<P> As Sears continued to offer optimistic projections for growth , the tower 's proposed floor count rapidly increased into the low hundreds , surpassing the height of New York 's unfinished World Trade Center to become the world 's tallest building . The height was restricted by a limit imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) to protect air traffic . The financing of the tower was provided by the Sears company . It was topped with two antennas to permit local television and radio broadcasts . Sears and the City of Chicago approved the design , and the first steel was put in place in April 1971 . The structure was completed in May 1973 . The construction cost about US $150 million at the time , equivalent to $830 million in 2018 . By comparison , Taipei 101 , built in 2004 in Taiwan , cost around the equivalent of US $2.21 billion in 2018 dollars . </P>
<P> As Sears continued to offer optimistic projections for growth , the tower 's proposed floor count rapidly increased into the low hundreds , surpassing the height of New York 's unfinished World Trade Center to become the world 's tallest building . The height was restricted by a limit imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) to protect air traffic . The financing of the tower was provided by the Sears company . It was topped with two antennas to permit local television and radio broadcasts . Sears and the City of Chicago approved the design , and the first steel was put in place in April 1971 . The structure was completed in May 1973 . The construction cost about US $150 million at the time , equivalent to $830 million in 2018 . By comparison , Taipei 101 , built in 2004 in Taiwan , cost around the equivalent of US $2.21 billion in 2018 dollars . </P>
how much did it cost to build the sears tower
how much did it cost to build the sears tower
about US $150 million at the time , equivalent to $830 million in 2018
about US $150 million at the time , equivalent to $830 million in 2018