Chicago Illinois Real Estate Blog

Steve Poulos’ laid-back nature is sure to be tested this year as he works to find tenants for developments and woo investors for a new fund.
Bridge Development Partners LLC, which Mr. Poulos co-founded nine years ago, has spent the past several years building projects but now is nearly halfway to its goal of amassing $60 [...]

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Simon Property Group Inc. CEO David Simon said Monday that the Indianapolis-based mall giant tried to buy some assets from rival General Growth Properties Inc. before General Growth filed for bankruptcy protection, according to a report by Bloomberg News. “They (General Growth) didn’t realize they were a distressed seller,” Mr. Simon said during a panel [...]

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Real estate auctioneer Sheldon Good & Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday, citing “improper actions” taken by former chairman and CEO Steven Good, who committed suicide in January.
The company said in a statement it is “reorganizing to remedy the effects of improper actions taken by its former chairman. These improprieties, which left the [...]

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A suburban homebuilder’s bid at an urban condo project is apparently ending in foreclosure, as a north suburban bank has sued to collect almost $13.5 million on a 49-unit development in Evanston.
The foreclosure case is believed to be the first filed against a large completed condo project in Evanston, where the once-thriving market has slowed, [...]

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Competition in some rental markets is pushing landlords to offer increasingly creative concessions to tenants, such as free rent for a month or two, and even job-loss protection that guarantees the rent will be paid if tenants lose their jobs.
A new survey by a real estate research company confirms that landlords nationwide are being forced [...]

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Australia’s Westfield Group is not expected to snap up any assets from the collapse of General Growth Properties Inc. despite its cash pile of nearly $6.5 billion, due to an uncertain outlook for the U.S. economy and the global credit market.
The biggest real estate failure in U.S. history has stirred market talk that Westfield and [...]

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Best Buy Co.’s store in the John Hancock Center will hold its grand opening May 16, the company said Wednesday.
Best Buy will be the second-largest retail tenant in the building, behind only the Signature Room restaurant on the 95th floor, according to real estate research firm CoStar Group Inc. The grand opening is set for [...]

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Retail jeweler Ultra Stores Inc., which has been backed by William Blair & Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday, citing weak economic conditions and loss of operating liquidity, court documents showed.
The company, which is the parent of Ultra Diamonds and has executive offices here, listed assets and liabilities in the range of [...]

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A suburban apartment company has refinanced a 248-unit Lincoln Park apartment building in Lincoln Park with a $41.2-million loan.
The new loan on the Lincoln Plaza Apartments, 600 W. Diversey Parkway, is roughly 29% more than the previous, $32-million loan issued in 2002.
A venture managed by Park Ridge-based BJB Partners LLC obtained the new, seven-year loan [...]

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The parent company of United Airlines is considering moving operations from a longtime location it owns in Elk Grove Township, where the company has more than 1 million square feet of office space.
UAL Corp. Chief Operating Officer John Tague advised employees about the possible move in an e-mail Monday.
“Today’s real estate market presents an opportunity [...]

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