October 12, 1999. Copyright 1999. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

CHICAGO DREAMS OF ÒWORLDÕS-TALLESTÓ GLORY

LONDON, October 12, Graphic News: IF CHICAGO City Council gets its way the south shore of Lake Michigan may once again be graced by the tallest building on the planet.
The 112-story Toberman Tower would be 1,550 feet (472 metres) tall at the roof with two 450 feet (137.2 metres) antennas.
The current tallest building title is held by the twin Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which at 1,482 feet high (451.7 metres) stole the title in 1998 from ChicagoÕs former record-holder, the 1,453 feet (442.8 metres) Sears Tower.
Chicago has been fuming ever since the international body that pronounces on tall buildings decided to count the spires on the Petronas Towers, but not the antennas on the Sears Tower.
The developer, Scott Toberman, president of European American Realty, says he has financing in place for the $500 million project and will break ground in the second quarter of 2000.
The building will contain 765,000 square feet (71,071 square metres) of office space as well as 40 floors of condominiums. Toberman expects some units to fetch $1.5m or more. He also counts on revenue from broadcasting digital television signals from the two antennas. 
However, critics of the Chicago Plan Commission Ð that granted initial approval for the venture in September Ð ask why a city with a huge downtown real estate glut should need more commercial space.
The buildingÕs 360 apartments will be in the heart of the business district, an area empty by the end of the working day.
In addition digital television is a new and unproven medium, making it difficult to work out the value of the broadcasting antennas.
City Councillors say Chicago has had virtually no new top-quality office construction since the beginning of the 1990s. Vacancy rates are roughly half what they were after the overbuilding of the late 1980s, and demand, triggered by AmericaÕs prolonged economic expansion, has finally caught up with supply.
Also, ever-dreaming of skyscraping glory, the windy cityÕs sages predict the ÒworldÕs tallestÓ will draw tourists to marvel at the sky spike and return the city to its rightful place in the Guinness Book of Records.
/ENDS
Sources: Reuters, The Economist, Chicago Tribune