Q: What's worse than a hole in the ground?
A: Waterview Tower
In their list of disappointing developments, Kamin, Hilkevitch, and Glanton neglected to mention the eyesore known as "Waterview Tower" We can't quite blame them since we've known about this for a few years now, but it is definitely worth mentioning.
The luxury building stands an unfortunate 26 stories high and resembles an incomplete concrete parking garage.
The first few floors are parking so the aesthetic is fitting.
In 2005, Shangri-La Hotels announced
their plans to be a part of the hotel/residential Waterview Tower.
Construction began in 2006 and in Summer 2008, it stopped. The owners
aggressively sought financing to resume construction but were
unsuccessful. In 2009, Shangri-La hotels pulled out of the venture.
With no money and no plan, the property was left vacant.
In January 2010, the City of Chicago addressed
growing concerns about the construction crane hovering 25 stories up.
Left unchecked, it was considered "an imminent threat of injury to the
public health and safety." After a court ruling, the final bit of
'work' was done on the project; the removal of the crane.
On the upside? The website is "under construction" I guess that's a start...
May 2010, Clark Wacker LLC are the new owners and are contemplating their options. What do you think they should with the site?
Filed under: Uncategorized
Tags: cancelled, Chicago, developer, development, disappointment, shangri-la, waterview
