Could Loan Shine Hope On Spire?

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 30, 2009 5:40PM

The Chicago Spire may have new hope of becoming something beyond a really expensive hole in the ground. According to a report by the Tribune, the building's developer, Garrett Kelleher, is slated to meet with today leaders of AFL-CIO pension investment trusts which could get the ball rolling on a new loan. That land loan would total $170 million and, according to the Trib, "would retire Shelbourne Development Group Inc.'s loan from Anglo Irish Bank, pay off liens and restart work on a project dormant for more than a year." If this sounds familiar it's because similar talks happened earlier this year but were shelved when the trusts decided to make a potential deal to help build an Olympic Village the top priority. With the Olympics not coming to Chicago, that's put the Spire back at the top of the list. Per the Trib:

The Spire "was in the No. 2 slot," prior to Chicago losing out on its bid to host the 2016 Olympics, said Tom Villanova, president of the Chicago & Cook County Building & Construction Trades Council, which represents 24 affiliated trades. "When I was sitting in Copenhagen and things went south, this moved to the No. 1 slot. We're way past the look-see stage. We're in the commitment stage now.

"They want us at the table. They don't have a lot of people at the table that can throw in the money that we can throw in."

A spokeswoman for Shelbourne confirmed Monday's meeting. "This is a huge stride in moving the broader picture forward," she said. "(It's) a negotiating chip for a much larger conversation."

As part of the deal, the Spire would be a completely union-built project and would, according to an estimation by Villanova, create 7.5 million man-horus.