Alderman Brendan Reilly will be featured at a SOAR Town Hall meeting

Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 7 p.m.
Courtyard Marriott, 165 E. Ontario

Ward 42’s new Alderman, Brendan Reilly, will be featured at a SOAR community forum at the Courtyard Marriott on East Ontario.

He will provide a community update, discuss his goals and priorities, explain the process by which he will determine citizen support for new projects, and take questions from the audience.

Space is Limited. The Town Hall meeting is free but RSVPs are required.

RSVP to SOARChicago@aol.com or (312)280-2596

There will be a New Eastside Association of Residents (NEAR) on May 1st at 222 N. Columbus Dr.

 Present will be Brendan Reilly, Alderman-elect of the 42nd Ward as well as the Executive Director of the Loop Alliance Ty Tabing.

 Other presenters will talk about Grant Park and Daley Bicentennial Plaza summer programs as well as city-wide summer programs and events.

 More information — http://forums.new-eastside.com/index.php/topic,110.0.html

This month in the Economist’s Chicago City Briefing there are articles about the $12m political hiring settlement, Barack Obama’s endorsement of Dorothy Tillman of the 3rd Ward, Anthony Abbate a police officer from Chicago who is facing a charge of aggravated battery, and more on the Chicago Spire.

“Mr Calatrava has won both notoriety and critical acclaim for his designs, most of which have been built in Spain and Switzerland. His first American commission, also in the Midwest, was for the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Quadracci Pavilion, which opened in 2001.”

Read more at — http://www.economist.com/cities/briefing.cfm?city_id=CHI

Richard Ward has posted a number of images and pictures depicting the planned Chicago Spire which were presented to Friends of the Park on March 15th, 2007 http://www.neweastside.org/ChicagoSpire2007.html.

The Tribune recently published a story on the Chicago Spire Development – Streeterville Organization of Active Residents “will hold the first public meeting on March 26 about the proposed Chicago Spire, a 2,000-foot, twisting design that has won worldwide attention. ‘They didn’t get into traffic at all. We need a lot more information on traffic,’ said Gail Spreen, SOAR’s president.”

The developer’s web site is at http://www.shelbournedevelopment.com and they also have a web site specifically for the Chicago Spire project at http://www.thechicagospireonline.com. Also see Chicago Spire press release.

The Sun-Time reports on how Reilly’s win could change the landscape for development projects downtown –

“Jack Guthman, a zoning attorney for leading developers, said he has met Reilly and thinks “he’s a balanced and thoughtful person” who will entertain reasonable discussions.

“Natarus, Guthman added, didn’t deserve the charge of being too project-friendly. “He was always upfront and straight-forward, even on things we didn’t like to hear,” Guthman said.”

http://www.suntimes.com:80/business/278172,CST-FIN-nat01.article 

The Tribune reports in their “Development Notes” on the penthouse plans for Aqua. Added to the existing high-end units available at 340 On the Park, the planned ParkHomes, as well as the ultra-high end units planned for the Chicago Spire just across the river, there may eventually be some real competition for buyers in this range.

From the Chicago Tribune - “A collection of penthouse residences has been added to the top two floors of Aqua at Lakeshore East, offering views of Lake Michigan, the Chicago River, and Millennium and Grant Parks.

“The grouping includes five duplex units and one-single level design. They range from 2,364 to 3,869 square feet and are pre-construction priced from $1.9 million to $2.9 million.”

Read more at http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/newhomes/chi-0612090208dec09,1,931322.story

The Sun-Times writes that construction on the “Chicago Spire” (formerly Fordham Spire) may start as early as June 2007 and prices may be close to some of the most expensive condo prices per foot in the United States, roughly double the top prices now offered in Chicago.

From the Sun-Times - “A Chicago developer experienced with high-rise construction voiced doubt over the enterprise, saying Kelleher needs to achieve prices that are “off the planet.” Told of that comment, Murphy replied, “They’re not off the planet. They may be off the continent.”

The article goes on to say that Chicago prices look cheap to European and others who may like to have a part-time Chicago home in the Spire. Savills PLC, a London marketing company with 140 offices around the world was chosen as the marketing firm and might partner with a local firm for sales in the Chicago area.

More information at –
http://www.suntimes.com/business/137923,CST-FIN-wwcalatrava16.article

Also, from Crain’s Chicago Business - “Condo developers typically must sell about half of the units in a condo project to secure a construction loan. It’s unclear whether Shelbourne would be able to hit that target in less than six months — a tough task at the high end of a soft downtown condo market. Yet Mr. Murphy was confident the developer will obtain financing regardless of condo sales.”

The article goes on to say that the project is definitely a work in progress and that the name Chicago Spire may change yet again.

More info at - http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=22892

“A few new twists in the saga of the Calatrava spire”

From the Chicago Sun-Times — “Murphy also said Kelleher is returning deposits of prospective buyers for about 90 units in the condo and hotel building. Is that because costs have escalated so much that the sales prices cannot be honored? Murphy said no, that’s it’s just the fair thing to do because unit layouts will change.”

More from the Chicago Sun-Times.

An Irish developer bought the land at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive for a reported $64-$65 million dollars where Christopher Carley’s Fordham Company has been planning the Fordham Spire. Over 90 sales contracts had already been signed for the Spire, but the Fordham Co. had yet to secure financing and purchase the land.

The new owner of the land, Garrett Kelleher, executive chairman of Shelbourne Development Ltd. in Dublin, Ireland may continue with the original plans with the Fordham Company or Christopher Carley acting as local manager of the project although this has yet to be negotiated. Kelleher presently is imply referring the project as “400 N. Lake Shore Drive”. Shelbourne Development has purchased the land but not the architectural plans for the Fordham Spire.

The original plan for Fordham Spire was drawn up by famed architect Santiago Calatrava. The height of the building at 124 stories drew ridicule by some other developers including Donald Trump who is reported to have said the Fordham Spire is “not a building anyone in his right mind would build” due to the economics of building such a tall structure. “It’s going to cost a lot more to build than the condos you can sell.”

More news at
- Shelbourne Development press release
- Sun-Times
- Engineering News
- Chicago Tribune
- Commercial Property News

also visit ericfrost.com