Chicago Real Estate Guide

Signs of Life and Resurgence at the Roosevelt Collection

• July 26, 2011

by Erin Calandriello

Outside of the Roosevelt Collection in the South Loop, a large deck with a finished stairwell overlooks an abandoned lot. Murals covering storefronts have yet to be removed because the Collection’s retail spaces, with the exception of the Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON Theater, remain vacant.

However, there are now indications that this will soon change.

Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds based in Los Angeles, CA and McCaffery Interests of Chicago teamed up this past spring and purchased the Roosevelt Collection for $170 million, a figure substantially less than the approximate $350 million that it cost to build, according to Yo Chicago. Over the next 18 months, the investors expect for a slew of restaurants and retail spaces (including furniture, electronic and clothing stores) to open in the 400,000 square-foot retail space, according to Retail Traffic.

However, the real news of late concerns the residential component of the project. Yo Chicago recently reported that 95 percent of the 342 apartments at Roosevelt Collection are already rented and 85 percent are occupied, quite a coup considering that the project converted to rentals from condos last fall.

In related news, the five-acre lot west of the Roosevelt Collection, which has remained vacant for decades, was purchased at a live auction in June for $18 million by the U.S. Auction Opportunity Fund, according to the Chicago Journal. According to Diliberto Real Estate Services, which held the auction of the property, U.S. Auction Opportunity Fund plans to partner up with a builder to transform the property into residential and retail spaces. However, there is no definitive timeline for this conversion.

Regardless, as soon as next summer or fall, residents could be seeing more than the latest movie at the Roosevelt Collection; they could finally be taking advantage of the long-anticipated shops and restaurants.

This article originally published at http://chicago.urbanturf.com/articles/article/signs_of_life_and_resurgence_roosevelt_collection/3865