July 15, 2010 – Even architects aren’t immune to the effects of the slow Chicago real estate market. Well-known Lucien Lagrange has decided to retire and has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for his firm, according to a recent Crain’s report. The main reason for the bankruptcy filing being coupled with his retirement was to keep from being personally overwhelmed with debt that his company has accumulated, the article states.

Mr. Lagrange has designed many of the Chicago condo towers that have been constructed over the past twenty years. But he said in the article that he was doubtful that any new major Chicago condo developments would begin again for at least another five years. At age 69 he also debated whether or not he would be up for a major project that far in the future. “I could maybe survive the economy downturn, but what’s the point?” he was quoted as saying.

Bankruptcy paperwork filed states that his design firm has assets between $1 and $10 million with liabilities adding up to about the same total. He told Crain’s that, “Retiring, there would be a lot of liabilities are on my back. I can’t just walk away. Chapter 11 gives you a chance to plan ahead, organize and close in a decent way.”

Some of the best-known high-rise projects that Mr. Lagrange designed include the Park Tower, 840 North Lake Shore Drive, Ritz-Carlton Residences, Lincoln Park 2520, Ten East Delaware and the scrapped X/O Condominiums.

If you’re a fan of Mr. Lagrange’s work, you can find more information about the Chicago condos he has designed as well as other Downtown Chicago Condos in our development pages.

Technorati Tags: Ritz-Carlton Residences, Downtown Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate

June 18, 2010 - For those of you who purchased Chicago condos in time to qualify for the $8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit but need a little more time to close, you may be in luck. The original deadlines for the tax credit were to have a sales contract signed by April 30th and close by June 30th. But the Senate has approved a three month extension for closings. The new deadline is now September 30th.

This extension was proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and was approved by a vote of 60-37 last week. The extension is only valid for buyers who did get a contract signed by the original April 30th deadline.

According to data released by the Federal Housing Administration, around 180,000 buyers would most likely miss the June 30th closing deadline due to difficulty in securing home financing for their purchase.

This extension should help many who purchased Chicago real estate for the first time and are finding that locking in a mortgage can be difficult to do under a deadline.

Technorati Tags: First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate

May 18, 2010 – If you didn’t get a chance to see the elaborate NBC Tower 18th floor sales office and full model for the Chicago Spire, you probably never will now. Spire developer Garrett Kelleher and his Shelbourne Development Group were served an eviction notice last year in August after supposedly not paying rent from April 2009 forward on the sales center. According to a Crain’s report, that eviction suit was settled and Shelbourne has closed the office and will handle sales from Shelbourne’s office on Wacker Drive in Chicago. Although the landlord claimed that $316,000 in back rent was owed, a judgement for $55,000 was ordered but voided with Shelbourne leaving the space, according to the article.

Any potential buyers will now only get to view three-dimensional computer models instead of the real thing, according to a Tribune article. The old sales center cost $10 million to build, $350,000 of which the NBC Tower landlords contributed. The full-floor sales center model was designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, who also designed the Spire.

Developer Garrett Kelleher insists that this Chicago real estate project isn’t closed and a spokeswoman for Shelbourne told the Tribune that, “He’s being smart. If you’re in a situation where things are slowing down, you need to consolidate and you need to be smart. Clearly the economy has been tough and he’s had to focus on areas of his portfolio that are doing well.”

The Chicago Spire may never make it out of the hole it’s in, both literally and figuratively, but there are many other luxury Chicago condos already built and showing price reductions if you’re in the market to buy.

Technorati Tags: Chicago Spire, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate