It is where the first skyscraper was conceived, but these days in Chicago the construction of tall buildings is going belly-up.

According to this report by Bloomberg, property tycoon Donald Trump has run into trouble with his Trump International Hotel and Tower as demand for apartments slump.

Trump has had to ask his bankers for extra time to repay a loan used to finance the 92-storey Trump International Hotel and Tower (pics here).

He's also had a tough time lining up contracts with tenants.

"The market in Chicago is very bad at the moment," admitted Trump to Bloomberg.

And construction of the 150m high Chicago Spire - to be the tallest building in America - is in doubt after parties associated with its' design served lawsuits on the developers.

Shelbourne Development Group has admitted work onsite has slowed and will not resume normal activity until the market picks up again.

In this economic climate it can't bode well when the home of tall buildings is struggling to keep them going up.