Block 37 handover to receiver postponed
(Crain's) — Joseph Freed & Associates LLC has at least another week at the helm of Block 37.
A lawyer for the court-appointed receiver that's poised to take over the project said in court Friday that the receiver hasn't yet arranged the necessary insurance for a handover of the new, 280,000-square-foot mall at State and Randolph streets.
Cook County Judge Margaret Brennan, who on Nov. 23 appointed a CB Richard Ellis Inc. executive as receiver, rescheduled a hearing for next Friday. She was also to hear Freed's motion to stay, or postpone, the hearing Friday afternoon and now plans to also hear those arguments next Friday.
A lawyer for Chicago-based Freed, R. Douglas Rees of Jenner & Block LLP, told the court he thinks it will take another three to four weeks for CB Richard Ellis to file the necessary paperwork to satisfy the insurer's requirements. He asked that the matter be pushed back to Jan. 22.
The receiver's lawyer, Dennis Aukstik of Daley & George Ltd., said the receiver will strive to have the insurance in place by next Friday.
"We're working around the clock," Mr. Aukstik told the judge.
Judge Brennan agreed to give them a chance to have the insurance lined up by next Friday and noted that the delay essentially gives Freed the additional time in control that the Chicago-based firm is seeking.
The receiver, Karen Pence Hollan, and a spokeswoman for CB Richard Ellis didn't respond to an e-mail after Friday's hearing seeking comment.
A Freed spokeswoman says the issue speaks to the complexity of the project, which was hit in October with a $128-million foreclosure lawsuit by lender Bank of America Corp., just weeks before the planned opening. Freed's spokeswoman says nine retailers are now open in the mall and underground pedway.
