Requiring sprinklers in Chicago’s pre-1976 office high-rises would have a dire impact on nearly 80 older office buildings, most of them in the heart of downtown, officials of a major city real estate organization said Thursday.
The buildings, all of which now have no sprinklers or partial systems, are “Class B” and “Class C” properties, with limited amenities that tend to have low rents and relatively high vacancies in a soft market, according to an analysis by the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago.
“The buildings that can least tolerate [a sprinkler requirement] will face the biggest burden,” said Ron Vukas, BOMA executive vice president. “It’s a complicated problem … and there’s not an easy solution.”
The analysis concluded that owners of the older buildings, along with those of a few modern “Class A” properties that do not have sprinklers, would have to spend more than $350 million to install new systems.
A 1975 ordinance requires sprinklers in all new buildings 80 feet high or taller. A measure introduced by Mayor Daley after the Oct. 17 fire at 69 W. Washington St. that killed six people would require all commercial high-rises built before the ordinance was passed to be sprinkler-equipped within 12 years.
Another proposal, sponsored by Ald. Edward Burke (14th), would set a five-year deadline and require sprinklers in older residential complexes, as well as in commercial towers.
———-
Compiled from RedEye news services.
