This is a silly post. The Skyscraper Index clearly states: "which showed that the world's tallest buildings have risen on the eve of economic downturns" Note the word "tallest". There's no evidence that the tallest building built in a city correlates to a downturn in that city.
Yeah, you're kind of overstating the importance of Seattle. This building will be the tallest on the West coast, but that's really not a big feat. It'll be the 8th tallest in the US, but that's only if all of the other tallest projects don't go anywhere - it'll likely be something like the 10th or the 12th by the time it's built. And that's just the US. It's not the Burj, and it only takes up a half block.
Everyone I've talked to in the building industry doesn't expect the current, frenetic pace of construction to continue for more than a few years. That said, I don't think there's reason to expect a big crash, because we're still struggling just to meet existing demand. But it will inevitably level off.
If it's a bellwether of Seattle's eventual fall and decay, then by all means get those girders welded.
After The Collapse, I will look forward to scooting back into its empty shell of a town, in search of a $200 a month, fully featured, one-bedroom apartment.
I'm kind of thinking ex-Tibetan monk Lobsang Dargey falls into the full-on Ponzi category, even though selling EB-5 visas in exchange for shovel ready skyscraper projects is perfectly legal right up until a guy starts skimming to buy a Bentley, a $2,000,000 luxury home in Bellevue and fund his gambling hobby. Dargey has pisses and moans to the SEC that his companies are completely legit, so could the SEC please lighten up of its heavy handed assets seizure, because--think of the children's unpaid private school tuition bills, etc. But, sadly, Dargey should have thought of his employees' well being, the future of his would be landed immigrant Chinese investors, and the train wreck of all those unsightly holes in the ground at unfinished project sites BEFORE he started tapping into his Ponzi revenue stream.
It's not just an Amazon phenomenon, all of our industry is doing quite well in Seattle. There is a sense of a new urbanism in the United States. Everyone wants to be where they can walk, take good transit, and not sit in traffic. True, there is still the spread of the suburbs, but for every 1 person moving further out there are at least 2 people moving further in. Who is to say that we are not experiencing the growth we should have always had? Our close neighbor to the north - Vancouver - has been experiencing significant growth that hasn't had much slow down since 1997 when Hong Kong was absorbed into China.
That office building (note the difference between office and residences) is said to have some HVAC limitations that doesn't allow the worker densities demanded by SLU style employers. I don't know if that's the case, but I think the demand for office space is different from that of residential space (most of the new tallest will be residential). That said, office vacancy in downtown Seattle has been dropping for years, and office rents are up 17% over the past 5 years.
Stop intentionally trying to scare people.
Residential boom? There will be more, little brother (13th Warrior)
Europe, China, and the Middle East are building all of the grand, inspirational architecture.
(cue chicken little)
After The Collapse, I will look forward to scooting back into its empty shell of a town, in search of a $200 a month, fully featured, one-bedroom apartment.
http://www.heraldnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a…
http://www.law360.com/articles/705806/de…