Dorrie Freiman doesn’t worry about making a sale every time someone steps into the Waterview Tower’s sales room at 121 W Wacker Drive. In fact, she expects potential buyers to spend some time weighing their options.
“Our buyers take longer with their shopping. They look around. They’re an educated crowd,” Freiman says.
Part of the 90-story Waterview Tower’s appeal is the presence of a five-star Shangri-La Hotel on its 12th through 27th floors, Freiman says. Full-time residents, second-home owners and hotel patrons will all have access to amenities like an exercise facility, a lap pool, outdoor garden terraces and pet recreation areas, a business center and a hospitality suite with full kitchen.
Waterview’s Loop location drops buyers into “a pivotal area” of Chicago’s downtown, says Freiman – the Theater District and the Lyric Opera are a short distance away, as are the shops of Michigan Avenue and the scenic attractions of Navy Pier and Millennium Park.
Waterview Tower’s condominiums range in price from the $780s to $8.8 million. More than 65 percent of the project’s 233 condos have sold since 2005, and developers expect deliveries in November 2009.
I heard that this project lost its construction financing. Anyone confirm that?
Terrible location for a condo. Ever walked around this block at 9pm on a Friday night? DULL DULL DULL.
This project is a result of easy access to capital in 2005.
Watch this one swirl into BK. It will get picked up and finished in 2010-12.
I heard very recently the exact opposite – that financing is imminent (the source is very reliable). Also, I dont see how this project could have been the result of “easy access to capital in 2005” since sales began in May 2004 and the decision to build the tower was made probably as far back as 2002. Finally, the location is spectacular, too many reasons to list here (dont want to bore everyone with the obvious:)).
The block will take on a different character when the project opens.
Everyone’s take on the location is going to differ, but on a continuum of “terrible” to “spectacular” I think it lies a lot closer to the latter, especially for people who work downtown.
Pretty much any location in the Loop is a good one in this day and time. People’s outdated conceptions about Loop living will fade away within the next decade, and we will be looking at a new 24-hour CBD in Chicago. The practical ammenities aren’t there yet (like grocery stores), but they are soon to follow. Just give it some time.
Paulj is right.
It’s not that the Waterview lost construction financing, it just never had it. The Greenwich Group (see link below) has been trying to line it up for a long time. The German bank WestLB is trying to syndicate a loan but having a hard time finding takers.
http://www.greenwichgrp.com/debt_finance.php
PAULJ, the location is “DULL DULL DULL?” You sound like a disgruntled subcontractor, or perhaps you’re a suburbanite.