCaffrey. “I believe the developer was clear from the beginning that they were looking at a phased development . . . it was built into the design of the building.”
The floors that would open later in the year, and early next year, are close to being finished, Trump said. “It’s just punch items,” he said, such as the installation of television sets, mattresses and bedding.
The hotel plans to employ 400 people, and “a little over 100 are being trained as we speak,” Trump said.
A soft opening, which often occurs several months prior to an official, highly publicized grand opening, allows a hotel to polish its performance while its guest roster remains small. But the trick, where the property is still under construction, is to keep the guests and the construction mess away from each other.
One key is making sure there’s an entrance located away from the construction, and away from any overhead work, noted Ted Mandigo, an Elmhurst-based hotel consultant. The entire 92-story tower is scheduled for completion in April 2009. Construction on the tower is now going on at the 50th floor and above, a good 300 feet away from the hotel floors, T. Colm O’Callaghan, vice president and managing director of the hotel said in a recent interview.
“There will be no impact on the hotel experience in the building,” he said.
| Tribune staff reporter
