HarryC. Cool Pic of the Hole.
Reminds me of a shimering Dubai in the backround.



Great contrast between the crystalline skyscrapers and the...dark hole.

Shelbourne Development Group, the US-based property vehicle controlled by Irishman Garrett Kelleher, suffered the ignominy of having its commercial credit card account cancelled by Bank of America last year as the lender began a legal battle seeking payment on millions of dollars worth of loans advanced to the company that it claims haven't been repaid on time.

Bank of America now claims that as of last month, Shelbourne Development Group has not paid an outstanding commercial credit card balance of $106,000.

Charge it…… One Chicago Landmark Please, To Go!
Sun, Feb 28, 2010
Robert John Anderson

Garrett Kelleher, the Irish developer who was the visionary for Chicago’s proposed newest landmark, the 150-story Spire, is now being sued by Bank of America for $110,000 in unpaid credit card bills related to the stalled construction project. Allegations have been added to a lawsuit filed in August by Bank of America to recover an additional $4,900,000 lent to Shelbourne Development, Kelleher’s development company. Kelleher personally guaranteed two credit cards issued by Bank of America in 2006 and 2007.

The Spire Developer Defaults on Loans

Additionally, in December 2006 Bank of America provided Shelbourne with $3,000,000 in the form of a revolving line of credit for the project, designed by the world renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. In June 2007, the bank extended a $7,000,000 term loan to Shelbourne for the Spire, the terms of which were later amended to give the developer until November 2008 to line up a syndicate of investors to provide construction financing for the project. Shelbourne missing the deadline and defaulted on the above loans as the real estate market cooled and capital markets froze.

Landmark Single Family is on the Market

In April 2006 Kelleher bought a 1912 Arthur Heun designed Georgian with Palladian windows at 1416 N Astor Street for $8.5MM. The personal residence has 5 bedrooms, 6 ½ baths and sits on a 75 x 110 lot with English garden and 4 car garage. The property is now on the market for $20 million, and rumor has it that Kelleher is moving back to Ireland.

Shelbourne in talks over debts
11 April 2010
By Gavin Daly

Shelbourne Development, the property group headed by Garrett Kelleher, is continuing talks with its banks about restructuring its debts after breaching its loan covenants.

The group – which has seen its plan to build the Chicago Spire stalled – has also raised concerns about its ability to recover €35 million in loans to group companies.

In new accounts, the firm acknowledged a ‘‘fundamental uncertainty’’ about its ability to meet its financial obligations because of the collapse of the property sector.

‘‘The group has a significant debt burden associated with its property investments. The majority of the group’s debt facilities include loan tovalue and interest cover covenants, which are technically in breach at present," according to the accounts for Shelbourne Development, which provides administration and management services to companies in the group.

‘‘The directors of the group are in ongoing negotiations with its bankers and have concluded a number of restructuring and/or standstill arrangements with its banks over the past number of months." The accounts were signed off by Shelbourne’s directors on March 29.

.....(cont'd)

The four directors of the firm shared more than €1.2 million in pay and pension contributions for the financial year, while €4.8 million was advanced to Kelleher as part of a series of transactions between him and group companies.

Auditors for Spire developer Kelleher raise funding questions
April 12, 2010
By: Thomas A. Corfman

(Crain’s) — In another sign of woe for Chicago Spire developer Garrett Kelleher, auditors have raised concerns about “the ongoing funding” of his Shelbourne Property Group, according to a financial report filed last week by the Dublin-based company.

Accounting firm KPMG warned that additional write-downs to the company’s financials could be required if it is unable to recover loans to related companies that total 35 million euros, or $47.5 million, or obtain “adequate funding facilities,” according to a report filed April 6 with Ireland’s Companies Registration Office.

KPMG did not question Shelbourne Property’s ability to remain a “going concern.”

Shelbourne Property Group is in “technical default” on loans held by a group of banks, including Anglo Irish Bank Corp., the lender on the riverfront site of the proposed 150-story tower, according to a report filed the same day by Shelbourne Finance Ltd., a subsidiary of the Group.

.....(cont'd)

Shelbourne Development's finance chief quits for role in web start-up
Tuesday May 11 2010
By John Mulligan

Shelbourne Development's finance director Emmet O'Reilly has left the troubled property group that is headed by embattled developer Garrett Kelleher.

Mr O'Reilly, who has been with the group for over seven years, formally resigned as a director of the firm within the past couple of weeks.

It's understood he has taken up a role with Dublin-based web start-up Weedle, a social networking firm that was co-founded by Iain MacDonald, who headed the Perlico telephone company before selling it to Vodafone in 2007.

Weedle attempts to link people's skills with available work. The company recently announced the closure of a $4m (€3.1m) fundraising drive. Its investors include Michael Smurfit, who was also an investor in Perlico, and Enterprise Ireland.

.....(cont'd)

The Latest On The Chicago Spire
05.22.10
Gary Lucido

Earlier this week (yeah, I've been busy) Crain's reported that Shelbourne Development Group, the developer of The Chicago Spire, has closed their sales center in The NBC Tower and will now be selling units in their own offices on Wacker Drive. It seems that Shelbourne owed their landlord about $316,000 in back rent and the landlord filed an eviction notice a while back. The Chicago Sun Times also reported that key staff members have left the developer's operation.

This all came as a total surprise to me because I stopped paying attention to this condo development a long time ago. Shelbourne has been unable to find financing for this project and even got so desperate that they tried to convince union pension funds to invest in the project under the premise that it would create union jobs. Fortunately, the unions were smarter than that. They recognize that Chicago needs another condo development like we need a hole in the ground (uhhh, wait.....we have one of those). The unsold condos in the Spire represent about 20% of the total downtown unsold condo inventory. So who in their right mind is going to finance this project and how can you sell something that you can't build? And these developers think they're smart.

.....(cont'd)

Architect Lucien Lagrange
retiring, firm files Chapter 11 By Thomas A. Corfman, July 15, 2010 Lucien Lagrange (Crain’s) – Architect Lucien Lagrange is retiring as his firm files for bankruptcy
protection. One of the city’s most active designers for more than two decades, Mr.
Lagrange, 69, says the firm filed for
Chapter 11 protection from creditors
Wednesday as a way to wind up its
affairs and prevent him with being
saddled with company debts after he stops working. The bankruptcy petition is another
reminder of how the dramatic downturn
in development, particularly
condominium towers, has hurt the
design industry, which has suffered from
layoffs. The filing is seemingly an ignominious chapter in a career that
includes such high-profile projects as the
Park Tower hotel/condo skyscraper, 800
N. Michigan Ave.; the 840 N. Lake
Shore Drive condo building, and Elysian
Hotel & Residences, 11 E. Walton St., which opened last year. “No matter one’s stylistic preferences, Lucien is a major figure, not just in
Chicago, but internationally,” says architect Stanley Tigerman, a principal
in Chicago-based Tigerman McCurry
Architects. “Of the type that does upscale condos, can you think of a
better architect?” Lucien Lagrange Architects Ltd. lists
assets of more than $1 million and up to
$10 million, according to the eight-page
petition. Liabilities fall within the same
range. Mr. Lagrange declines to comment
about the firm’s finances and says the Chapter 11 filing was merely a
pragmatic business decision he made
after deciding it was time to retire. “Retiring, (there would be) a lot of liabilities are on my back. I can’t just walk away,” Mr. Lagrange says. “Chapter 11 gives you a chance to plan ahead, organize and close in a decent
way.” No closing date has been set for the
firm, says Mr. Lagrange, one of four
principals in the company, which
employs four associates and other
support staff. His decision to retire comes as two of
his most important projects are under
construction: Ritz-Carlton Residences, a
40-story condominium tower at 664 N.
Michigan Ave., and Lincoln Park 2520, a
three-building complex on the site of the demolished Columbus Hospital, 2520 N.
Lakeview Ave. Mr. Lagrange says he doesn’t see development rebounding for at least five
years, when he might be too old to
undertake another major project. “I could maybe survive the economy downturn, but what’s the point?” he says. In addition to his new-construction
projects, Mr. Lagrange is well-known for
his restoration work on architectural
treasures, such as Hard Rock Hotel, 230
N. Michigan Ave.; the Insurance
Exchange Building, 175 W. Jackson Blvd., and 208 S. LaSalle St., where the
lower floor are being con

Anybody got some recent pictures of our chicago hole (no crudities please), I wonder how its doing now that summer is here?

Anybody got some recent pictures of our chicago hole (no crudities please), I wonder how its doing now that summer is here?