Chicago-Area Condo Developers Unable To Unload Inventory; Now Facing Foreclosure

In Illinois, Crain's Chicago Business recently filed two reports:

1- LaSalle files foreclosure suit against Lincoln Park condo project:

• LaSalle Bank [a Chicago-based subsidiary of Bank of America Corp.] has filed a foreclosure lawsuit to collect $5.33 million on a past-due loan for a 41-unit condominium project at a prominent Lincoln Park intersection, one of the larger foreclosures this year. [...] Called the Ashton Lofts, the mixed-used development ... was scheduled to begin delivering units to buyers in spring 2006. According to a review of property records, only 14 of the 41 condos have sold – with the first closing March 20, 2007. The Ashton Lofts Web site lists 23 units available, priced from $330,900 to $569,900, suggesting another four may have been sold or are under contract.

2- $10-mil. foreclosure suit filed on Hillside condo project:

• Fifth Third Bank Chicago has filed a foreclosure lawsuit to collect $10.17 million on a past-due loan for a 46-unit condominium project [a six-story building called Blue Stem] in west suburban Hillside, one of the largest foreclosure cases this year in the Chicago area. [...] A review of property records showed that only 11 of the 46 units had sold, with the first closing on May 14, 2007. This summer, in an effort to spark sales, JSG put 25 Blue Stem units up for auction, hiring Oak Brook-based Inland Real Estate Auctions Inc. It's unclear how many units were sold in the auction.