Who would have guessed that Vetro, a 31-story, 232-unit tower at 611 S Wells St, would be one of the most talked-about towers of 2009? Due largely to a much-publicized condo auction in March, Vetro has become the symbol of the South Loop's burst bubble. In more than one instance, the auction and the price cuts that followed convinced other condo developers to follow suit with reductions of their own. Even now, almost four months after the auction, sales managers in the South Loop, West Loop, and River North still reference "the Vetro effect" in conversation.

Vetro's price cuts may have been a boon for buyers, but they must have been a hard pill for developer / architect Thomas Roszak to swallow. According to Crain's, seven of Roszak's companies, including Roszak / ADC, have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a route that most likely will lead to liquidation instead of reorganization. Roszak has assets of $1 million to $10 million and liabilities of $50 million to $100 million, according to the article.

Although the filings do not include the LLC formed to develop Vetro, documents suggest a bankruptcy petition for that company is imminent.

While he's not the first Chicago-area developer to file for bankruptcy in the past two years, "Roszak is likely the first developer with a big downtown project to file for personal bankruptcy in the current downturn," the article states.

Baird & Warner, Vetro's exclusive broker, currently has two two-bedroom / 2.5-baths with 1,343 to 1,924 square feet, listed from the $370s to $570s, and one 2,000 square-foot, three-bedroom / three-bath penthouse listed in the $580s.

Two resales are also listed: a 1,343 square-foot two-bedroom priced in the $460s, and a 2,079 square-foot one-bedroom priced in the $840s.

"They don't think there's anything they can do to help themselves. They're embarrassed. They think they have to dish out thousands of dollars for an attorney, and they can't do that, so they just walk away."

- Luz Ruiz-Echandy, a Harris Bank employee who tutors consumers on their finances, telling the Southtown Star how many Cook County residents who face foreclosure feel they have no options to fight it. However, the county, facing a growing number of foreclosure cases, is giving borrowers a chance to negotiate with their lender's attorney or representative to try to rework their loan terms. Homeowners don't need a lawyer in a foreclosure case. There is an appearance fee of $188, but defendants can seek a financial hardship waiver.

According to Action Now, a Chicago-based nonprofit group, of the 25,561 of last year's 27,653 foreclosure judgments in Cook County were by default, meaning the borrower never showed up in court.

Aqua's condo floors are just now getting their studs and drywall, but many of the tower's apartments have been ready for occupancy since May. I hadn't planned to look at the rental floors during my visit on Monday, but NNP Residential Marketing Manager Deanna Bennett was kind enough to give me an impromptu tour of three 27th-floor apartments before I left.

More than 30 percent of Aqua's 474 apartments are already under lease, and about a quarter are already occupied, Bennett says. Rental units at the tower, located at 225 N Columbus Dr on the New East Side, include studios and convertibles with 564 to 681 square feet, priced from $1,478 to $1,940 a month; one-bedroom / one-baths with 734 to 854 square feet, priced from $1,964 to $2,374 a month; and two-bedroom / two-baths with 1,160 square feet, priced from $3,006 to $3,111 a month.

Utilities including heat, air conditioning, water, gas, Internet, and television are covered by a monthly utility / service amenity fee. Tenants must pay a $450 move-in fee and a $50 application fee prior to moving in. Reserved parking spaces are $305 a month; unreserved parking is $245 a month. Residents with cats and dogs must pay additional, non-refundable fees.

Renters at Aqua have access to the same amenities that are open to the building's condo owners, such as the building's recreation deck, three pools, running track, fitness center, spa, business and game rooms, lounges, and party suites.

Check back later this week for video from Aqua's apartments, its outdoor terrace and indoor amenities, and the neighboring Parkhomes at Lakeshore East.

The project cost for the two-tower high-rise at 600 Lake Shore Drive was about $300 million. Alan Lev, Belgravia Group's President, invited me to an old-fashioned mortgage burning ceremony to celebrate the project's paying off its debt

Joining us were Buzz Ruttenberg, Belgravia's Chairman, and Mike Supera and Richard Zisook, the principals of SandZ Development who were also active in the project.

To thank Lev for the invite, I presented him another real estate tradition, one that's appropriate for current market conditions if not for 600 LSD: a St Joseph statue.

Check back later for more conversaton with the developers, a look at the art at 600 LSD, a chat with a doorman, and a resident's take on the building.

"I don't think they intentionally oversold the place. I just think the adversities weren't all thought out."

