Articles About Chicago

At a time when real estate assets are moving slowly, other areas are being eyed for opportunity plays.  Bond salesman Thomas Ricketts had just about closed his bidding group’s purchase of the Chicago Cubs from the Chicago Tribune.  Documents relating to the fully financed transaction were sent to Major League Baseball over the 4th of […]

In another sign that recessions are good for low-cost leaders, Sears posted a $26 million profit – or 21 cents per share — in the first quarter of 2009.  Based on that news, shares rose $5.21, or 10.38 percent, to close at $55.40 on the Friday before Memorial Day.  These numbers represent a significant improvement […]

Chicago’s iconic post office that straddles the Eisenhower Expressway has been vacant since a new facility replaced it in 1995, and the U.S. Postal Service has decided it’s time to sell the deteriorating structure at 433 West Van Buren Street. On August 27, the Postal Service will auction the 77-year-old, 3,000,000 SF, 14-story building.  The […]

Apple may be the Great American Company — the heir to the spirit of Henry Ford who revolutionized corporations worldwide by modernizing the assembly line to facilitate production of his legendary Model T car.  Similarly, Apple under Steve Jobs’ leadership expresses everything that Americans naturally do well — innovation, high quality, smart growth, and nimbleness. […]

Bank of America has pulled the plug on Chicago’s high-profile Waterview Tower with its filing of a foreclosure lawsuit against the 90-story condominium and hotel tower overlooking the Chicago River.  The bank has sued to collect $20 million from the developer, an affiliate of Chicago-based Teng & Associates, which stopped construction last year. The building’s […]

Amidst the most dire financial crisis in a generation, Chicago has created a magnificent rejoinder to all the bad news.  The Russian writer Dostoevsky once said that “Beauty will save the world.”  Seeing Renzo Piano’s new Modern Wing at the Art Institute of Chicago makes you believe that it just might.  First of all, how […]

A rather unexpected source may rescue the stalled Chicago Spire  condominium project – and pump significant money into Chicago’s battered economy by creating thousands of construction jobs.  Representatives from the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trusts are in early discussions with developer Shelbourne Development Group to revive construction of the twisting Santiago Calatrava-designed condominium tower, located on […]

Is wine recession proof? Business obviously is good for one retail sector niche market.  Chicago-based Binny’s Beverage Depot is taking over a shuttered Circuit City store in west suburban Downers Grove and plans to convert it into their 23rd location. Binny’s purchased the 31,000 SF big-box store, located at the intersection of Highland Avenue and […]

To sweeten the pot after luring brewing giant MillerCoors LLC to the Windy City, the City of Chicago has agreed to create a $6 million tax-increment financing deal for the firm’s new corporate headquarters at 250 South Wacker Drive.  Even with a budget shortfall nudging $500 million, the City is kicking in significant funds to bring […]

The renaming of Sears Tower points up one of the fundamental aspects of marketing – that of brand equity. By virtue of marketing and 25 years of public relations, the name Sears Tower has enormous cachet around the world and has brought the city the kind of exposure that can’t be quantified. While the Sears […]