The Odyssey Lofts in Greektown Become . . . 770 Lofts in the West Loop: 775 W. Jackson
We last chattered about the Odyssey Lofts in Greektown at 775 W. Jackson in February 2008.
See our prior chatter here.
At that time, the building was apparently 60% sold in preconstruction and units were just about to start closing.
Then, in April 2009, Crain’s reported that a foreclosure suit was filed against the building.
In July 2010, Crain’s reported that there was a new owner.
New owners have taken over two failed condominium developments in the West Loop, after the lender on the projects sold the loans to a local real estate investment firm.
The loans involve unsold condos at Odyssey Lofts, 775 W. Jackson Blvd., and a vacant 45-unit building at 123 N. Sangamon St. and two adjacent sites. Both were projects of Chicago-based W Developments LLC and were hit with foreclosure lawsuits last year from the construction lender, Midwest Bank & Trust Co.
Northbrook-based Speedwagon Properties recently obtained the deed to the Sangamon properties and sold the note on the Odyssey to an investor group that sources say includes James Haft, general counsel of MCZ Development LLC.
The prices of the note sales couldn’t be determined, though the foreclosure suits show that Chicago-based W Developments owed almost $17.4 million on the Odyssey, where 47 of the project’s 62 units weren’t sold, and almost $11.3 million on 123 N. Sangamon.
Recently, the development came back on the market and is being marketed by @Properties. The Odyssey Lofts name has apparently been retired and it is now 770 Lofts.
Prices have also been cut. They formerly ranged from $240,000 to $620,000. They now range from the following:
- 1 Bedrooms: From $170,000s
- 1 Bedrooms Plus Dens: From $220,000s
- 2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths: From $270,000s
The first 6 floors of the building are an authentic loft building with exposed brick and timber ceilings. The top two floors are new construction.
Will price cuts work to finally move this product?
770 Lofts [website]
2 distressed West Loop condo projects go to new owners [Crain’s Chicago Business, Eddie Baeb, July 7, 2010]
I guess not too many people are Homer by now.
Dammit Wicker, I was going to comment on that stupid non-pun but you beat me to it.
That banner has been ticking me off for years.
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!
oh jesus these places fail really hard
The zebra skin rug (shown in one of the model pictures) is terrifying! I was once shown a home where the owners had a zebra skin rug (it looked like it was real). I was so freaked out that I couldn’t think of anything else or even notice what the house was like.
Yeah and as an added bonus you can live above Philly’s Best with its crazy unhealthy (yet delicious) comfort food to console yourself that you’ve overpaid for your condo.
“I guess not too many people are Homer by now.”
WIN!
This place had parking issues if I recall correctly. Liked the quote of “secure parking available.” Does that mean indoor garage spots or an outside lot?
i’m nearby and this has been an interesting place to watch…few thoughts:
for at least two years a banner hung on the building saying “only 15 units remain” — yet turns out only 15 were sold.
needless to say, if they can get this building filled up, i’m all for it. now if we could only get rid of the New Jackson Hotel…but that’s another story.
assuming low assessments, prices aren’t that far off imho. and i believe the small pipe-fitters (or something) union building right next to it (On jackson, between this place and the freeway) is being demolished…so maybe that will add more parking?
kind of an ugly building…and i agree there’s not much to be desired about living on top of a pizza place, but still good proximity to UIC, downtown, greektown, etc. there will be interest at these prices.
The 1BD/1BA + Den are absolutely horrible floor plans. Kind of looks like these are the majority of the units in the building.
The 3BR units would be much better marketed as 2BR + Den, because, well, that’s all they are. Calling them 3BR is technically legal but dishonest and puts a bad taste in the mouth of a potential buyer.
Tipster – Looking at the floorplans it appears that if the walls behind the kitchens do not go to the ceiling then they are indeed real true bedrooms as defined by Chicago code. Why would you call this dishonest? Because of this I do not think that they will be changing them to 2 bedrooms + den anytime soon.
Also I suspect that in this location the 3rd bedroom in this type of unit would most likely be used as a den anyway. 770 W. Jackson is not typically the home of a family with more than two kids. Perhaps there are some greek families that realy want to live in the area. Who knows!
There are buyers for every price range and although the units may not be desireable or liked by many of you, they are a viable option for many people. Not every person wants or can afford to live in a mansion or in a spectacular conventional condo/house in an excellent area. These places may appeal to several people – remember, there is a buyer for every house.
also notice how they say that there is financing available – this is what I am talking about!! – This feature alone may attract several buyers.
jp3,
I said technically legal. They are bedrooms per Chicago code. But they are poor excuses for bedrooms and as you say will probably never be used as such. So quit calling them bedrooms.
The absolute worst part is that these “3BR” units are located in the new-construction part of the building. I understand that there can be challenges when converting a building to residential, but designing such a floor plan in this day and age is CRAP. It is a sign that the developer cared about NOTHING but maximizing profit. Fair warning to anyone that wants to live here long-term.
Find me a developer (or for that matter any business owner) that is not interested in maximizing profit. What business are you in Tipster? I’d bet you are a University professor, religious entity, or perhaps a non for profit foundation thereby ruining my example!
They are not tying people up or getting them drunk and handing them pens and a contract. People will make good decisions and most people buying condo’s in the city do not need a third bedroom! The open third bedroom as a den with a Murphy bed or futon is perfect for the occasional friend or family crash pad.
I’d be worried if I was a buyer b/c this building was severely abandoned over that 2 year period and was not maintained at all. Unless new ownership spent a lot of money restoring it, I would stay away.
“These places may appeal to several people”
Yeah, two or three people might like them. Too bad there are 47 units for sale.
I think what he meant to say was that, as was typical of developers during the boom, they truly believed that if they built it, the people would buy it, regardless of floor plan, finishes, amenities, location, etc. So, in this particular building, the developers completely disregarded basic things like floor plans, and crammed as many units into as small of a space as possible, with awkward floor plans, so as to maximize profit without regarding to the desirability of the product they were trying to sell.
As a result, this building became a spectacular failure. To have a building of this size and fail so utterly is a testament to the developers unbridled greed and building something with little or no regard as to the end product. They figured whatever they built would sell, regardless of how it looked, so who cares what we build. And the market responded accordingly and look where these losers are now.
“Jp3chicago on October 5th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Find me a developer (or for that matter any business owner) that is not interested in maximizing profit. What business are you in Tipster? I’d bet you are a University professor, religious entity, or perhaps a non for profit foundation thereby ruining my example!”
Lets not mention their blatant dishonesty. Up until recently that banner that there were ONLY 15 LEFT was hanging up above that building.
Maybe they were using Joe Zekas math and instead the sign stood for 15 units sold?
While I agree with HomeDelete’s opinion as I usually do my comments are on this three bedroom layout. I just looked again (both of them) and do not see anything wrong with the layout. In a perfect world the third bedroom would be located along a outside wall and have egress making it a full height wall. In this unit there was no logical way to do that other than making the Living/Dining/Kitchen area a big rectangle with light only at the end of the tunnel. That would not have been appealing at all!
Did not have time to look at the other units but again if I recall correctly there was a parking related issue with this project. Anyone have a memory of this issue?
OK, so if you really, really wanted to live in the Greektown area and it came down to here or the Haberdasher Lofts, which would you choose and why?
I’d go with the latter because of the historical ambience, cool amenities and solid reputation.
What does this place have to offer in contrast?
“What does this place have to offer in contrast?”
owner financing…
Financing can be a good/bad thing….
A friend got GMAC to finance him for a Corvette Convertible when he was 24. He lived at home and had a crappy job with limited income. GMAC is also a form of owner financing but it sure did not benefit him. Other than the fact that 40 year old women were instantly more attracted to him.
The twenty year old women thought that he looked like a tool and were not impressed that his entire earnings were going to support the car and not to moving out of his parents house.
Owner financing just means that the owner does not have confidence that the current prices will result in actual sales. They are willing to delay or extend their own financial gratification to prop up the transaction and hold the current pricing.
Dont get me wrong Clio I think that it is a good move for this property but it is a clear sign to me that just like those crazy ass former American Invesco programs these condos are stuck without the extra life support from owner financing.
Bob: “Units sold” is a flexible term and can refer to the total number of units under contract. While I agree, that sign deserved to go looong ago, it is ‘possible’ that they only had 15 left to sell. (Possible being the key word!)
What I find interesting is that in their new marketing, they have dropped the year built and now list it as unknown. I’m pretty sure we all know it was built back in ’06…
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/the-condoist/2010/10/odyssey-lofts-has-a-new.html#more