While I too would like to make derogatory remarks about unions, regulations, hippies, and the rest of our society that seem to make a living off of inhibiting progress ...

The truth of the matter is that this is bullshit. The "hotel in 2 weeks" story already appeared on HN and was thoroughly discredited. This doesn't seem much more plausible.

In the end, if you want the building to stand for more than a year or two, it will take a certain amount of engineering, effort, and time to do it. The Empire State Building took more than a year to build. That sounds about right for any skyscraper, even with our more advanced tech.