October 15, 2015
By Ryan Ori
The partially built hotel in the center and the lot shown at right are for sale.
The new owner of an unfinished boutique hotel near Wrigley Field is making a call to the bullpen, seeking a buyer who can close out a project that has been tied up in bankruptcy for more than a year.
Soon after gaining control of the property, an affiliate of Chicago-based Four Corners Tavern Group has hired Cushman & Wakefield to sell the four-story building and an adjacent lot at 3469-3475 N. Clark St., with bids expected to reach $6 million to $7 million, said Michael Marks, a senior director at the Chicago-based brokerage who has the assignment.
The building is hitting the market just days after the Chicago Cubs eliminated the rival St. Louis Cardinals to advance to the National League Championship Series, touching off celebrations in and around the historic ballpark. And Marks couldn't be happier.
“This is such an ideal time to bring this to the market, because you can see the throngs of people in the area,” Marks said. “It's electric there. I can't imagine a more exciting time.
“When you get a sense of what the pedestrian traffic and sheer purchasing power are in this little six-block radius, it's hard not to be impressed by it.”
The sale process is the last step in a battle for control of the 42-room project that began in 2012, when a venture of Four Corners co-founders Andy Gloor and Matt Menna bought about $3.9 million in debt on the project just south of Wrigley Field. The venture bought the loans, likely at a discount, from Chicago-based Gold Coast Bank and Newport Beach, Calif.-based Sabal Financial Group in 2012, the same year the lenders filed foreclosure suits against a development venture led by ticket broker Timothy Collins.
To keep control of the property and buy time to find new investors in the project, Collins' venture filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year.
During a court-ordered auction of the property, Chicago-based TVO Groupe submitted a winning bid of $8 million but failed to complete the deal, according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court documents. The Four Corners venture took possession of the property in August after making a $6.5 million credit bid, according to Cook County property records.
In a credit bid, the noteholder bids the outstanding amount due, meaning they prevail if no higher bids are made.
In September, the venture took out a new loan of just over $5 million from Gold Coast Bank, according to county records.
Collins did not return a call requesting comment.
Settlements have been reached to end the foreclosure suit going into an Oct. 20 court hearing, said Harley Goldstein, a lawyer for the Collins venture.
Much has changed for Gloor and Menna, who also are principals at Chicago development firm Sterling Bay, since they first became involved in the Wrigley hotel project.
Sterling Bay plans to redevelop the massive Lincoln Park parcel where the A. Finkl & Sons steel mill and other industrial businesses once stood, and is redeveloping large swaths of the Fulton Market district of the West Loop, where it has bought dozens of properties. Meanwhile, Four Corners continues expanding, including new Old Town and River North bars in the works.
“When they bought the debt three years ago, they had a very different pipeline than what they have now,” Marks said. “I think if they would have gotten the property back sooner, they would have proceeded to complete (the hotel). Their business has changed significantly over the past 24 months.”
The hotel project was planned with 42 rooms, but there are only 21 “substantially completed” rooms now, according to Cushman & Wakefield's flier. The building is designed to have a bar and coffee shop on the ground floor and a café or bar on the rooftop.
Bidders could include hotel developers or those seeking to convert the structure into a different use, such as apartments, extended stay suites or an upscale hostel, Marks said. The adjacent lot also could be developed by the buyer.
Construction of another long-anticipated development near Wrigley Field is likely to kick off in the spring, after existing buildings at Addison and Clark streets are demolished, said Tony Rossi, president of Chicago-based M&R Development. His firm is developing the project, called Addison Park on Clark, along with Bucksbaum Retail Properties and the land's longtime owner, Steven Schultz.
The developers, which plans 147 apartments, about 400 parking spaces and about 160,000 square feet of retail space, expect to complete construction financing in November, Rossi said. The project will take about two years to build, he said.
RELATED STORIES
Century-old South Loop apartment building sells for $20 million
Canadians pay $83 million for O'Hare office building
Chicago Public Schools HQ selling for almost $205 million
California investor selling Westin O'Hare for big gain
COMMENTS
Please read Chicago Real Estate Daily's commenting policy
Click here to Register for Daily Alerts
CALENDAR
Turn to Crain's listings of real estate events
See events
Send us your events
Connect with Chicago Real Estate Daily
Contact • To Advertise
Privacy Policy • Terms of Service
Crain's Chicago Business
150 N. Michigan Ave., 16th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
Copyright © 2015 Crain Communication, Inc.