Rokas International Inc., developer of the under-construction Motor Row Condominiums, 2300 S. Michigan Ave., is the target of a suit filed by a financing consultant over unpaid bills, according to an article in Crain’s.
Sedgwick Properties Development Corp., a condo developer that also does consulting work, filed a lawsuit last week in Cook County Circuit Court alleging breach of contract against [Andrius] Augunas, his company Rokas International Inc., and the firm that provided Motor Row’s construction loan, Pasadena, Calif.-based IndyMac Bank.
The lawsuit is certainly unwelcome news, but the article goes on to describe a troubling discrepancy in the number of units sold.
In April, the project had 42 units under contract, according to a report by Appraisal Research Counselors. That is eight more than IndyMac required to issue the construction loan.
But in October, the number of sales had dropped to just 20, according to Appraisal Research figures, which developers and brokers provide voluntarily.
We’ve written extensively about the full-throttle development going on in Motor Row, but it remains to be seen how the ongoing developments there will weather the softening market.