March 28, 2009 – Work on the ultra-luxurious Chicago condos in the Palmolive Building took a notoriously long time, with the renovation and customization of the 100 condos starting in 2003 and lasting several years. Chicago real estate developer Draper and Kramer has been in arbitration with Pepper Construction Group over a $28.6 million lawsuit filed in 2007. Draper and Kramer fired Pepper that year, contending that the company was taking too long to finish the work. Pepper then fired back with the lawsuit and the dispute hasn’t been settled yet.

But now D&K has filed a new lawsuit, this time against Booth Hansen, Ltd., who also did work on Palmolive. This is in response to claims made by Pepper Construction that their interior work was delayed because of Booth. According to a Crain’s report, D&K filed to be sure, “that Palmolive be entitled to judgment against Booth Hansen for any sum it is required to pay Pepper Construction and for its defense costs and expenses.” But if the arbitration finds in favor of D&K, chances are they won’t go after Booth.

In a celebrity note, you may remember that actor Vince Vaughn purchased the penthouse suite at Palmolive for about $12 million. And while you won’t be able to live there, you will be able to rent his high-end luxury townhome in River North. Rubloff is handling marketing for the four bedroom, 3.5 bath townhome and you can lease it for a mere $9,500 per month. If you want him to leave his furniture, it will cost a little extra. He originally bought the home in 2005 for $1.45 million and like his Palmolive condo, has no plans to sell.

If that is a little out of your budget, you can find plenty of other high quality Townhouses in Chicago.

[tags]Palmolive Building, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

March 27, 2009 – Besides the $86.7 million in liens and the recent bailout of the Shangri-La Hotel chain, the Waterview Tower has a new set of problems to contend with. Due to a number of building code violations, the city of Chicago is suing developer Teng and Associates. Crain’s reports that at least 9 citations were issued because of code complaints and violations.

One of those violations brought by city inspectors was for “failing to maintain the shell in a structurally safe and stable condition.” This was due to the apparent unsafe state of a concrete slab atop the concrete shell of a parking garage which was the only construction that made it above ground on the 111 Wacker Drive project. The stability of a crane that was left there was also called into question. Teng supplied a structural engineer’s report and consented to take down the crane within 90 days if construction doesn’t resume on the tower. As for the concrete slab, that will be decided in a court hearing next Thursday.

There were more violations issued for the “vacant abandoned construction site,” including standing water pooled in the basement of the structure and safety fencing that was inadequate. Those problems have since been fixed, however. A representative for the city told Crain’s that, “The developer has been cooperative and substantially compliant with the court orders.”

With so many liens, no financial support and now the city getting aggressive about the unfinished site, Teng may be forced to make a decision soon and take action. Construction sites with partially finished Chicago real estate projects are becoming more of an issue for both the city and residents of Downtown Chicago Condos located nearby.

[tags]Waterview Tower, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

March 26, 2009 – Evanston’s ever so controversial Church Street tower may have lost several stories during the two year push by Klutznick-Fisher Development Company and Focus Development, but the project finally won approval from the City Council. The Evanston Mini-Spire, as it was nicknamed, was originally planned as a 49 story high-rise. With recently enacted height limitations and a revised building plan submitted, the tower is now shortened to 35 stories. Once constructed though it will not only be the tallest building in Evanston, but in the Chicago suburbs as well. Currently the tallest suburban building is the Oakbrook Tower at 31 stories.

The vote was 6 to 3 in favor of giving a green light for the tower to be constructed, according to a CBS 2 Chicago news report. Alderman Cheryl Wollin told CBS that because of zoning laws, allowing this tower to be built won’t set a precedent for even taller towers, which was a concern for many opposing residents. Wollin also pointed out the advantages of the project. “It will bring in new retail, new residents and really develop a corner of town that is ripe for redevelopment.”

One of the stipulations of giving approval for the tower is that no demolition at the 708 Church Street site can start until the developers have financing for the project secured. The developers of this suburban Chicago condo project have previously stated that they don’t expect to start marketing and construction until at least 2010, and the most recent timetable is that construction will begin sometime in the next 5 years. While most Chicago real estate developers are scaling back on projects, we may start to see more who are laying plans for Pre Construction Condos in Chicago to launch once the housing market rebounds.

[tags]Church Street Tower, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

March 25, 2009 – For Rainbo Village, there doesn’t seem to be a pot of gold at the end of this Chicago real estate development but rather another foreclosure suit. The latest legal action against the partially constructed project that was to contain a mix of 127 condos and townhomes is now the focus of a $24.2 million foreclosure suit from AmTrust Bank, according to a Crain’s report. Additionally, the foreclosure suit also names as defendants about 10 contractors who have filed liens against the project, including architects Pappageorge Haymes.

The lawsuit claims that Rainbo developer Metropolitan Development Enterprises Inc. out of Skokie missed a July 2008 deadline to pay back the construction loan. This isn’t the first legal action taken against the project. In 2004 another suit was filed for a $4.9 loan taken out to purchase the building site on North Clark Street. That suit was settled and work on the first phase of two buildings on 4814 and 4846 North Clark began in 2005.

