In brief: Escada | Warehouse closing | General Growth heiress

Court gives Escada more time to renegotiate Mag Mile lease

Escada USA Inc., which last month filed a motion in Bankruptcy Court to reject its lease at 840 N. Michigan Ave., was given more time to strike a deal to keep the store open. A court hearing planned for Thursday on the matter was postponed because Escada and its landlord, a group led by U.S. Equities Realty LLC executives, are in talks to "resolve the motion," according to a filing Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York. Escada has been at 840 N. Michigan since 1992, but in court filings the company says it doesn't use all its space and was seeking to reject the lease and immediately close the store. Related story: Gown retailer Escada may close Mag Mile store

Jewel parent closing local warehouse

Jewel-Osco parent Supervalu Inc. plans to close a warehouse in west suburban Wood Dale, eliminating 111 jobs. The closing is to be complete by March, with the volume moving to other facilities in the Upper Midwest, according to a spokeswoman for Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Supervalu. The company occupies the entire 439,350-square-foot building at 855 N. Wood Dale Road. A local executive with San Francisco-based AMB Property Corp., which owns the building, declines to comment. Supervalu provided notice of the layoffs to the state.

Movie studio plans Ryerson buy

The Illinois Senate has approved a $5-million grant that would allow a Toronto film studio to buy the steel distributor Ryerson Inc.'s plant at 2558 W. 16th St. on the Southwest Side. Cinespace Film Studios would convert the 48.5-acre site into a film and TV production studio. The price would be $18 million to $20 million, according to reports in the Chicago Sun-Times and reelchicago.com, a Web site that covers the local film industry. Ryerson would lease back a portion of the property for five years, the Sun-Times said. Ryerson Chief Financial Officer Terence Rogers told Crain's that Cinsepace doesn't have a contract yet. Related story: Ryerson's West Side complex on the market

Lawyers seek dismissals in General Growth heiress' suit

Two partners with Chicago firm Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP have asked a judge to dismiss counts in a malpractice lawsuit filed against the two and the firm by the daughter of a co-founder of General Growth Properties Inc., according to a report. Mary Bucksbaum Scanlan, whose fortune once exceeded $2.4 billion, blames the firm in her lawsuit for her loss of more than $300 million. She alleges that Neal Gerber & Eisenberg and two of its top lawyers operated under multiple conflicts of interest by representing General Growth while they were advising her and various trusts set up for her benefit. Partners Marshall Eisenberg and Earl Melamed argue in a motion filed last week that the U.S. District Court does not have jurisdiction because the trusts in which Ms. Scanlan was a beneficiary were not required to make any payouts to her, according to a story from the National Law Journal. Messrs. Eisenberg and Earl Melamed are seeking to have three counts against them and their firm dismissed, while a law firm representing the general trust separately has filed to dismiss a count against the trust, the National Law Journal said. Related story: General Growth heiress sues company's law firm

First Industrial lowers earnings outlook

First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. reported funds from operations (FFO) in the third quarter of $29.1 million, or 57 cents per share, compared with $21.8 million, or 44 cents per share, in the third quarter last year. The Chicago-based industrial real estate company, whose third-quarter results were aided by one-time items, also lowered its guidance for full-year FFO to $1.58-$1.68 per share from $1.65-$1.75 per share. The company said it made progress toward paying down its debt load by repurchasing $123.7 million of senior unsecured debt in the quarter, while the firm also sold seven properties — five of which were vacant — totaling 307,000 square feet and three land parcels for $25.2 million. First Industrial also took an impairment charge in the quarter because it plans to sell its stake in several properties to a joint-venture partner at a price that's $5.6 million less than First Industrial valued the properties.

Inland Real Estate posts loss, lowers guidance

Inland Real Estate Corp. reported a net loss of $8.4 million during the third quarter, with funds from operations (FFO) of 9 cents per share, compared with the year-earlier quarter when the giant shopping center owner had net income of $9.2 million, or FFO of 35 cents per share. With revenue for the year down 10% from the same period last year to $129.4 million, Oak Brook-based Inland for the second straight quarter lowered its full-year guidance for FFO to $1.03-$1.06 per share from $1.05-$1.13 per share. The company recorded a non-cash impairment charge in the quarter of $15.7 million related to joint ventures, including projects in North Aurora and Lakemoor.