Over the past few months, tidibits have been accumulating about the fate of Rokas International and the developer’s South Loop projects. Lawsuits, foreclosures and a potential immigration hangup have resulted to several moribund projects and a local development firm in disarray, according to David Roeder in today’s Sun-Times.
“He’s a very nice guy and doesn’t come off as a crook, but his situation got much worse,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, an architect who designed Augunas’ Motor Row Condominium project that was started at 2300 S. Michigan. “Desperate people do desperate things.”
Records show several mortgages and lines of credit are attached to Augunas’ home in Winnetka. Calls to his home weren’t answered, and Augunas has set his cell phone to block incoming calls.
His immigration status is unknown. In 2006, Augunas sued the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of himself and his family, saying it hadn’t acted on their applications for permanent residency. The case was later settled.
YoChicago has kept tabs on Rokas International’s South Loop projects, including Motor Row Condominiums at 2300 S Michigan Ave and 2100 (still a bare patch of ground) at 2100 S Indiana Ave.