July 3, 2009 - For a change today we’ve got Chicago real estate development news instead of foreclosures or liquidation auctions. Sertus Capital Partners LLC won approval from the Oak Park Village Board for a 19 story hotel condo project to be built on the corner of Forest Avenue and Lake Street, according to Crain’s. The $85 million development will be financed in part by the village donating a portion of the parcel of land at an estimated cost of $4.25 million, as well as funding a $9.8 million parking garage. The village will also foot a $500,000 operating subsidy for the first couple of years the hotel is open.

The project still had to be approved by the village plan commission. There has been some opposition to the project, mainly due to the height of the high-rise and the financial contribution of the village. If the project does win final approval, groundbreaking could take place towards the end of next year.

Michael Glazier of Sertus told Crain’s that he believes there is enough demand in the area for hotel rooms and that the Chicago condo market will be on the rebound by the time the project is trying to sell units and secure financing. “There’s a lot more work to do and a lot of uncertainty, but we’re happy we got some response on our efforts,” he said in the article.

The tower would consist of a 488 car garage, 300 of which will be public parking, 100 for hotel guests and 88 deeded for the condos. There will be between 60 and 100 condo units built atop two retail floors and then about 140 hotel units. Crain’s states that this development would be the largest one here for Sertus. The next biggest the developer has under its belt is a 140 unit, 9 story condo tower in Des Plains.

We may begin to see some smaller developers testing the waters now, hoping to be in a positing to build when the current inventory is absorbed and the market recovers. It still may be some time until we see any big Pre Construction Condos in Chicago.

Technorati Tags: Oak Park Illinois, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate

July 2, 2009 - We still may not know the status of the Lofts At Roosevelt, but we now know another business planning to open in the retail portion of this Chicago real estate development. Restaurant owner Jerry Kleiner of Carnivale, Red Light and Gioco fame announced that he will operate an upscale bar in the Kerasotes theater that is under construction at Roosevelt. According to Crain’s, the bar will be called StarBar and cater a more adult crowd.

Dean Kerasotes was quoted as saying that, “We really set out to create a more stylish design, and something with a lot of pizzazz and energy and edginess. Jerry has the ability to mix a showman’s sense of style and design to his restaurants, and at the same time provide a high-quality menu.”

The bar will be about 4,700 square feet on the mezzanine level and hold 160 guests, have entrances to premium seats in two of the sixteen theaters where up to 150 reserved seats and tables will be waiting. The bar will also have views of the theater lobby and northern city skyline. Kleiner told Crain’s that, “If you go into most movie theaters, it looks like a United Airlines terminal. We changed the whole layout _ I think it’s going to be exciting; it’s a different spin for Chicago.”

The Kerasotes theater and Starbar plan on being ready for patrons by the middle of November. The rest of the 300,000 square feet of retail at Roosevelt is now not expected to open until late 2010. As for the fate of the 342 Chicago condo lofts, Centrum Properties has yet to comment. Kerasotes and Kleiner aren’t too worried though, and believe whatever the outcome, their venture will be a success. If Roosevelt goes ahead with the original plan and delivers, it will add a significant number to the inventory of Chicago Condo Lofts.

Technorati Tags: Lofts At Roosevelt, Chicago Condo Lofts, Chicago Real Estate

July 1, 2009 - Even with the success of the Vetro auction and subsequent sales earlier this year, Chicago real estate developer Thomas Roszak has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Roszak, who is an architect himself, has between $1 million and $10 million in assets compared to $50 to $100 million in liabilities, according to a Crain’s report. With Chapter 7, his companies will most likely be liquidated. Roszak was quoted in the article as saying that filing bankruptcy was mandatory, “due to the unprecedented decline in housing values and oversupply of condos,” and that he “has not been able to achieve pricing needed to retire all outstanding loan obligations.”

The developer also recently made news because of his alleged failure to comply with the necessary modifications to his two tower, 120 unit Sienna project in Evanston after marketing the condos there as handicap accessible.

According to Appraisal Research Counselors, the combination of the March Vetro auction and price reductions on the remaining units brought the sales total in the tower up to 88%. But while the discounts generated sales, they evidently didn’t generate enough income.

“We have aggressively pursued auctions, pricing incentives and new product lines. We were close to obtaining commitments for hotel and assisted living components for our projects when the recession effectively closed down options for financing new development. Our efforts included consulting with many specialized mortgage brokers, potential joint venture partners and lenders. Given the status of our projects, the timing of the recession severely undermined our ability to wait for economic recovery,” Crain’s quoted Roszak.

Papers were also filed to insulate the developer’s projects, Sienna and Vetro, from creditors, according to the report.

Vetro was the first major development of Downtown Chicago Condos to resort to auctioning units, so we’ll have to wait and see if Roszak starts another trend with filing Chapter 7.

Technorati Tags: Vetro, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate