Calif. dreamin’ on Block 37
A Los Angeles-based investment firm has become the latest to try its hand with Block 37, the downtown development site that has defied predictions of success since the 1980s.
CIM Group said Monday it has acquired the block’s five-story retail complex. Opened two and a half years ago, the 275,000-square-foot complex that fronts on State Street is only 30 percent occupied.
The seller was Bank of America Corp., which foreclosed on the property last year after its developer, Joseph Freed and Associates LLC, defaulted on a debt estimated at $206 million. Sources said the property sold for approximately $84 million.
CIM said it “plans to lease the balance of the building to national and local retailers” and cited its experience in improving retail developments on the West Coast. It is best known for its investment in the Hollywood & Highland commercial complex, which includes the Kodak Theatre, site of the Academy Awards.
At Block 37, CIM will attempt to do better than a line of prominent investors and developers who could not fulfill the city’s vision of a retail and entertainment wonderland on the block between Macy’s and the Daley Center.
Freed managed to get the site open and attract specialty retailers. But once Bank of America took over, attempts to draw larger, destinationtype operations to fill upper floors foundered.
Experts said Bank of America would not approve money to improve the space and make it attractive for tenants. A bank spokeswoman declined to comment.
“It’s been two-plus years since
Gasoline prices continued their decline the past week, falling double digits from recent record highs.
In the Chicago area, the average price of unleaded regular gas Monday was $4.34 a gallon, down 17 cents from the record high of $4.506 reached March 27 and down 11 cents from April 2, according to I’ve made any offers for any of that space,” said Allen Joffe, principal of the firm Baum Realty Group LLC, which represents merchants in their searches for space. He said CIM will need attractions such as theaters, either for live shows or films, comedy clubs and famous restaurants to attract people into the complex.
“It doesn’t get any easier from AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. In the city of Chicago, the average price was down 8 cents from a week earlier at $4.57 a gallon and down 11 cents from the record high of $4.678, also reached on March 27.
But despite the recent price drops, the average price of un- here for CIM,” Joffe said.
CIM executives could not be reached, with a spokeswoman citing a policy of not giving interviews.
The company purchased the Hollywood & Highland complex in 2004 for $201 million and claims that it has increased its net operating income 10 times since then. With that and other investments in Hol- leaded regular gas is 27 cents a gallon higher than a year ago in the Chicago area and 33 cents higher in the city of Chicago.
Oil prices have been driven up this year due to fears of a potential Mideast conflict linked to Iran’s nuclear program. Recent pipeline disruptions, problems at refineries lywood commercial properties, the company asserts on its website that it “has been able to attract major office and retail tenants that have transformed the area into one of the top shopping, dining and entertainment destination for millions of local customers and tourists who visit every year.” and the switch over to more expensive summer blends of gasoline also have driven prices higher, according to analysts.
Concerns about the economy pushed oil prices lower Monday; U.S. benchmark crude gave up 85 cents to end at $102.46 per barrel.