Nearly six years ago Crain’s Chicago Business cited The Sterling, 345 N LaSalle St, as the “condo foreclosure capital of Chicago.” Ninety-five foreclosures had been filed in the 389-unit building, according to Crain’s.
Three months later, in an article on the prevalence of foreclosures in American Invsco-sponsored condo conversions, Crain’s reported that there had been 57 foreclosures at The Sterling. No explanation was offered for the discrepancy, which wasn’t noted in the article. One foreclosure defendant was Nicholas V. Gouletas, son of American Invsco founder Nicholas S. Gouletas.
Values in the building plummeted, and a high percentage of the units were renter-occupied. Units have resold fairly readily lately and prices appear to have recovered somewhat from their lows.
The Sterling is a full-amenity building, with a strong River North location – and the only private tennis courts in the neighborhood.
Back in 2008 a knowledgeable observer of the condo market suggested to Crain’s that “there’s absolutely no reason in the world that that building should not do well over the long term…” Has the long term arrived, or is The Sterling still years away from becoming a sterling place to buy?