INSIDE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
Bronzeville mixed-use plan saves space for lower-income buyers
BY SUSAN DIESENHOUSE
Published February 21, 2007
The Bronzeville neighborhood is planned as the home of The Metropolis, a $155 million mixed-use project with a first phase that includes 330,000 square feet of retail space and 102 residential condominiums in two six-story buildings, said the developer, Capri Capital Partners LLC.
"The ultimate design intent is to create a city center for the Near South Side," said Capri Chairman and Chief Executive Quintin E. Primo III, who plans to build the project in a joint venture with Judson Investment Co. Both are based in Chicago.
"What's unique here is that two minority-owned firms will provide funding and expertise," noted Primo, a Chicago native who said he hopes the project will receive some tax-increment financing.
The housing will include about 20 units reserved for low- and moderate-income buyers who earn no more than 80 percent of the area's median income.
Primo said that's about $51,000 for a family of four. Those residences will sell for about $160,000 compared to about $300,000 for a similar market rate unit, he said.
The project, which ultimately could total 1 million square feet, has been designed by Ross Wimer, a partner at Skidmore Owings & Merrill.
The retail portion of the site, bordered by Pershing Road, 40th Street, a Chicago Rock Island Railroad embankment and State Street, will be marketed by Todd Caruso at CB Richard Ellis.
The two-year construction project is scheduled to start by early 2008, though the venture still must buy from the city 8 acres of the 10-acre site.
PLANNING FIRM CFO: On Tuesday, Joe Dailey became chief financial officer at Perkins + Will Inc.
The hire comes on the heels of rapid growth at the 71-year-old architecture, design and planning firm.
In 2006, its billings rose 40 percent and its staff expanded by 15 percent compared with the previous year, a company spokeswoman said.
The company was founded in Chicago, where it still has one of its 19 offices.
Its previous CFO, Dave Zimmerman, will assume the newly created post of director of finance for growth and acquisitions at the company's headquarters in Atlanta.
Dailey, who is a certified public accountant with an MBA, had just left another well-known Chicago design firm, Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP, where he was also the chief financial officer.
GRAND PROJECT ON WAY: The Grand Imperial Hotel, a new 15-story pagoda-topped condominium hotel, is being planned for Chinatown with 170 rooms and 10,000 square feet of retail space.
The developers, See Wong and Peter Siu, who are partners at Chicago-based Emerald Homes LLC, plan to spend about $50 million to build the hotel on a vacant site at Archer Avenue and Clark Street.
It will have a Chinese garden, a sky lounge and a restaurant with views of Lake Michigan and downtown.
Inside, the decor will feature styles from three Chinese dynasties: Tang, Sung and Ming. The artwork and furniture will be custom made in China.
Site work should start in the summer, with construction to follow soon after. Financing for land acquisition has been provided by the American Metro Bank based in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. It was founded in 1997 by Wong, who is still an executive board member.
The developers hope to attract visitors to the McCormick Place convention center from China, Japan and Hong Kong, Wong said.
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Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
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