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$20 Million Renovation To Add Retail Space To John Hancock Tower

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Earlier this year, Normandy Real Estate Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners picked up Boston's tallest building Hancock Place, better known as the John Hancock Tower, for nearly $661 million (a bit of a steal considering it sold for $1.3 billion in 2006). Now the partners have announced some plans for the glass skyscraper. The owners have obtained city approval to go forward with a $20 million renovation inside the building. The proposal will fill 90,000 square feet of unused space on the high-rise's ground floor and lower levels with three restaurants, shops and underground parking. The Boston Herald reports that a two-level 10,200-square-foot eatery will be located along the Stuart Street side of the tower. A second cafe is planned for the St. James Street side of the tower and 1,960 square feet of space for a small restaurant or retail tenant with another 8,800 square feet of retail is on the lower level. No word yet on what businesses might be potential tenants.

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Tags: boston, hancock tower, HancockTower, john hancock, JohnHancock, skyscraper

New Billion-Dollar Project Proposed For Los Angeles

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Downtown Los Angeles got a big boost this week with a proposal for a $1-billion hotel, office and retail project. The project from Korean Air is being developed by Thomas Properties Group. The two skyscrapers would replace the Wilshire Grand hotel and adjoining offices being used by Korean Air. The project would be the first time a South Korean developer has created a project this large in the U.S.

Los Angeles architect David Martin, a principal at AC Martin Partners, designed the towers which may have a photovoltaic skin to create solar power. One tower will host a 40-story hotel with as many as 700 rooms and several floors of condominiums. The other taller tower will be a 60-story building offering over a million square feet of office space and a plaza and shops on the ground level. What's really amazing is that this would be the first major high-rise office building constructed in Los Angeles since 1992. Los Angeles needs a new skyscraper about as much as it needs an NFL team of its own (could be a lot or not at all depending on who you ask).

The project still has to win city approval but if it does construction could begin in 2011 and be finished in 2014.

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Tags: development, korean air, KoreanAir, los angeles, LosAngeles, skyscraper, south korea, SouthKorea

Hancock Tower Sells At Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

hancock towerBoston's tallest building, the John Hancock Tower sold today at auction for a price far below the $1.3 billion it sold for in 2006. Bloomberg reports the tower was sold to Normandy Real Estate Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners LLC for $661 million. The companies will be paying $20.1 million for the mezzanine debt on the 60-story building as well as taking over a $640.5 million mortgage. The bidding for the Hancock tower took less than two minutes. With rents and occupancy sinking over the past couple of years, the building's value is now believed to be less than $750 million.

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Tags: boston, hancock tower, HancockTower, skyscraper

Shanghai Tower Breaks Ground

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments


We've seen a lot of tower projects in trouble lately but one that will be the highest tower in China has broken ground. The Shanghai Tower will be a 2,073 foot tower located in the Luijiazui Finance and Trade Zone in Shanghai. The district, which was once farmland will be home to three skyscrapers including the Shangai Tower, Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center. The three form a past, present, feature configuration with the sustainable design of the Shanghai Tower as a symbol of China's future. The tower will hold office and retail space, a luxury hotel and cultural venues. It's not the place to be if you are acrophobic, it will have the world's highest non- enclosed observation deck. The building's wind-diffusing, 120-degree spiral shape includes a "double skin" that insulates the building. The funnel-shaped roof can store rainwater and wind turbines will help provide enough electricity to power the building's outer lighting. It is set to be completed in 2014.

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Tags: china, shangai, skyscraper, tower

Istanbul Sapphire Is Europe's Tallest Tower

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Need more proof that Istanbul is becoming one of the most cosopolitan cities in Europe? Check out the Istanbul Sapphire, the 261-meter skyscraper that will be the tallest residential building in Europe once it is completed in late 2009. The skyscraper has been under construction for three years and recently reached full height. It will have 64 floors and offer 174 private residences. The total cost of the project is currently $200 million and around 40 percent of the whole project has been sold. The tower is also home to a shopping center, fitness center and spa, restaurants and includes vertical gardens and a viewing terrace.

