Dec. 29--After a few weeks' delay, the Trump International Hotel & Tower on Friday received a city permit to occupy the 339-unit hotel portion of the approximately $775 million project.

"We're glad to have this done and excited to get the hotel up and running," said Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of development and acquisitions for the Trump Organization, developer of the 92-story project.

The certificate applies to the space that starts four levels underground and rises to the 23rd floor, said Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for the Chicago Department of Buildings, which issued the permit.

The permit signifies that construction has been completed on the hotel portion of the tower designed by Chicago architects Skidmore Owings & Merrill. Construction on the rest of the building should be completed by summer 2009, Trump Jr. said.

With the permit, Trump could begin closing deals on the condo-hotel units in about a month.

Trump will alert buyers that their units are ready and will give them three weeks to close on the approximately 220 units they have agreed to purchase.

Given today's trying credit and real estate markets, industry observers will be watching to see how many buyers follow through to buy the condominium hotel suites.

The Trump International Hotel & Tower is the first of several hotel-condo projects to move toward completion. If sales fizzle, it could affect other similar projects around the city.

The Trump team previously acknowledged the potential for no-shows, but said there had been no signs of purchasers backing out.

The planned Dec. 3 opening was delayed because the City of Chicago said some fire-safety work needed to be completed.

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sdiesenhouse@tribune.com

In the Web edition

See live images and timelapse video of the Trump building under construction at chicagotribune.com/trump

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