May 10, 2007 7:17 pm US/Central
Spire Condos Set To Have Big Impact On Real Estate
Will New Building Inflate Chicago's Prices?
by Mai Martinez
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Courtesy: Shelbourne Development
The plan for the Chicago Spire is coming together and the City Council has cleared the way for construction to begin.
As CBS 2's Mai Martinez reports, real estate observers are trying to determine the impact the building will have on the city, like whether the estimated $2 billion project might send prices into the range of New York City.
The Chicago Spire is billed by some as a 150-story work of art, but others see much more. Veteran realtors say it's the gauge of where Chicago real estate prices are heading -- straight up.
"They're raising the level to a different bar," said Chicago Realtor Ro Lebedow.
The Spire's developer, Shelbourne Development Group, Inc., has not yet disclosed exactly how high the bar is being raised for the estimated 1,200 residential units they plan to sell.
A few blocks away, at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, condos are averaging between $1,000 and $2,000 per square foot.
"When we first came to this market, consultant told us that we had so much product, so much inventory that we would not be able to sell any real velocity in excess of $600 a square foot, and we are just hitting it out of the park with this building," said Ivanka Trump of Trump International Hotel and Tower.
In fact, the building is more than 80 percent sold. Developers are hoping the same financial success is in the cards for the Chicago Spire.
"Part of real estate is demand," said Laura Sherman of Shelbourne Development. "There's a huge demand for the product and a high level of interest."
Realtors predict as the level of interest in luxury living rises in Chicago, so will real estate prices across the city.
"Buyers are smart. They're savvy," Lebedow said. "They're sophisticated, and they're intelligent, okay, and they're buying, and they're doing it, so we're raising the bar, and this Spire is just going to add more value."
While construction is slated to begin later this year, it will be a few years before the full impact of the Chicago Spire is known. It's not slated to be completed until 2010.
If it is built according to plan, the Spire would tower over other Chicago skyscrapers. It would be significantly taller than the Sears Tower, the under-construction Trump Tower, the Aon building and the John Hancock Center.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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