[via Turkish Daily News]

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Tags: istanbul, istanbul sapphire, IstanbulSapphire, skyscraper

Race Car Driver Michael Schumacher Gets His Own Tower

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Real Estate Developments


Another big project for Abu Dhabi. Plans have been revealed for the Michael Schumacher World Champion Tower in the Central Business District of Reem Island, Abu Dhabi, It will be a wharf tower integrated with the water on the seafront and will include a luxury marina. The tower will be developed by Marasi and PYNG. The tower is the first of seven ttowers to be built around the world, one for each of the seven Formula One World Championship titles that Michael Schumacher won during his career.

Gallery: Abu Dhabi

Schumacher TowerEmirates PalaceSeba TowerFerrari Theme ParkThe World of Luxury

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Tags: abu dhabi, michael schumacher, MichaelSchumacher, skyscraper, tower

The Paris Triangle, A Bold New Look For The Paris Skyline

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments


A few months ago, I mentioned potential plans to change the Paris skyline. Now the first project, a 50-story glass pyramid is moving into more serious planning stages. The move comes after officials voted to drop a ban on high-rise buildings. Le Projet Triangle at Porte de Versailles was designed by Swiss team Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron who designed the Olympic stadium in Beijing. The tower will have offices, a conference center, 400-bedroom hotel and restaurants and cafes. it will be surrounded by parks, gardens and shops. The building is planned to be around 590 feet high which will make the third highest building in Paris. The tower will run on solar and wind power and is set for completion in 2012.

Gallery: Le Projet Triangle at Porte de Versailles


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Tags: herzog de meuron, HerzogDeMeuron, paris, skyscraper

Europe's Biggest Residential Tower Stalls Out

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Another big residential project has hit the skids and this one's a biggie. The Lumiere tower in Leeds, England was set to be tallest residential tower in Western Europe. Now plans for the £225m development and its 992 units are on hold, ostensibly until the market gets a little better and the economy is stronger. The project was halted after the foundations were finished and the developer plans to pick up where they left off once conditions improve. The developer says this could be as early as November but I bet it could be a bit longer than that.

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Tags: england, leeds, lumiere, skyscraper, tower

The Pen Peninsula

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates


London's Canary Wharf is the site of a bunch of new developments. The Sunday Times has an article on some of the most lavish development including the most lavish, the Pan Peninsula, a residential skyscraper that includes 20 penthouse apartments that range in price from £2.5 million to £12 million for 1,652 to 7,714 sq ft of space. What do you get for your cash? Penthouse owners get butler service as well as access to a cocktail bar on the 31st floor, a private cinema, spa, gym and restaurant. Penthouses will also be custom designed to the owner's tastes. The model apartments for the development show off features like gray marble bathrooms with automatically-flushing toilets and heated walls to warm towels.

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Tags: canary wharf, CanaryWharf, condominium, london, pan peninsula, skyscraper

The Gazprom Tower Could Cost St. Petersburg Its Heritage Title

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Check out the building on the right. Not the worst example of architecture I've seen but not the most fabulous either, especially when you consider that it is to be plopped down into the city of St. Petersburg, Russia, a city which has an almost fairy-tale-like beauty. The Russian gas company Gazprom wants to erect the tower next to the 18th century Smolny cathedral and use it as their headquarters. An article in The Guardian reports the city's unique low-rise skyline is in peril and that the city may lose its designation as a world heritage site. Unesco has said that Russia has until next February to submit a report on the projects impact and Marcio Barbosa, deputy director general of Unesco, is quoted as saying that if the situation does not change the site might be put on a list of sites that are in danger. The tower's architect, Philip Nikandrov, says the building anchors the city's panorama and will be a beautiful addition to the city. Building has not started on the tower yet.

