With Chicago real estate in the middle of a boom period and empty downtown sites becoming more rare than World Series championships by Our Town's baseball teams, a small plot of land near Millennium Park could become the next hot development.

The 44k SF parcel near Stetson and Lake streets was mired in foreclosure proceedings for years. A judge recently issued a judgment on the property in favor of the site's creditors and ordered the land be sold via a sheriff's sale, according to Crain's. The sale would pave the way for iStar Financial to collect the $82M owed by the site's former owners, a JV led by Gerard Kenny.

Sheriff's auctions tend to be risky propositions. Other options would be for iStar to sell the site outright or JV with a partner to develop it. With the site exiting foreclosure, iStar could command premium pricing from developers, with a hotel or apartments being the most obvious choices to build. One drawback to the site: It's surrounded by high-rises, notably Aon Center. Tenants wanting bird's-eye views of Millennium Park would be out of luck, but there would be plenty of shade on hot summer days like today. [Crain's]