River Forest officials have responded to the lawsuit filed by Lake Lathrop Partners LLC against the village in July by filing a motion to dismiss.
The village Aug. 16 filed the motion to dismiss the Lake Lathrop lawsuit, which claims the village acted illegally in its denial of a new building permit to restart a stalled mixed-use development on the southwest corner of Lake Street and Lathrop Avenue.
The four-story, mixed-use development was to contain 22 condominium units with 14,000 square feet of retail space. The project had been on the drawing board since before the Village Board approved Lake Lathrop’s proposal in 2016.
The case is up for presentment before the court on Aug. 26.
“As is evident in the filing, the village remains confident in its position,” village President Cathy Adduci said in an e-newsletter posted on the village website.
River Forest pulled the plug on the Lake and Lathrop development almost a year ago, but Lake Lathrop officials in May countered by applying for a new building permit for the development. This too was denied by the village.
In September, officials repealed the building permit for Sedgwick Properties, an authorized agent acting on behalf of Lake Lathrop Partners LLC, and issued a stop work order. They said those steps were taken because Sedgwick failed to meet the requirements and conditions of the village’s 18-month building permit, which was originally issued in February 2022.
The long-delayed project had been on life support since April 2023, when Beverly Bank and Trust, a Wintrust-affiliated bank that was financing the development, filed suit against Sedgwick Properties in Cook County court, looking to claw back $4.2 million from the $20 million line of credit it issued in 2022. In the lawsuit, the lender has reportedly cited several provisions in its loan agreement with Sedgwick affiliates that were violated, including that the contract required the borrower to stay in compliance with local regulations and to stick to a tighter construction timeline.
The foreclosure case between Wintrust Bank and Lake Lathrop Partners LLC remains ongoing. The next hearing is on Sept. 9.