Chicago’s luxury rentals push past $4 a foot, John Buck lists $11.5 million co-op: Daily Digest

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In a first for the local market, luxury downtown apartments charge $4 per square foot. One Bennett Park and the Sinclair are charging the high rates amid Chicago’s downtown apartment boom. [Crain’s]

Rev. Leon Finney Jr. is facing allegations of fraud, self-dealing and mismanagement over use of public housing accommodation funds. His nonprofit, Woodlawn Community Development Corporation, filed for bankruptcy in October and is selling off its holdings. [Sun-Times]

Chicago developer John Buck has listed his East Lake Shore Drive co-op for $11.5 million. Buck converted the 9,600-square-foot duplex at 199 E. Lake Shore Drive in 1997, but the building is more than a century old. [Crain’s]

A 26,000-square-foot Elgin industrial building sold for $2 million. The Foderaro Investment Partnership Corp. bought 2475 Millennium Drive for the use of a related company, the V & F Transformer Corp. [Daily Herald]

A $36 million Tinley Park apartment building broke ground after 15 years of planning. South Street Development plans to build Boulevard at Central Station with 165 units and 30,000 square feet of commercial space. [Chicago Tribune]

Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts could be compelled to testify in a property tax case. After discovering a decade of property “misrepresentations” that chopped Ricketts’ tax bill in half — he is also finance chairman of the Republican National Committee — the Cook County Board of Review has referred the case to the state’s attorney. [TRD]

Redfin plans to disclose broker commissions on all Seattle listings — for both the buyer’s and seller’s agents. The discount firm will do so starting Oct. 1, when the Northwest MLS will also allow 30,000 agents and brokers to publish how much sellers pay the buyer’s broker. The change was announced in July. Last week, Redfin said it would disclose how much it pays buyer’s agents in an effort to be more transparent. “My experience is that when one MLS makes a shift like this others will follow suit,” Kelman told Inman. [Inman]

Chicago-based developer Newcastle Ltd. will not replace the Near North Side’s last Barnes & Noble bookstore with a 368-unit apartment. Alderman Brian Hopkins rejected the 39-story building proposed in April for 1120 to 1130 N. State Street, citing community objections over the building’s height, design, and fit for the neighborhood. [Chicago Tribune]

Starbucks has enlisted the original architect of a former Crate & Barrel store along the Magnificent Mile to preserve the 43,000 square-foot building’s architectural details. The 646 N. Michigan Ave. redesign will be Starbucks’s largest retail location and is called the “Willy Wonka of Coffee,” with a rooftop deck, a bakery, and locally-developed cocktails. [Curbed]

Vivid Seats, a Chicago-based online secondary ticket marketplace, may lease 110,000 square feet in the redeveloped historic Marshall Field building. It would be the building’s first lease since Brookfield Properties bought the Center Loop building for $30 million last year and converted it to offices. [Crain’s]

Bloomingdale Trail Ald. Daniel La Spata says developers should pay steep fees to build in the 606. The controversial anti-gentrification plan, first proposed in 2017, would waive hefty demolition fees of $300,000 to $650,000 for developments with at least half affordable housing. [Block Club]

Staffers at SoftBank’s Vision Fund are feeling the heat. Following yesterday’s news that WeWork may IPO at halve its valuation the stakes for fund employees have been revealed and many staffers’ compensation will be tied to WeWork’s IPO performance. They only get payouts once profits are booked and could have their money clawed back in the face of losses; senior staff could see clawbacks of 20 percent or more while more junior employees would be on the hook for repaying around 7 percent. [Bloomberg]

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aren’t going anywhere yet. The U.S. Treasury Department released its housing reform plan yesterday and, based on the report’s language, it seems that mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not getting out from under the government’s thumb anytime soon. Though the Trump Administration has recommended recapitalizing the companies and giving them independence, a clear plan for getting them the funds is vague. [WSJ]

Adam Neumann lashes out at Uber and Lyft. In a private meeting with analysts the We Company CEO criticized the ride-sharing companies’ spending, saying he thinks “there were growth issues. I think when you grow at any price there are consequences.” Shots fired. [Bloomberg]