Streeterville health club faces eviction suit
(Crain's) — The owner of McClurg Court Center is seeking to evict Lakeshore Athletic Club, claiming the health club owes more than $250,000 in unpaid rent.
In lawsuits filed in county and federal courts, the owner of the Streeterville apartment building says Lakeshore Centre Holdings LLC hasn't paid its monthly rent of $50,034 since May for its 56,351-square-foot space.
The owner of McClurg Court, 333 E. Ontario St., an affiliate of Washington, D.C.-based pension fund Multi-Employer Property Trust, seeks to have the health club evicted in a case filed in August in Cook County Circuit Court. In a federal lawsuit filed Nov. 21 in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the fund claims it was owed $197,715 in past-due rent and late charges as of Sept. 22. Lakeshore's lease runs until 2021, according to the lawsuit.
The Streeterville club, which opened in 2001, is one of four local fitness centers operated by Lakeshore Centre Holdings. The company's founders, brothers Walter and Jordon Kaiser, didn't return calls seeking comment.
The company is contesting the eviction, and the matter is still pending in court. In a recent filing, the pension fund says Lakeshore now owes more than $250,000 in back rent.
Lakeshore's lawyer in the matter, Ronald Gertzman, didn't return a call seeking comment. The fund's lawyers in both cases, Gerald Ring and Aaron Stanton, partners at Chicago law firm Burke Warren MacKay & Serritella, declined to comment.
The pension fund has $6.82 billion in real estate assets nationwide, including $908 million in the Chicago area. Investors include labor unions and public-employee pension plans.
In Chicago, Lakeshore also operates health clubs at 1320 W. Fullerton Ave., 446 E. Ontario St. and 211 N. Stetson Ave. The company also has clubs in Costa Mesa, Calif., and Mishawaka, Ind. The Lakeshore Athletic Club at 441 N. Wabash Ave. closed in September 2007 after its lease expired.
