River Forest Revokes Permit For Sedgwick’s Stalled Condos

River Forest officials are fed up with Sedgewick Properties’ long-stalled condo development that’s been an eyesore in the western Chicago suburb.

The village on Friday announced it revoked the building permit for the site at Lake Street and Lathrop Avenue, where Sedgwick originally planned to develop a 30-unit luxury condo building that was supposed to open in late 2019, Crain’s reported. Now, the project is only partially completed.

“We are quite disappointed that this has gotten to this point, that the project has gone on this long and not much has been shown for it,” Jessica Spencer, assistant village administrator, told the outlet.

Marty Paris, principal of Chicago-based Sedgwick, still has faith that the project will make it to the finish line, even though his firm failed to set up new financing before the board’s Sept. 15 deadline. Paris cited banking failures and economic stagnation as reasons for the financial struggles, but nonetheless, he’s focused on recapitalizing the development to move it forward.

The project’s financing history has been tumultuous and now involves multiple legal disputes, after a previous source of funding left in 2022 and a $20 million line of credit from Beverly Bank & Trust being was canceled this year while the lender pursues foreclosure, as The Real Deal first reported.

The village has revealed that the property is now in receivership, indicating that Paris no longer has control over it.

Originally proposed in 2016 as a redevelopment of single-story commercial buildings and surface parking, the project has undergone numerous changes, as the number of proposed condos have been reduced from 30 to 21.

While challenges persist, Paris pointed out that there is still significant interest in the development. There have been 16 units marked as pending sales, with prices ranging from $630,000 to $1.5 million.

Local officials plan to address the site’s condition and have expressed hope for an amicable settlement between parties to facilitate progress in this vital area of River Forest, Village President Cathy Adduci told the outlet.

— Quinn Donoghue