Those two buildings contained 88 Chicago condos and were sold as the Kinetic Condos. Crain’s states that about 12 of those units are still for sale, and the most recent purchases were made by buyers in December 2008. Original plans for Rainbo Village included a cluster of townhomes and duplexes as well as a retail portion, but the project never progressed that far. The one to two bedroom condos were being sold from the low $200,000s to $400,000s.

While the townhome portion of Rainbo Village doesn’t appear likely to be built at this point, you can still find plenty of other developments with Townhouses in Chicago that are ready for occupancy.

[tags]Rainbo Village, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

March 24, 2009 – We have an update to our blog post yesterday about news that several construction unions were considering pooling their pension funds to restart work on the stalled Chicago Spire. More information was made public today in an article in the Chicago Tribune. It seems that Shelbourne Developments is meeting to day with representatives of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trusts to continue talks that first began in January.

Although both sides agree that these negotiations are in the very early stages, a deal could prove to be extremely beneficial to both sides. Tom Villanova, who is president of the Chicago and Cook County Building Trades Council summed his side’s view in a few sentences.

“The main thing is jobs. We can use our own funds to benefit members. The Spire is going to be five years of construction, which is just phenomenal for us. It’s thousands of jobs,” he told the Tribune. If the deal works out, it would mean that the Spire would be built only by union workers. Already Shelbourne spokeswoman Kim Metcalfe used the phrase “Made in America” to describe the project.

She said in the article that, “We’re exploring all of the financial options with the economy as challenging as it is, but clearly this is long-term. We continue to actively market the building. Clearly, the construction of the building is on pause, but nothing else about the building has stopped.”

If the two sides can reach an agreement, it would at the very least put an end to the speculation about what to do with a 110 foot wide and 76 foot deep hole in the ground on Lake Shore Drive. And with credit continuing to be tight, Chicago real estate developers may have to get used to looking for financing from different sources if they want to build high-rise Chicago Condos.

[tags]Chicago Spire, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

March 23, 2009 – There hasn’t been much news lately about the Chicago Spire, only speculation about whether or not the 150 story high-rise will ever actually be built. The crater-sized 76 foot deep foundation hole is also a topic of concern among local residents who fear the $1 billion Chicago real estate project will remain stalled for a long time. But a recent article in Crain’s states that a new effort is being launched to raise capital to get construction on the 2,000 foot tower started again.

According to the report, because Shelbourne Development is still unable to get any financing for the tower, a group of construction unions are in talks to possible pool and invest their pension funds to raise money for the project. Construction work on the Chicago Spire is estimated to generate 1 million paydays for skilled labor such as carpenters and ironworkers, the article said. We’ll have to wait and see if the prospect of investing in future work if enough to convince these unions to gamble on their pensions.

Many developers are in a holding pattern when it comes to new projects, and unemployment in the construction industry is currently at 21.4% according to the Laborers’ International Union of North America. Defaults on construction loans for developers have also increased for the past 10 quarters, up to 15%. Appraisal Research Counselors states that in the last quarter, there were more canceled Chicago condo contracts than there were sales, with buyers willing to walk away from $10,000 deposits rather than close on contracts. And even when prospective buyers find a good deal on Cheap Chicago Condos, it’s often very difficult to qualify for a home loan or mortgage.

[tags]Chicago Spire, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

March 21, 2009 – The curtains may finally be drawn on Glashaus, judging from the looks of the construction site. The 25 story 262 unit South Loop project never made it past the foundation work and now the site on 1327 South Wabash seems to be abandoned as well as the sales center not fielding any more calls. This can’t be good news to those who put earnest money down on one of the pre-construction Chicago condos in this development.

Back in January of this year Crain’s ran an article about Chicago real estate projects that were either delayed, on hold or close to being scrapped due to slow sales and lack of financing. Among those listed, Glashaus had several vocal dissatisfied buyers who claimed they had been trying to get their money back from developer Piedmont Group for some time and to no avail.

A Mr. Manish Shah was interviewed in the article and stated that in late 2006 he had put down $24,000 towards a $440,000 two bedroom condo in the building with the assurance that the unit would be delivered in the later half of 2008. By October 2008 Glashaus still wasn’t constructed and the developer sent Mr. Shah and other buyers a letter stating that construction time tables had to be pushed back and deliveries would now be in late 2010. At that time Mr. Shah had still not been able to get his deposit back and told Crain’s that, “The money that’s locked up is opportunity lost,” he says. “I’ve been trying to get out of (the contract), but I can’t.”

Without a drop dead clause in a condo contract, buyers may assume they have no recourse if their Pre Construction Condos in Chicago doesn’t deliver in a reasonable amount of time. But a law was passed in 1968 called the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act. It states that for any condo development with more than 99 units the builder has to file a report with HUD stating that they will deliver units within 2 years and a copy of this must be given to each buyer before a sales contract is signed. If 2 years pass with no condo delivery, the buyer then has 2 years to break the contract and possibly get all of his or her deposit back.

