Comments ( 17 )

• Back when I lived in Bucktown, my wife and I would always drive past that construction site. The building overlooks one of the busier intersections in the City, along with a BP gas station.

  Without fail, I would always say “who would ever want to live there?” It got to the point that it was a running joke.

  Well, we finally have the answer– not nearly enough people to stave off foreclosure.

• At least your view of the skyline won’t be blocked thanks to the gas station (and how easy all your automobile needs would be – they should call it Jiffy View). It also looks like there is another stalled project across the street – a rehab or vacant commercial space.

• It’s a very pedestrian unfriendly intersection, no doubt.

  I used to go to Hopcats (right across from the BP) periodically, and it was a great place, good music, good food, my friends loved it, but they got zero walk-in business.

• Yes, the “streetscape” around there isn’t the greatest, but wouldn’t the view from the top floors, looking south, be a rather interesting cityscape? I used to work around there and had a very interesting panorama of “North Bucktown” from my window.

• The exterior of the building looks like crap. Some concrete is painted black (balcony areas), some is painted red (first floor retail), the roof areas is painted light green, and everything in between is left unpainted. If it was me, I would paint all the concrete one color (maybe even red). As it is now, it looks as if the developer had no plan for what the exterior should look like.

• So what happens to the people who purchased here in a situation like this where the developer is foreclosed on? Are they forced to move out? Just curious what happens in that respect…

• I hope that the van being towed out front in that photo isn’t the developers! that would really be a kick in the nuts!

• Just curious — what actually happens to a development in foreclosure? Will it be completed and sold off at firesale prices, or will it remain unfinished until someone buys the whole thing?

  I’ve been looking around at condos this fall, and have noticed a few of those midsized developments that seem to have sold VERY few of their units. I doubt this will be the last one to go under.

• Worst case scenario? Squatters. Junkies, homeless people, etc.

  Wish I was kidding.

• And then there’s the second-best case scenario: If the units don’t sell, the developer reconfigures the building as a rental until business gets better.

• This would be very problematic for a half-built project. First someone would have to finish the building, and banks don’t like acting as contractors, realtors or rental agencies.

• NOTE: the photo is more than a year old. The building is in a more complete state today.

  Jen, Michael,

  People who’ve closed and received clean title to their units are in no danger of being forced out.

  Any number of scenarios are possible for the remaining units, the most likely being that they’re liquidated at lower prices than the developer was asking.

  A building of this size can present some security risks for existing residents if it isn’t being tightly managed.

• LaSalle will most likely win the foreclosure suit.

  If they were wise, they would just sell the remaining 23 units at $250,000 a piece, get the $5,462,500 (net after the 5% realty costs) and be done with it.

• If I were an existing owner, not only would I be pissed about overpaying, but I’d be really worried about how a condo association can survive in this situation. Hello, special assessments.

• The guy next door who is converting his building into “green condos” is about to get a gut check.

• Is there anything legally-wise that could have prevented the developer from changing the unsold units from condos to rentals? If not, you’d think that the developer would have done so considering that their condo sales were so poor and that the rental market is very strong for landlords, at this point in time.

• Sir Isaac,

  No legal change is required to rent a condo unless the condo declaration prevents it, which is unlikely.