How Many Luxury Condos Do We Need Downtown?

By Rachelle Bowden in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 5, 2005 3:34PM

You know that crappy parking lot on the corner of Clark/Wacker? Right by the car rental place and the door you go in for the el? Since, 2004 people have been buying expensive units to live... in that parking lot. Or, we should say, in a luxury tower that's going to go where that parking lot is.

Shangri-La, which is a huge fancy-pants hotel and resort popular in the Asia-Pac region, is planning to plop its first US property on that parking lot. (Are we the only ones who have always had a problem seeing or saying "Shangri-La" and not getting STP songs in our head.) But anyway, this Shangri-La will be a 200-room condo/hotel and will be 90 stories (1,050 feet tall) making it 5th tallest building in Chicago.

Starting in May 2004, Waterview LLC has been selling rooms and buyers can use the rooms or rent them out. There will be 233 condos on the top 59 floors. Known as Waterview Tower, this new property is expected to be big competition for its neighbor across the river, Trump International Tower.

The parking lot at Clark/Wacker has been undeveloped for over 30 years. Waterview Tower is expected to be completed in 2009, bringing this rein to an end. And really, why has it taken this long? If you're interested in a condo in Waterview, you'll only have to lay down between $446k - more than $2.1 million.

Image via Emporis.com