Mexico City Joins the Skyscraper Race

It’s not just China, Malaysia, Dubai and New York battling for the world’s coolest skyscrapers anymore. Now, ladies and gentlemen, Mexico City joins the party.

The center of Ciudad de Mexico should be home to Latin America’s tallest skyscraper in 2010, which is the 200th anniversary of Mexico’s Independence. The developer, Grupo Danhos, hired the Dutch star architect, Rem Koolhaas to design the 300m (900ft) tall Torre Bicentenario (Bicentenary Tower).

The development, however, is getting dramatic with some claiming it is simply illegal. IHT reports that the legal core of the debate is the site’s zoning, which is now limited to commercial buildings of just five stories. The site cost the developer just $18 million, far less than if zoned for a high-rise.

Needless to say, the taller the buildings, the higher the bribes.