In the article John Murphy, a co-principal with Ricker-Murphy says, "Our opportunity to reduce the scale we believe will actually make us more attractive for not only construction financing, but also more attractive for the buyers" who want a smaller project.
The smaller project will still need at least a $200 million construction loan in order to complete. With or without the loan, the developer plans to move forward with construction. Contracts with condo purchases promise units to begin delivering by the end of 2011. The project, which is roughly 50% spoken for, has an asking price of $885 per square foot.
Ricker-Murphy could see the number of units purchased reduced as the smaller project will force 29 buyers to relocate within the property or walk away altogether.
The site was purchased for $44 million during the height of the condo market. Ricker-Murphy executives still see profit to be gained from the project and are banking on landing a loan once the foundation construction begins. But whether a bank is willing to issue a loan on a project that hovers at 50% bought remains to be seen.
To read the full report in Chicago Business click here.
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