[tags]Glashaus, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

March 20, 2009 – For some time now The Kopley Group has been advertising a two year buy back guarantee on one of their Chicago real estate loft developments, Renaissance Lofts. If for any reason during the first two years after purchasing a unit in one of those projects you decide you don’t want it anymore, they will buy that Chicago condo loft back at the original price with no questions asked. Now Kopley is throwing in another pretty large incentive at Lofts at 1800 for the first 45 people who make a VIP registration and then a purchase. Once you do so, you can have your pick of either a new free Suzuki car or $20,000 worth of furnishings, according to a press release in the Tribune.

The development is located on 1800 West Grace Street and contains a mix of 91 one to three bedroom, one to two bath units. The one bedroom lofts are priced from the $263,500s up while the two bedroom lofts start in the $359,900 range. The bigger three bedroom condo lofts are priced from the $759,900s and up. Prospective buyers will be able to tour three furnished models that are set to open by the end of this month and first deliveries are expected to start sometime towards the middle of this summer.

The Lofts at 1800 come with high ceilings, some as tall as 15′, exposed timbers, double pane windows, stainless steel kitchen appliances from Bosche, washer and dryer, hardwood flooring, custom lighting, European cabinetry and baths with marble, porcelain tile and a 6′ Whirlpool tub. Residents will also have a fitness center, indoor parking, bike storage and roof top sun deck with BBQ stations.

For more great Chicago lofts, be sure to visit the Chicago Condo Lofts section.

[tags]Lofts at 1800, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

March 19, 2009 – Not every Chicago real estate developer is eager to jump on the auction bandwagon despite the much advertised success of the 45 Vetro units that were sold in about two hours. There has been a lot of speculation as to whether or not prices of other unsold Chicago condos would be lowered or more auctions would follow. But developers of several well-known buildings are holding firm on prices and make no apologies for it, according to a recent Tribune article.

One example is Emerald, the two 12 story towers on 123 South Green Street in the West Loop. Senco Properties put out a press release just a few days ago stating that, “unlike other projects where a struggling economy has forced prices to be slashed,” their condos are maintaining their value and original pricing. They confirmed that several sales have been made since February and that prices on the units were “frozen.” This is an effort that Senco as well as several other developers are using to assure both current condo owners in the buildings as well as prospective buyers that their homes won’t suddenly be devalued by price slashing or auction rates.

The 212 units at Emerald are about 62% sold and Joe Dupor, sales manager, express total confidence to the Tribune about the development. “People don’t even believe it when you’re doing well. Look, we’re not kidding. We’re doing well. We’re negotiating but it’s not any deep discounts, and it’s helped us.”

Besides the recent condo sales, the retail portion of Emerald is also filling up. Joining the Fifth Third Bank and Starbucks will be a T-Mobile store and GameStop.

The remaining condos for sale are a mix of one to two bedrooms and baths with from 765 to 1,297 square feet and are priced from the $270,000s to the $620,000s. parking is another $35,000 and assessments are estimated from about $225 to $345.

So while some developers may continue to lower prices to make sales, others plan on winning buyers by guaranteeing the value of their Chicago Condos.

[tags]Emerald, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]

March 18, 2009 – It’s probably lights out for the proposed 107 story mixed-use Streeterville high-rise that was to be anchored by a Waldorf Astoria hotel. Chicago real estate developer Christopher Carley of the Fordham Co. has defaulted on a $38.2 million loan that came due January 3rd and the lender, Fred Kummer, has now filed a foreclosure suit. The $42.8 million suit includes interest and fees accumulated on the loan, according to an article in Crain’s. Carley had already been hit with a $711,000 suit filed by architects DeStefano & Partners for their design work on the tower.

Carley had told Crain’s in a recent interview that he was in negotiations to work out a new agreement for the loan and that the tower might be pushed back a couple of years. But Kummer, who not only issued the loan but interestingly was also the seller of the property, said that the two parties were unable to reach an agreement and that, “It reached the point where we just had to settle the issue.”

As for current steals and deals, Printer’s Corner has inked out a new chapter in their efforts to sell out the remaining Chicago condos in the 170 West Polk Street project. With just under 20 units left, the developer had been advertising “Live Free for Six Months” for the next 10 buyers. With that deal, a buyer could pick either a rate buy down of as much as 1.25% on a fixed 30 year loan or have 6 months of principle, taxes, condo association fees and interest paid for them. Now Winthrop Properties is throwing in the offer of buying out your lease if you are renting somewhere and want to purchase a condo at Printer’s Corner. You have to contact the sales team for specific details. Prices for the remaining one to two bedroom units run from the low $300,000s to high $400,000s.

Other developers have tried the lease buyout incentive before, although no one has confirmed how successful a marketing tool it is. And if you aren’t ready to make a purchase right now, you may want to explore the option of Rent to own condos in Chicago.

[tags]Printers Corner, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate[/tags]