Feb. 06--With the last of its developer-owned condominiums sold, the Trump Organization is turning its attention to the remaining vacancies at its Trump International Hotel Tower -- and they are some big ones.
Curving along the Chicago River on four levels is abundant space, part of which was the site of a small flood last June when a pipe burst during a test of the building's sprinkler system.
But now the floor-to-ceiling windows of two of those levels are covered while the company completes a multimillion-dollar project to turn more than 14,000 square feet of raw space into meeting and event rooms, featuring some postcard-worthy views of Chicago, the river and Lake Michigan.
After that's done, the company still will have to tackle the two bottom floors that encompass more than 70,000 square feet, more space than a football field, including the end zones. Despite almost eight years of on-and-off marketing, the space has remained untouched, snaring neither office tenants nor sought-after exclusive retailers.
Getting in Trump's way was not only the economic downturn but also the fact that while it's a picturesque walk from Michigan Avenue to Wabash Avenue, the lower levels simply don't see the foot traffic retailers demand.
Donald Trump Jr., in town this week to check on the project's progress, is optimistic about those floors given Chicago's development of its riverfront.
Whether folks in New York City like hearing it, he considers the 92-story skyscraper the flagship among the company's hotel properties, the one he'd send people to if they wanted a true sense of the Trump brand.
"If I were to pick one, as an urban hotel, this is as good as it gets," he said, while noting planned upgrades such as 65-inch televisions in guest rooms show the hotel isn't ready to rest on its laurels.
Is this a bit of looking over one's shoulder at the competition?
A 400-room Loews Chicago Hotel -- which put its own name on its building without raising the city's collective hackles like the Trump sign -- is expected to open next month.
Numerous boutique hotels are under construction nearby and Sir Richard Branson was in town a week ago to open his first Virgin Hotel in the Old Dearborn Bank building, just down the street from Trump.
Nope. Trump doesn't buy it.
Yes, there's more competition in the market than there was. But, channeling his father's famous bravado, Trump's hotel has simply forced competitors to work harder.
Or so the son says. While the boutique hotel are retrofits, Trump's was built from the ground up, he said. "(Trump) is not a conversion of a building that someone bought out of foreclosure." Ouch.
And what of The Langham, Chicago, a posh property that opened directly across Wabash in mid-2013, inside a Mies van der Rohe building? He discounted that too.
"Across the street, they don't have the same views," Trump said. "Their view is our back of the house."
Indeed. Getting on an elevator to leave the space now under construction, Trump gestured to windows that directly face The Langham. That space is being turned into bathrooms.
mepodmolik@tribpub.com
Twitter @mepodmolik
