Yo's year: Whatever happened to Pure?

The Pure scandal was already in full swing by the beginning of 2009. It kicked off back in September 2008, when developer Salman Ibrahim absconded to parts unknown, leaving behind an unfinished tower at 24 S Morgan St in the West Loop and a lot of very unhappy investors.

This year opened with news that Pure would move forward without Ibrahim, with the bank-owned Pure 67 LLC finishing off the development according to its original plans. Then in May, I stumbled upon a number of huge reductions at the building, some as large as 39 percent off the original list price. That caught everyone’s attention — it was the second most popular post on YoChicago this year, according to Google Analytics.

And just like that, the listings disappeared. Readers complained that Pure’s bank was rejecting offers and raising prices. Eventually we learned that the bank couldn’t deliver buyers clear title.

In August, Mark reported that Pure was going rental, with one-bedrooms starting at $1,400 per month, two-bedrooms starting at $1,750, and three-bedrooms starting at $2,600. At that point, 12 people occupied the building — four buyers who were able to close in December and January, eight bank employees, and a construction manager.

Since then, we’ve heard nothing. I can’t find a single apartment listing on the MLS or Craigslist. Its old Web site is still alive, but it hasn’t been updated since the building’s troubles began. But as I learned last night, people definitely are living at Pure:

(Visited 111 times, 1 visits today)