Since 2003 the tallest building in Mexico City has been the Torre Mayor, a 55 story commercial and office building situated where the Paseo swings by the entrance to Chapultepec Park.
However, for more than a year, Alejandro and I have been watching the construction of another skyscraper just across the street from the Torre Mayor. We wondered if it was going to surpass the Torre and claim the honor of highest building.
The building is now almost complete, and it is hard to tell whether it is taller or not. The building is the Torre BBVA Bancomer and will be the headquarters of Mexico's largest bank. It is scheduled for completion later this year... but, gee it's already November, so I'm not placing any bets that the grand opening will be in 2014. I was walking by the construction site around noon, and hundreds of construction workers were heading for lunch. (By the way, I was surprised by how many women were among the hardhats. Mexico has indeed come a long way.) I asked one of the workers if the new building was going to be taller than the Torre Mayor. He said no, and that the tower had reached its final height. However, I did some research on the internet, and several websites said that the Bancomer building was going to be the city's tallest structure. But the height given for the completed building, 738 feet, is the same as that given for the Torre Mayor. So take your pick... the Torre Mayor remains the tallest, the Torre BBVA Bancomer surpasses it, or the two buildings are the same height!
Whichever building is taller, it won't have that honor for long. Right next door to the Torre Mayor another skyscraper is under construction.
The Torre Reforma when completed will rise to 800 feet and have 57 stories, and will have commercial and office space.
An artist's conception of the completed tower
At the base of the Torre Reforma is one of the last of the elegant mansions which graced the boulevard. Originally they planned the raze the house, but instead they have decided to use the shell of the mansion as the entrance to the tower.
As I walked along el Paseo de la Reforma I saw many other construction projects.
The Diana Fountain, one of the boulevard's landmarks, is being refurbished, and behind it another building is rising.
This is a smaller project, but it appears to also incorporate one of the Paseo's older buildings.
Another high rise nearing completion.
This sleek office tower, nearly complete, is at the major intersection of the Paseo and Avenida Insurgentes.
A few blocks away from el Paseo de la Reforma, near the Insurgentes Metro Station, is yet another building under construction.
As much as the boulevard changes, however, some things stay the same. The Paseo is still studded with monuments that have watched the evolution of the city over the decades.
The Monument to Cuauhtemoc, the last of the Aztec emperors...
And "El Angel", the iconic monument to Mexico's independence.
It's kind of amazing how many of these towers are going up. Several years ago, there was an exposicion next to La Alameda showing a mock-up/model of what Reforma would look like in 15 years, and let me tell you, a lot more towers are being planned. I wonder how the city is going to handle all the additional traffic. I think this makes residential real estate in the surrounding neighborhoods (Condesa, Roma, Juarez, Cuauhtemoc) probably a good investment. The people working in those towers aren't going to want long commutes.
ReplyDeleteSaludos,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Where the city takes a dim view of development, but it's happening anyway.
I just hope this isn't a construction bubble that bursts as it did in Spain. What will the occupancy rate be with all these additional office buildings? And there are plenty of modern highrises that were built before the '85 earthquake that are standing vacant.
DeleteI read that there were fears that Reforma would become sort of a ghost town when Santa Fe was built up, but obviously those fears did not materialize.
Santa Fe is too far away to be terribly interesting. I had never see it until my drive through Mexico when I passed through it on my way to GDL. Looks like Mexico City's little take on Hong Kong.
DeleteAs for a bubble in Mexico, I kind of doubt it. Usually these things need cheap and plentiful credit, but I don't think there's a ton of credit flowing through Mexico. Interest rates are still pretty high and I think it's hard to get loans.
As for the vacant high-rises, to what do you refer? I've mostly noticed a lot of vacant and decrepit mid-rise buildings, but have assumed that they were damaged by the quake, but for whatever reason not torn down.
Saludos,
KG
I too have only driven through Santa Fe on the highway heading to points west. I have to laugh when I see people on the Trip Advisor Forum ask if Santa Fe is a good location for a visit to Mexico City. According to Alejandro, it is also "snob city".
DeleteAs for vacant buildings, I don't know if you would consider it high rise or mid-rise, but there is one empty building on Insurgentes not too far from here that I don't think was abandoned due to the earthquake. There is also that triangular skyscraper up by Tlatelolco (I'm sure you've seen it) that was vacated due to financial troubles. It is now so deteriorated that it is no longer usable.
Saludos!
I certainly wouldn't want a two or three hour each way commute to work. And yet, I was amazed at how many people in Mexico City consider that sort of trek to be completely normal.
DeleteYou're referring to Torre Insignia, I imagine. There were often plans to regenerate it. Nothing's ever happened. It's a shame. I rather like the towe. I guess it's main problem is that it's rather at the wrong end of Reforma.
Deletehttp://garydenness.co.uk/2010/10/15/towering-desolation/
Yes, I did some research on the internet, and Torre Insignia is the name of the office tower.
DeleteWhen I first started teaching, I had a 50 minute commute, and I thought that was bad. I cannot imagine spending 2 or 3 in Mexico City traffic coming and going on a daily basis. In fact, I cannot imagine driving in Mexico City at all!!