Legal efforts to prevent the marketing and potential sale of the site of a one-time condominium project at Lake Street and Lathrop Avenue commenced after Lake Lathrop Partners LLC and Sedgwick Properties, an authorized agent acting on behalf of Lake Lathrop Partners LLC, presented a motion to reconsider before the Cook County Circuit Court Jan. 24.
However, no ruling was issued, and a hearing date was set for March 18.
In the meantime, the court-appointed receiver, Ascend Real Estate Group, can proceed with their plans to market the property to prospective developers, according to village officials.
Village officials said they expect Ascend to call for final offers in February but stressed that any proposed development for the site will be subject to village zoning and permitting approval. They also noted that the village is not paying any legal expenses for these court proceedings or for any property maintenance expenses. Because of the village’s subordination to Wintrust Bank in the redevelopment agreement, Wintrust Bank is responsible for these costs, including property tax payments, officials added.
River Forest pulled the plug on the Lake and Lathrop development on a critical Sept. 15 deadline, apparently ending years of frustration for village officials and village residents, especially those who live near the development — but resulting in an unknown future for the site.
Sedgwick Properties failed to meet the conditions set forth by the village, according to officials. Construction activity was not to be permitted on the site, they added.
“As of September 15, 2023, at 4:30 p.m., the Village has repealed the building permit for the Lake and Lathrop development at Lake Street and Lathrop Avenue and issued a stop work order to Sedgwick Properties, the developer,” village officials said in a news release issued at that time.
The project had been on the drawing board since before the village board’s 2016 approval of the proposal by Lake Lathrop Partners LLC to build a four-story, mixed-use development containing 22 condominium units with 14,000 square feet of retail space. Variations on the same project had lurched and lingered for a decade previously. The original project included another story and eight more units but was scaled back.
The project experienced a series of delays over the years, including environmental cleanup from a dry cleaner originally on the site and a lawsuit involving a tenant who did not want to leave.