October 29, 2009 – The second Chicago real estate project that is reportedly considering converting to rental units is the Mondial, located on 900 West Huron Street. The are a total of 141 Chicago condos in the 15 story Mondial, and the tower is almost finished. Developer Jack Berger stated in a recent Crain’s article that he intends to decide whether or not to make the change to apartments by the end of this year.

In what may be a sign as to which way he is leaning, Mr. Berger has already gone as far as canceling around 50 pre-sale contracts and refunded buyer’s deposits. He was quoted in the article as saying that, “Do you think someone who has a contract for a $450,000 unit that they signed two years ago is going to close? They aren’t going to close, so why alienate the marketplace? We have to do the responsible thing.”

Another factor that will influence the fate of the Mondial is Wells Fargo Bank, which holds a $42 million construction loan that will come due the middle of next year. Mr. Berger admitted he is discussing the change with the bank and they would of course have to approve the switch to rental.

Units at the Mondial vary from one to three bedrooms and around 676 to 3,100 square feet. Pricing ran from the $230,000s to the $950,000s. The units were to have stainless steel appliances, 42″ kitchen cabinets, granite counter tops, marble baths with oversized tubs and hardwood flooring. Building amenities include a 24 hour doorman, roof top deck and indoor parking.

Developers seem to still seem to have more confidence in the rental market, even though more condos projects are switching over, more apartment towers will be completed next year and there are more Rent to own condos in Chicago right now.

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

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 6:39 pm and is filed under Mortgage Information.