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From the Albuquerque Journal
http://www.abqjournal.com/paperboy/text/biz/112158505926biz01-11-10.htmMonday, January 11, 2010
Sandia Crest would dwarf world's tallest towerJournal Staff Report
The tallest building in the world opened last week as the latest example of mankind's "edifice complex."
The Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai is just over a half-mile tall at 2,717 feet. The Burj Khalifa is so huge, it would be out of scale no matter where it was built.
What if the Burj Khalifa was plopped down in Downtown Albuquerque?
The tower in Dubai is almost eight times taller than the Duke City's loftiest building, the 351-foot Albuquerque Plaza in Downtown.
If the 2,717-foot tower was built next to Albuquerque Plaza in Downtown, elevation about 5,000 feet, then the view from its rooftop would be on a par with that of hikers about a quarter of the way up La Luz Trail in the Sandia Mountains. The roof would be higher than the lower terminal of Sandia Peak Tramway, elevation 6,559 feet, and Elena Gallegos Picnic Area, elevation 6,500 feet.
If the 2,717-foot tower was erected in the foothills on the site of the tram's lower terminal, its roof would be about 1,000 feet short of the upper terminal's 10,378-foot elevation. The best views of the metro area and beyond would still be from Sandia Crest at 10,678 feet.
Commonly built in flat areas like a coastline and plain, super skyscrapers are coveted real estate because of the views they afford to occupants. Residential condo prices in Burj Khalifa were $2,700 a square foot at their peak in 2008, making the building the most expensive real estate in the world, but prices have since fallen by about half due to the effects of the global recession, according to media reports.