Back in late July, an offer to turn 1400 N. Lake Short Drive back into apartments was denied by owners of the building, narrowly missing the 75 percent approval requirement set forth by Illinois law. Now, just over a couple weeks later, a second vote has reportedly been approved and New York-based developer ESG Kullen will in fact move forward with its original condo deconversion plan for the 391-unit vintage high-rise on Chicago’s lakefront.
According to Crain’s, the deal is nearly identical to the first offer and will pay owners around $425 per square foot, which is a significant jump from recent sales in the building that tallied just $300 per square foot.
Despite the increase, however, condo owners against the deal are worried they won’t be able to find a comparable unit in a nearby building for what they’re receiving for their current unit.
In the most recent vote, 85.8 percent of owners approved the deal, easily exceeding the 75 percent requirement needed to move forward. Also noted by Crain’s is that ESG will include extra compensation for recent renovation expenses, but only to owners who voted in favor of the sale.
Closing on the deal is expected to happen sometime in late 2018 or early 2019, which will represent Chicago's largest condos-to-apartments deal to date.
Posted by Helaine Cohen on
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