The Lakefront Drill

The Chicago Plan Commission is on board, approving the latest design by Santiago Calatrava. No twizzler, no spike, the most recent plan calls for a 2000 ft. high, twisting monolith that is every inch a drill bit. Hog butcher for the World, Tool Maker....how fitting to plant a gigantic drill bit on the city's lakefront.

At 150 stories, the tower would indeed tower over the skyline in its silvery aluminum glory. The design has been approved, but will anything proceed from here? Is this Chicago Spire to be nothing more than architectural renderings and scale models?

Architectural engineers earn their hefty salaries by taking an artistic flight of fancy and figuring out how to make the real thing. To date, no twisting spire this tall has been built, as the spiral structure currently rising in Dubai is much smaller. How will the engineers plan for wind at such heights? How much sway must be allowed for? Can this particular spire even be made to stand, and still retain the artistic sweep of its 360 degree rotation? The skin of the spire is to be stainless steel, yet how is this steel to be manufactured to perform as needed?

This being Chicago, the primary question is one of finance. To date, developer Garrett Kelleher has said not one word about how he's to fund this project. No cost projections provided, no plans to pre-sell condo units, in direct contrast to how things are normally done. Total costs are estimated to reach $2 billion or more, yet the only suggestion of financing from Mr. Kelleher has been a mention of support from a top executive at Anglo Irish Bank. Not that it's a puny institution by any means, but there's a great deal of doubt that AIB has that kind of financial power. Builder Steven Fifield, quoted in the Chicago Tribune, labels the suggestion as not credible. At possible development costs of $1000 per square foot, AIB isn't enough.

Overall, the add-ons are high priced. The parkland that fronts the building will be developed to the tune of $9 million, and the underground parking will take some very savvy engineering to pull off, given that the excavation will have to go below the water line and no one wants to buy a place with a leaking basement. All in all, the units may have to sell for $1500 per square foot, which is London or Paris pricing, not Chicago rates.

Given that, who will be looking to buy one of these 1200 units? Mr. Kelleher has plans to market the development in Dubai, London, New York, etc. Chicago is indeed a lovely town, a very user-friendly sort of city that's easy to get around with its grid network of streets. The lake view is highly prized, beautiful and well worth the price. Makes the perfect destination when one wants to get away from the social rat race of Mayfair and Manhattan...perfect for those looking for a $1500 per square foot vacation home.