Near W. Side building gets back on track


Publication: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Date: March 23, 2005
Author: David Roeder    
Section: Financial
Page: 71
Word Count: 753
Column: COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE


Chicago condo developer W. Harris "Bill" Smith has taken over part of a languishing project on the Near West Side.
His Smithfield Properties has a contract to acquire a massive old building along the Eisenhower Expy. at 1001 W.
Van Buren.



Plans call for converting the 275,000-square-foot building into residential use. Condos are most likely, but there
could be a rental component, said Smithfield principal Robert Buono. The building is the former home of the office
supply dealer Reliable Corp., which years ago filled the place with activity.


It's mostly unused office space now, and the expressway connection offers marketing potential to buyers who want to
shave minutes off their commutes.


Smithfield would acquire the building from a partnership that includes investor Robert Berliner Jr., Neumann Homes
Inc. and retail broker Keith Lord. That group would retain vacant property to the west of the Van Buren building,
where in 2003 they obtained zoning rights to put up a 29-story tower. The zoning was adopted despite community
complaints that it would be too tall for the environs.


The contract evidently gets Berliner out of a tight spot financially. Sources said it could almost eliminate his debt on
an original $10 million purchase. Some two years into the deal, Berliner has been unable to secure financing or sign
anyone for the ground-floor retail space.


Buono said further details on the Smithfield project, including prices, are still in the works. A zoning amendment
Smithfield recently submitted was purely a technical matter to reflect what are now multiple owners of the property,
Buono said.


SKY'S THE LIMIT: With the talk around here lately about tall buildings and spires, it should be noted that Chicago
has a connection to what could be the next holder of the "world's tallest" crown. The partners here for Skidmore,
Owings & Merrill LLP are working on the project in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.


Just how tall it will be, nobody knows, even though construction has started. Chicago developers, who labor here
under the watchful eye of Mayor Daley, would love such secrecy. The shieks in the firm developing the giant, Emaar
Properties, will say only that it will beat the current record holder, the 1,671-foot Taipei 101 tower, by a "comfortable
margin." Some reports overseas have speculated the building will be 2,300 feet.


Here at SOM, the partners are adhering to the gag order. Chief architect Adrian Smith, who did Donald Trump's new
Chicago building, is handling the project with the firm's top engineer, William Baker. The building has a basic "Y"
shape, but with staggered tiers that suggests a spiraling pattern of setbacks. The varying shapes will "confuse the
wind" and ease the load on the structure, Baker told a trade journal.


He'll discuss the project April 5 at a meeting of the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois. The dinner session is
planned for the 410 Club in the Wrigley Building, 410 N. Michigan. Call Donna Childs at (312) 649-4600 for
information.


UPTOWN UPDATE: Crews are at work at 4848 N. Sheridan building a 70-unit condo building. Called Sheridan
Grande, its the product of ViCor Development Inc., and base prices range from $199,000 to $389,000.


OPTION TROUBLE: Taking out an option to buy property is usually straightforward. But when developer-lawyer
Michael Reschke is involved, matters can get complex. Reschke has an options deal with Hines Interests LP, which
wants to develop his riverfront site at 300 N. La Salle, long the home of a parking garage. But sources said legal
disputes have risen that could tank the contract. Greg Van Schaack, Hines vice president, wouldn't discuss the
difficulties besides saying they're "nothing that can't be fixed." Reschke said substantially the same thing. He's been
trying off and on to sell the property for some time. Back in the 1990s, it was in play as a "world's tallest building" site.


NO APRIL FOOLING: The Buildings Department reminds owners of high-rises that they have until April 1 to file Life
Safety Data Sheets with the city. The forms contain information for the Fire Department and are a precursor to more
detailed information due by yearend.


DOING THE DEALS: Wertheimer Box & Paper Corp. whose property at 1228 W. Monroe is going the way of condos,
is relocating to 108,000 square feet in the McCook Industrial Center, 7950 Joliet Rd. in McCook. McShane Corp. and
MetLife Inc. are the owners there. ... NAI Hiffman worked for United Sorbents in its lease of 59,000 square feet at
1270 Nuclear Drive (does the name hurt property values?) in West Chicago.

Copyright 2005 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.