Block 37 Touts New Leases
By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 4, 2009 5:20PM
We're not superstitious, but we got a kick out of the latest announcement from the beleaguered Block 37 project. The project announced a slew of new tenant signings, totaling 13 in all, an unlucky number for an unlucky project. Among the tenants: Sephora, L'Occitane en Provence, and several local stores including a new spot from the Comic Vault and Chicagoist favorite Bleeding Heart Bakery. Developer Joseph Freed and Associates LLC claims the project will open this Thanksgiving - just in time for Christmas shopping - and be complete by the end of next year. Meanwhile, Freed and Associates are battling Bank of America in that foreclosure lawsuit and a hearing is scheduled for November 20 that could decide whether the opening of the project's underground CTA pedway is delayed. According to Crain's:
At a court hearing Monday, lawyers for Bank of America Corp. said the lender won’t fund certain construction costs — including money the landlord is to contribute for tenant buildouts — unless a receiver is appointed.Cook County Circuit Court Judge Margaret Brennan set a hearing for Nov. 20 to hear arguments in the foreclosure case and B of A’s request to appoint CB Richard Ellis Inc. as receiver, who would oust developer Joseph Freed & Associates LLC from overseeing day-to-day operations.
The city’s attorney, Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel Steven Holler, said funding for the pedway shouldn’t be held up by the hearing’s timing because the money and work needed to open the pedway haven’t been disputed. “Any funding to open the pedway should not be in dispute,” Mr. Holler said.
Tenants for the pedway include GNC Live Well and Simply Thalia.