It reminds me of a few other towers we've seen such as Gherkin and the Fordham Spire. I wonder if these similar skyscrapers lead to a certain homogenization of cities, where the skyline, once a distinctive fingerprint of place, becomes practically interchangeable all around the world.

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Tags: architecture, gazprom, russia, saint petersburg, skyscraper, tower, unesco

Moscow's Turning Tower To Be Part Prefab

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Dubai isn't the only place set to get a rotating skyscraper, Moscow may is also planning a monumental spinner. The $400 million project will have 60 floors that revolve around a central core. The development company Mirax has not decided on where the tower will be located in the city. What I find particularly interesting is the construction process: the central core will be installed in one piece while the floors will be built in a factory and then attached to the core, possibly even furnished. Construction is expected to start in 2008 and finish in 2011.

Related:
Brazil's revolving apartment building

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Tags: development, moscow, skyscraper

Torre Bicentenario, Mexico Celebrates Independence With A Large Tower

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates


Mexico City will have a new tower that will be Latin America's tallest building. Mexico City is already home to the tallest building in Latin America, the Torre Mayor which is 738 feet (55 stories). The new building, the Torre Bicentenario will be 984 feet tall and 85 stories. The building will be home to offices, restaurants and a convention center and will cost an estimated $600 million. The design is by Rem Koolhaas famed for his designs of the Prada stores in New York and Los Angeles and other places as well as the Seattle Central Library. The building is set to be completed in 2010, when Mexico celebrates 200 years since the start of its battle for independence from Spain. Not the most stunning design I've ever seen but perhaps the low center of gravity provides some protection again earthquakes.

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Tags: mexico, mexico city, rem koolhaas, skyscraper, torres bicentenario, TorresBicentenario, tower

Trump's Toronto Tower Gets A Trim

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

A few months ago, I mentioned that Donald Trump's 70-storyToronto tower was a go. Seems those reports were premature, the tower will go up but not quite as high as planned. The Toronto Star reports that the tower is getting a bit of a shave, down to 57 stories. The new plans lop off 11 residential floors and two hotels floors but the overall number of units has gone up (with a decrease in unit size).

The Toronto tower has been a slow seller by Trump standards although now it looks to be 80% sold in the pre-construction stage. Concerns over the elevators and the HVAC system were also cited as reasons for the downsizing. The building will still be lavish with massive penthouses spanning up to 7,719 square feet and a wide variety of multi-million dollar properties for sale.

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Tags: condominium, donald trump, DonaldTrump, skyscraper, toronto, tower

Billionaire Plans Skyscraper Home

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Now this is a story of real estate excess, India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is building himself a skyscraper in Mumbai as his personal residence. The building, which is the size of a 60-story tower, will only have 27 floors due to the height of the ceilings. Ambani, who is the richest man in India, has a personal fortune of over $20 billion.The home will house his wife, mother, three children and 600 live-in staff. What to do with all those floors? The first six are garage space, a health club will be on the next two and then staff housing will take up much of the middle section. Ambani and his family will live on the upper floors which will be topped with a helipad and swimming pools. The home reportedly will cost $1 billion to create and construction is already under way. It should be finished next year.

[Thanks, Shaun K]

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Tags: india, muksh ambani, mumbai, real estate, skyscraper, tower

The Oval Tower, Another Landmark For Dubai

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Journeys


The Oval Tower is the latest piece of architectural whimsy to come out of Dubai. As you might guess, it is shaped like an oval. The tower in the Business Bay area will be home to 19 floors of office space and a leisure deck with a gymnasium with a sauna, shower and lockers. The building as two distinct parts, the tower and the podium. The podium of the tower will hold a dining area with a panoramic lift and staircase. There will be parking in both the podium and the basement for 651 cars.

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Tags: construction, dubai, oval tower, OvalTower, skyscraper

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