Chicago Spire - Construction Technique (Part 2)

[Superduck7716]

HEY! Let's build a gigantic dildo,...then make people live in it.

[panamainiac]

"were going to..." Sounds pretty promising if you ask me! :)

[MelissaandJoey]

0:39 out of a what? A par par, par park, car park, what????

[MGR1900]

Is it just me or is this the first building that actually resembles a dildo? Take a look at the Shanghai World Financial Center. That building speaks gracefulness. It's a work of technology and art. Now take a look at the Chicago Spire. It screams DONG! What the hell is Chicago thinking?

[cam9408]

America sucks now when it comes to big skyscrapers..

[teta809]

with the economy and infastructure falling apart, building new skyscrapers is not gonna happen in the near future. the only main skyscraper is the freedom tower! and thats only to give tribute to 9/11.

[bosnagurl1234]

in the old days all people did was work there asses off now all they do is drink and do drugs and cuss and shit like that well oh well.. they should man up and do their shit ... become the american dubai

[MFRoosy16]

damn too bad they havn't made progress worth a damn.....

[beazyo6baby]

man its been like a year n a half and all that they got done is the 7 underground levels !!! its a big ass curcular hole in the ground!!!! they need to finnish the building n quit bullshitting lol

[DFDalton1962]

@beazyo6baby It's not even as far along as you think. The next step would have been the 7 underground parking levels, but none of that was started. Only the caison work is done. No work has been done since summer 2008. And just to show how hopeless the current situation is, the developer was recently evicted from its sales center - which cost millions of dollars to build - for failure to pay a few thousand dollars in rent. The project is DEAD!

[TheNOTmadeINchina]

New York and Chicago should compete in building structures like the old days.

[TheFLACO2]

awsome

[eaguir3]

they're going to finish this building people no doubt about that. But it will be owned by another company and financed by another bank.

[navyboy77]

I hope they get this building done. It would be an amazing addition to our skyline. Not to mention all the jobs it would create.

[extre888]

I don't, but I will go there again when finished! Best city ever been to!

[Mikeferrari69]

Giant dildo

[Erik8896]

I live in Chicago and I can't wait for the spire to be done.:)

[madisheikh]

i prefere to help poor peoples then make this building.......

[Crobvirgo]

so it wont be done in 2012?.. i live in chicago and spend alot of time biking on the lakefront when im home from college

[rodmtvrafa]

theyre in talks for a new loan.... i think Union group will rivive the big hole. early next year.'

so cross your fingers!

[DonPhilip84]

twin towers2 for NY, spire for chi town.....

[epics7]

Lol

[lucasntas]

It is on hold :(

[DFDalton1962]

I still think the 2016 Olympics go to Chicago. None of the bids are perfect, and I am sure we are not privy to the problems other bids are facing behind the scenes. Chicago also benefits from being the second most popular choice of voters who favor one of the other 3 choices.

The Chicago Spire does seem like a longshot. Too bad the city couldn't buy out Kelleher, complete the Spire as Olympic athlete housing, then sell it after the games. The Chicago condo market should be better in 2016.

[DFDalton1962]

Chicago was blown out in the Olympic competition. I suspect this project will be officially cancelled before the end of the year.

[kjkinc]

i wish that there would be towers like that in new york. that place really needs an up grade

[willjustice89]

You think the New Freedom Tower in NYC will make a good upgrade? ((I personally think they should rebuild the Twin Towers)).

[TheNewCoolKidz]

@kjkinc as much as i think its a good idea,..... new york is a very classic place and i think that is what makes the city so great

[mlvstwtc]

@kjkinc

I know! Seriously!

[orland9999]

@kjkinc Wow..U must be feeling really stupid over this 2 year old comment. This construction project is dead and in the mean time NYC is about to take the title of having the tallest building in the country once again.

[salemme]

I hope the spire will be built!!!!

[DFDalton1962]

It would be cheaper to build in Dubai, as the practice there is to build towers on large previously undeveloped parcels of completely dry land and have cheap multi-story above ground parking structures in the back. 7 levels of underground parking on a tiny parcel surrounded on 3 sides by water is too expensive.

[gc0ck]

... and throw a structure that will be an american icon among all the other structures of dubai??? not to even mention that it is a residential tower trying to counteract all of the urban sprawl that chicago has been experiencing.

[DFDalton1962]

Given what has happened to Dubai in the past few months, I retract the idea that the Spire could be built in Dubai. They already have dozens of large projects cancelled or on hold. And many residential towers being completed will be empty for years.

The Chicago Spire has one shot now - that being the awarding of the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago. I would not expect any further announcements from Kelleher or Shelbourne until October this year when the IOC announces the winning city.

[gc0ck]

I completely agree.

[Xone7]

Keep hope alive.

[epics7]

Jessie? Is that you?

[Xone7]

LOL

[Gr8t7]

Can't wait to see the Spire start to finally take shape!

[DFDalton1962]

The Chicago Spire design is great and really should be built somewhere. Given the new realities, and looking forward, I see this as a terrible possibility:

Kelleher and Calatrava will come to a settlement and the design will be built in another city. Which city? Dubai, of course.

Meanwhile, Kelleher will hold the land for a few years until it becomes profitable to sell it. The new developer will go back to the original zoning plan for the site and build two shorter towers there.

[DFDalton1962]

I apologize for being rude in my comment. I'm still a little irked that I was banned from that skyscraper page for "baseless speculation" by pointing out these early warning signs, going back to July, that the project was in trouble. Hopefully, I and the others who were beginning to be skeptical at least tempered the disappointment of those who remained willfully clueless.

I would have hoped at least that the moderator, who called me an "idiot" would admit he was wrong....

[DFDalton1962]

... But, alas, he has chosen to run the forum as a "fanboy" site. No reality or dissenting opinion welcomed.

[DFDalton1962]

Hey, "dude",

It's now "officially" on hold, isn't it?

Sales stalled at 30%. Almost no work was done during the summer. Then, Kelleher announced he would offer units for rent. Next, word came that work would "slow". Later it was officially "postponed". Then, a semi-permanent safety fence was constructed around the hole. Now we learn that Calatrava has not been paid over $11 mil. owed for the design work. Kelleher has left the country.

You had to be brain dead not to read the signs.

[gus5179]

Anybody know the latest on the Waldorf Astoria?

[Sanjames1]

if only ny had the balls to build this kind of revolutionary building instead of glass box after glass box!

[DFDalton1962]

That does seem like wishful thinking. Case has finished the caisson work and has left the site. But Kelleher has not signed a contractor to continue work and has no construction loan. Sales have slowed, and Kelleher has taken a seemingly desperate step of offering some of the building as rental units. This project may have been started two years too late or 10 years too early. If construction doesn't resume by the end of July, it is possible it could be cancelled or put on indefinite hold.

[MetalliTooL]

Where are you getting this from?

[butchqueen12]

His ass. He doesnt have a clue as to whats going on behind the scenes of this project. Its brainless specualtion on his part.

[gypsyboy1fl]

god please 1yr for a hole in the ground and they wanna finish by 2011 rite????