(Image Source: InTempo)
BY JASMINE BAILEY
If you're looking to be one of the first to visit Spain's almost completed 47-story skyscraper
— don't forget your walking shoes, because someone forgot the elevator.
The building, InTempo — one of Europe's tallest residential high rises — was meant
to represent an economic turnaround for the county and be a "Standard for the Future."
(Via KGTV)
But as El País puts it, it has now become "the story of a cluster of incompetence."
"Designers say the condo was initially meant to be 20-stories high but when they decided
to move skyward developers neglected to reconfigure their plans." (Via KFSN)
With 94 percent of the structure finished — the architects responsible for the mess
up have resigned. But the construction woes only begin there.
New York Daily News points out the project's funding comes from Sereb — known as the
"bad bank" in Spain. A title given to banks that "focus on toxic estate assets."
"The bad banks would be entitled to bailouts from the European Union for payments of their
purchased assets that are damaged. Essentially, 'bad banks' are like real estate paper shredders."
Caixa Galicia was the initial backer of the blemished project...
...but went four months without paying workers after the elevator mishap was realized. (Via
Gizmodo)
The elevator-less apartment complex will include 269 homes — 35% of which are already sold.
As for the elevator issue — there's still no official solution.
More than likely, a series of external elevators will have to be installed — similar to those
at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles — not a cheap option for InTempo but probably beats
47 flights of stairs. (Via Flickr / Florian)