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Report: Merchandise Mart for sale

From Crain’s Chicago Business | Vornado Realty Trust has been shopping Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, the massive 3.5-million-square-foot office building along the Chicago River, attracting one $1.25 billion bid that never materialized into a deal. Vornado is reportedly still seeking offers on the building which was once owned by the Kennedy family. Get the full story>>

NU med center completes deal for VA site

Northwestern Memorial Hospital has completed the purchase of the former Lakeside Veterans Affairs hospital site at 333 E. Huron St. Northwestern had previously bought most of the Streeterville property, picking up the remaining 30 percent last month.  Neither terms nor planned uses for the parcel were disclosed.

Pritzkers put Hyatt Center on market for $575M

The Pritzker family is putting the Hyatt Center, the curvy 71 S. Wacker Dr. skyscraper on the Chicago River, on the market for more than $575 million, according to Crain’s. Major tenants in the 49-story building include the Pritzker family’s Hyatt Hotels Corp., Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw LLP and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Get the full story>>

Report: Politics not behind Broadway Bank seizure

There is no evidence that politics played a role in the government seizure of a Chicago bank owned by the family of the Democratic nominee running for the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, a government watchdog said this week.

On April 23, bank regulators seized Broadway Bank, a community bank with $1.2 billion in assets, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp arranged for MB Financial Inc. to assume its deposits.

The move then became embroiled in this year’s campaign season because the bank was owned by the family of Alexi Giannoulias, the first-term Illinois state treasurer and the Democratic nominee in this year’s U.S. Senate race. Get the full story »

Brookfield to run General Growth spinoff

General Growth Properties Inc. has struck a deal for Brookfield Advisors LP to manage the new real-estate company it plans to spin off when it exits Chapter 11 protection.

The mall owner is tapping Brookfield Advisors to prepare the  company to separate from the nation’s second-largest mall owner and become publicly traded, according to papers filed Monday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Get the full story »

500 W. Monroe heads for foreclosure auction

Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc. plans a foreclosure auction next month on the 500 W.  Monroe St. property, according to a notice published Sunday. The action comes after the owner,  an affiliate of Broadway Partners Fund Manager, failed to act on senior loans of $215.6 million on the 46-story tower.

General Growth confirms $500M from Blackstone

General Growth Properties Inc. says asset manager Blackstone Group has agreed to invest about $500 million for shares in the shopping mall operator once it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

General Growth disclosed the agreement in a regulatory filing on Wednesday detailing the company’s latest plan to exit bankruptcy. Get the full story »

SEC probing insider trading at General Growth

The Securities and Exchange Commission has started a formal probe of possible insider trading by current and former officers and directors of mall owner General Growth Properties Inc.

General Growth, which has operated under bankruptcy protection since April 2009 and plans to exit later this year, disclosed the probe in its bankruptcy case Tuesday and in its quarterly report filed with the SEC last week. Get the full story »

$600M Trump Tower construction loan extended

Donald Trump and his lenders have inked a new loan agreement that resolves long-standing litigation related to the development of his Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago.

Trump and his lenders, led by Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas and Fortress Credit Corp., last week agreed to extend the term on an approximate $600 million construction loan for five years. So, all litigation between the parties has been dismissed. Get the full story »

Talbott Hotel sues nearby Elysian

One luxury hotel off Michigan Avenue is suing a new competitor in the neighborhood, charging that the latter’s construction hurt business and damaged its reputation.

The Talbott Hotel, 20 E. Delaware Pl., said in a suit filed Thursday that the construction of the adjacent Elysian hotel interfered with its operations.

Guests complained about the noise, dust, fumes, vibration and debris, and the Talbott had to reimburse some guests, the hotel said. Some guests also gave the hotel bad reviews on Web sites such as Orbitz and Hotels.com, the Talbott said.

The Talbott sued the Elysian owners as well as the general contractor and project manager in Cook County Circuit Court. A spokeswoman for the Elysian said she could not immediately comment but would look into the matter. Get the full story »

Fed sees easing in lending standards

The Federal Reserve said Monday that bank lending standards eased somewhat over the last three months while demand for business and consumer loans was largely unchanged.

In its quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey, taken in July, the Fed found that tight lending conditions, which some economists have linked to the weak economic recovery, were starting to ease. Get the full story »

Hughes Corp. heirs object to General Growth plan

Water Tower Place in Chicago, one of General Growth's malls. General Growth filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in April 2009. (Alex Garcia/Chicago Tribune)

The former shareholders of Hughes Corp. Wednesday filed an objection to General Growth Properties Inc’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy, saying it does not explain how they would be paid.

The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors also filed an objection to the proposed disclosure statement, which details the plan.

Under the plan, the group known as the Hughes heirs can be repaid in stock of reorganized mall owner General Growth, or in cash, the Hughes heirs said in court documents filed in U.S Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Get the full story »

300 N. LaSalle sold for $655 million

The 1.3-million-square foot office building at 300 N. LaSalle St. has been sold to a California real estate investment trust for $655 million. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.’s Chicago and New York offices closed the sale on behalf of the building’s current owner, Hines, a privately-owned real estate firm and have acquired $350 million in financing from MetLife Inc. for KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II Inc., the buyer. Get the full story »

General Growth amends reorganization plan

General Growth Properties Inc. said it amended its reorganization plan to increase its capital structure flexibility and improve investment terms, and remains on track to emerge from bankruptcy in October. Get the full story »

Hines sells River North tower to KBS Realty

Real estate firm Hines has sold its 60-story building in River North to KBS Realty Advisors LLC , a California-based investment firm.

Terms weren’t disclosed.

Hines, which developed the LEED-certified  building in 2009, said it will continue to manage the property on 300 N. LaSalle St., which is home to various financial firms.

Officials from KBS weren’t immediately available for comment.