June 30, 2009 – These days we have to go across the pond so to speak to dig up any news about the stalled Chicago Spire and it’s developer, Shelbourne. The Irish Times ran a story stating that Chris O’Connell, head of Shelbourne Development’s Irish branch, decided to leave the company. The newspaper quoted O’Connell as saying that, “The traditional development market in Ireland is in suspended animation and may continue like that for a number of years.”

This comes along with news that Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency (Nama) may take control of the loan’s that Garrett Kelleher’s Shelbourne Development took out from the Anglo Irish Bank to purchase the Spire site. Nama was formed as a sort of national bank to deal with the bad loans of about six of Ireland’s most troubled banks. How that will effect the Spire remains to be seen. O’Connell told The Irish Times that, “In the short term it’s going to mean uncertainty for developers, bankers and investors alike, but it’s the key to the resurrection of this market over the next decade and its going to generate significant business opportunities at a number of different levels.”

The Irish Independent reported that a Shelbourne spokeswoman insists that the Spire is still just “on hold” and that 40% of the 1,190 Chicago condos have gone under contract. Whether Nama will hold onto the Shelbourne’s loan or make a move to take over the construction site and project is anyone’s guess. But with the size and cost of the project, along with the still sluggish market for Chicago Luxury Condos, chances are we may already know the answer.

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

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 2:52 pm and is filed under Mortgage Information.