“The cheapest thing to do is to sit and wait it out. The type of buyer they have will be there when the market is better.”
Jameson Development principal Harry Huzenis, offering some advice to the developers of the proposed Lincoln Park 2520.
According to Crain’s, Ricker-Murphy Development plans to both reduce the number of homes at the Lucien Lagrange-designed high-rise by almost a third, from 292 to 198, and reduce the height of the building’s central tower from 41 stories to 33.
The changes could allow Ricker-Murphy to complete Lincoln Park 2520, 2520 N Lakeview Ave, by late 2011, as required by the contracts signed for approximately half of the project’s units, Crain’s reports. The developer will still need about $200 million in construction loans to execute the revised plan; a $28.75 million loan on the site is set to mature next month.
The reduction in units raises the amount sold to about 74 percent, but several of the homes slated for elimination are already spoken for, meaning the project actually could lose buyers. Even if it can retain all its current buyers, Ricker-Murphy is unlikely to get a construction loan with three-quarters of its homes under contract.
Joe, Jeremy, and I visited the Lincoln Park 2520 site last month. Here’s what we saw: