Lawsuit Against Developer Of $184M LaSalle Street Conversion Allowed To Continue
The $184M redevelopment of a Loop office building into 400 apartments hit a legal snag after a judge ruled he would allow a lawsuit against the developer to continue.
Celadon Partners and Blackwood Group filed a lawsuit in September against a venture of developer Primera Group and investor Marc Calabria, alleging that the venture stole their redevelopment plan. Cook County Judge James Hanlon last week rejected multiple counts of a motion to dismiss the complaint, according to Crain's Chicago Business.
The revamp of 105 W. Adams St. is one of six projects on the LaSalle Street corridor slated for office-to-residential conversions, earning nearly $68M in city financing as part of a sweeping plan to revitalize the Loop.
Celadon and Blackwood were on a city shortlist in 2023 for potential subsidies to convert the building into 247 apartments. According to Crain's, the venture reached an agreement with Primera principal Gabriel Martinez to buy the property and hold it while it secured city approvals and subsidies.
The two companies allege that Martinez backed out of the deal and partnered with Calabria to buy and redevelop the building, cutting out Celadon and Blackwood and violating an agreement between the parties.
Hanlon ruled that the fraudulent misrepresentation and breach-of-contract claims can proceed, finding Celadon and Blackwood's allegations sufficient, according to Crain's. He dismissed the pair's tortious interference and unjust enrichment claims without prejudice, meaning the plaintiffs' attorneys have until late July to file an amended complaint on those two counts.
Blackwood, Celadon and Primera did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Celadon and Blackwood are seeking $15M in damages and may try to pursue their originally planned redevelopment. The judge's ruling allows the case to proceed to discovery.
The LaSalle Street program is expected to be a major boon to downtown housing, adding about 1,800 new residential units to the total supply. As part of the conversions, developers will also remove hundreds of thousands of square feet of older office from the city’s inventory.