- Antwan Dobson, an owner and former condo president at Westhaven Park Tower, talking to the Tribune about the same "class clash" between the mixed-income building's condo owners and CHA residents that Chicago Public Radio covered earlier this month.

Answer: Not a lot. There's a construction trailer on site, but no equipment and no signs of progress beyond the demolition of the old Columbus Hospital. They do, however, have a construction fence fit for a top-shelf Lincoln Park development.

I'm amazed at how rarely Aqua shows up in my downtown panoramas. Whether I shoot an arc from Buckingham Fountain, the Shedd Aquarium, The Legacy at Millennium Park, or Six North Michigan, the Aon Center and the newly expanded Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower never fail to block my sight-lines to Magellan Development's new tower.

Others have noticed this, too, and it's led to a lot of speculation about the quality of Aqua's views. As you can see from these pictures and the video I posted yesterday, the tower's positioning along Columbus Drive means residents have an unobstructed view of Millennium Park, and the buildings lining the north and east sides of Lakeshore East are short enough and spaced well enough to ensure a clear view of the lake, the river, and Navy Pier.

Buyers on the building's north and west sides will also have an impressive view of the northern half of the Loop and most of River North and Streeterville.

The news peg for the latest Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Home Price Indices is that the decline in home values may be slowing. "April … marked the third straight month both (the 10-city and 20-city) indexes didn't set record price declines," the Associated Press reports, "and yearly losses in 13 metros improved compared to March."

Locally, the April 2009 report reflects the same trend we always notice: Condo values in the Chicago market haven't fallen as far or as fast as the city's overall home market in the past quarter or year. The only noticeable change in Chicago's numbers lately are the year-over year declines, which have matched or exceeded the declines in Case-Shiller's 10-city and 20-city indices for two straight months after consistently performing better than the national averages month in and month out.

Listed below are the changes in home value from April 2008 to April 2009, as well as changes from January '08 to April '09 and March '09 to April '09 (with seasonally adjusted values in parentheses):

Chicago overall home values:

• Year-over-year: -18.7 percent
• Quarter-on-quarter: -6.5 percent (-6 percent)
• Month-to-month: No change (No change)

Chicago condo values:

• Year-over-year: -13.5 percent
• Quarter-on-quarter: -5.9 percent (-5.6 percent)
• Month-to-month: -0.8 percent (-0.8 percent)

10-city home values:

• Year-over-year: -18 percent
• Quarter-on-quarter: -4.8 percent (-4.8 percent)
• Month-to-month: -0.7 percent (-1 percent)

20-city home values:

• Year-over-year: -18.1 percent
• Quarter-on-quarter: -4.9 percent (-4.9 percent)
• Month-to-month: -0.6 percent (-0.9 percent)

Case-Shiller’s 10-city index calculates values from the Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., metro areas. The 20-city index comprises those areas, plus the Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, and Tampa metro areas.

I hit a handful of open houses across town this weekend, one of which was this new three-flat with ground level retail space at 2208 W Chicago Ave in the Ukrainian Village.

North Clybourn Group agent Richard Kewitz spoke with me about what makes the property stand out: the sizes of the units (each are over 1,800 square feet), the fact that they have both rear and front balconies, and their prime location on Chicago Avenue just west of Damen Avenue.

The units aren't finished yet, but Kewitz said only one unit remains on the market, a three-bedroom / two-bath priced in the $420s.

The property is in the middle of much Chicago Avenue's nightlife and is just two blocks west of the Dominick's at Chicago and Damen. It's not within a close walk of any CTA rail lines, but the Chicago bus runs frequently and intersects with the Blue Line just down the street at Chicago and Milwaukee Avenue.

The skies are cloudy now, but it was a great morning to get up into Aqua. Leila Zammatta, vice president of sales for Magellan Development, and Todd Wendell, project manager for Loewenberg Architects, took me on a tour of Aqua's terrace and amenities, located on the tower's second and third floors, but the real treat was our trip to the 58th floor (the first of the tower's 23 condo-only floors), where we took in the views from the wrap-around balconies of the southeast- and northwest-corner units.

Sixteen of Aqua's 264 condos are still available, Zammatta says. The eight homes currently listed on Magellan's Web site range from a one-bedroom priced in the $470s to a three-bedroom priced at $1.24 million. Apartment tenants started moving into Aqua's apartments in mid-May; the tower's first condos will be ready for occupancy in October.

Check back later this week for more video and pictures from Aqua's amenity levels and apartments, and a peek inside Magellan's Parkhomes at Lakeshore East.