Launching a $1 billion skyscraper without a construction loan can be a risky move, but the risk paid off for the developers of the Vista Tower, a 94-story building rising on the Chicago River.
Chicago-based Magellan Development Group and Wanda Commercial Properties of China scored a $700 million loan from Ping An Bank, a Chinese lender, for the condominium-and-hotel project in late April, nearly nine months after breaking ground, according to Cook County property records. It is the biggest construction loan ever for a Chicago real estate development, eclipsing the $640 million loan that Donald Trump used to finance his namesake tower on the river.
The timing is also notable. Most developers don't start a big construction project until they score a loan, wary of running out of money and being stuck with an unfinished building. That's what happened to the developer of the Chicago Spire, which went through foreclosure and bankruptcy and is now just a hole in the ground.
But it helps when you have a partner with deep pockets like Wanda, one of the world's largest developers with strong banking relationships in China. The company is part of Wanda Group, a conglomerate led by Asia's richest man, Wang Jianlin.
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