Results tagged “bankofamerica”

In spite of yesterday's ruling that stripped control of the beleaguered Block 37 project from its developer, the project will see the first store opening today after the city gave the project the green light, according to Crain's. Today will see the opening the opening of both the pedway and the Steve Madden store. A spokeswoman for the developer, Joseph Freed & Associates, LLC, said they expect two additional stores - Zara and Puma - to open early next week and several more will follow suit by Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is almost here and with that comes the hoped-for opening date for the beleaguered Block 37 project downtown. And two events this week might go a long way towards determining if the project will manage to open on time as scheduled. First, on Thursday, the project will get the final inspection from the city that would give it the okay to proceed with its opening. But Friday sees the hearing where Bank of America, the main lender on a construction loan, will ask a judge to take control of the project away from developer Joseph Freed and Associates LLC and hand it over to a receiver. According to the Tribune:

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:

The roller coaster that is the prolonged Block 37 project took a big dip today with the announcement that it's been hit with a foreclosure lawsuit. The suit comes from a group of lenders, headed up by Bank of America. Block 37 developer Joseph Freed & Associates LLC said in a statement, the lawsuit was “a serious breach of trust with the people of the city of Chicago...The suit lacks merit and Joseph Freed & Associates LLC will fight it vigorously."

Today is the final day in the Red Cross of Greater Chicago's "footprints" fundraising campaign. The Red Cross is working with Chicago Marathon presenting sponsor Bank of America on the campaign in which donors can design digital "footprints" that will run on the Marathon's main website. bank of America will donate $1 to a charity of each donors choosing.

First Filter in Wicker Park, now Tony Rezko's mansion. Where will the injustice's stop, Bank of America???

It's looking less and less likely that the city's most expensive hole in the ground will ever become the beautiful butterfly of a spire it was meant to be. Bank of America has filed suit against Shelbourne Development Group Inc., the developers of the Chicago Spire. We're not even going to pretend like we can fully comprehend the ins-and-outs of the financial wrangling going on here - we'll let Bloomberg do that - but given the continual financial difficulties of the buildings, we're guessing the day the Spire opens for business is the day Mayor Daley makes the city government fully transparent.

HSBC Bank based out of New York is expanding into new retail banking markets adding offices in D.C., San Francisco, and L.A. but will likely pass over Chicago because it’s “heavily overbanked,” Brendan McDonagh, chief executive of HSBC North America told the Tribune. McDonagh used Washington Mutual as an example. The Tribune reported: “Washington Mutual mounted an aggressive branch expansion in the Chicago market starting in 2003, peaking at more than 170. Then, over the years it retrenched to about 120, and even more closed as the institution was integrated into its new owner JPMorgan Chase…”. McDonagh says HSBC will move slowly and watch how the WaMu to Chase transition plays out, as well as Bank of America’s acquisition of LaSalle Bank. [Tribune]

Publisher Melville House has announced that Chicago-based writer Kari Lydersen's account of the Republic Windows and Doors sit-in on her blog at the Washington Post a blog on the publisher's website is being turned into a book, due out in early 2009. Because nothing screams riveting page-turner like a sordid tale of severance pay, bad credit, and people sitting around on lawn chairs. No offense to Ms. Lydersen, but other than the people that actually did the sitting in, who's going to buy this book? Perhaps the publisher is hoping union leaders will snap up lots of copies to hand out to members as a how-to guide.

After a six day sit-in by workers at the Republic Windows and Doors factory, an agreement to end the protest was reached. The workers approved a $1.75 million deal which will pay each worker eight weeks' salary, all accrued vacation pay and two months' paid health care. Late last night the workers voted unanimously to end the strike after a 20-hour negotiation involving union members, Republic management, members from the lender companies, and others such as U.S. Rep Luis Gutierrez. We mentioned the $400,000 from JP Morgan Chase that was put towards the deal; in addition, Bank of America has agreed to loan Republic management another $1.35 million.

Whaddya know, there's more going on around town than the Feds rousting Blago out of bed:

Photo by Detroit Chris