What a $30,000 rent nets you these days

0:00During Lowe's pro savings days, save more on the products you count on to get the job done right. Get a free two pack of DeWalt 20 Volt Max XR 8 Amp Hour batteries. When you buy a SELECT DeWalt 20 Volt Max Power Tool, plus save up to 35% on SELECT major appliances. The right products, the right deals, ready when you need them. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Valet through 9.25, while supplies last. Selection varies by location. There's a fire inside you you can't ignore. Stand still, not a chance. You're a lifelong learner who's come this far. Now we are here to help you keep going further. Capella University, what can't you do? Visit Capella.edu to learn more. Google's Thompson Center debut has been delayed to 2028. And Cranes Dennis Rotken shares his weekend reporting residential real estate, including news of a $30,000 a month apartment in Chicago's newest Lakefront Tower.

1:01These are the kind of people who want to live in the newest, the nicest, the one everybody's talking about. That building is definitely the one everybody's talking about. They're moving from another building on the river to this where they'll have a view out over the lake and they'll have a terrace facing the lake. I'm Gene Sparrow and this is Cranes Daily Gist for Thursday, September 17th. Looking to expand your business? Ready to turn that 10,000 square foot warehouse into 100,000? At Old National, our commercial bankers think as big about your business as you do. We're by your side with smart ideas around cash flow, working capital, collections, and even retirement plan services that fit your needs. Because when you succeed, they succeed. Old National Bank, where relationships drive results. Connect with a banker today at oldnational.com slash commercial banking, member FDIC.

2:01You've never been one to settle. Stand down or stand still. You're a lifelong learner, energized by excellence. There's a fire inside you, you can't ignore. You've got competition to outrun, momentum to build on, and your own high standards to meet. Stop now? Not a chance. At Capella University, we help you catch what you're chasing, because you've always had the drive. Now, go earn the degree. Capella University, what can't you do? Visit Capella.edu to learn more. And now it's time for one of my favorite weekly conversations. It quickly became a favorite, talking residential real estate with Dennis Rodkin. Hello, and welcome. Hi, Gene. How are you? I'm doing fabulously well. I have been an online sleuth looking at photos of the things you're going to talk about today. And I feel like I was creeping a little bit, so I apologize to anybody that felt like I was invading their privacy.

3:08That's been my job for over 30 years is to creep. I love it. I love it. I love it. I found my people. So let's talk about what's going on in Oak Park. It feels like a tempest in a tea pot, but it probably reveals something else underneath. So what is the kerfuffle over the Frank Lloyd Wright houses? Well, yeah, it does connect to some pretty substantive issues. Oak Park is, of course, the epicenter of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in Chicago and really in the world. The largest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings anywhere because he spent a long portion of his career there. What's going on in Oak Park these days, which I've talked about here on the podcast, is the village is looking at becoming the first municipality in Illinois to relax single family zoning. I use the term relax single family zoning because when you say that they're eliminating that any municipality is looking at eliminating single family zoning, it sounds like houses are going to go away.

4:10But really what it means is in those places where only single family homes have been allowed by zoning law for decades, what we would now do is say any single family home that is torn down can be replaced with a multi unit building. This was a part of governor Pritzker's build package. This is something that has happened in other cities places in the Chicago area have looked at it. Oak Park is the one moving fastest toward it. And in fact, this week had the first of a series of eight meetings, community meetings about whether to go with this plan called shape Oak Park, which would remove barriers against building multi family housing on single family lives. How does that connect to Frank Lloyd Wright? Well, a YouTuber with about 360,000 followers who lives in Oak Park, his account is called this house. And a lot of what he does is do sort of a video tour of a historic home, how it got built, who the people were, why they were significant. That's a good thing.

5:15Last weekend, he came out with a video where he said that several houses in Oak Park would be demolished, which is scary. You know, if you're an Oak Parker and you read, we have something like a dozen Frank Lloyd Wright houses and there to be demolished soon, that's pretty alarming. He got over 100,000 views. He had hundreds of comments. It came out on Friday. It got to me by Monday with people saying, Hey, is this accurate? Is this correct? It appears not to be accurate in just the following way. The way his script starts is this Frank Lloyd Wright house will be demolished soon. And he's standing in front of somebody's house and it's not he is correct. It's actually online images. He's got images of the first one is the Nathan Moore House of very famous Frank Lloyd Wright house right by Frank Lloyd Wright's home in studio. There are a couple of others, the beachy house, the Hills to Carrow House also in that area that he shows photos of. And he says, so this house will be demolished and so will this one, so will this one and so will this one. What he really means is if this package of reforms that I was just talking about for single family zoning passes, then somewhere down the line, it could become true that one of these homes would be demolished.

6:36That's a much longer route to losing Frank Lloyd Wright homes than this will be demolished soon. People were freaking I got a couple of emails. There's a member of the village board who posted on Facebook that it was all lies. She said why lie about this because it really looks like misinformation. So I ended up having an email conversation with him. His name is Ken Weiss and as it happens, he actually lives in Oak Park. He said in his email. This is one reason he's taking this issue so personally, I think you're familiar with gene with the concepts of Nimby and Yimby. Nimby is not in my backyard. Don't build that thing near me. And the more current phrase is Yimby. Yes, in my backyard, please build a lot of housing because everywhere we have a housing shortage. And that's one of the motivations behind this shape of park program is let's build more housing in Oak Park, which would make it more affordable for more people to live there. However, zoning and historic preservation are two separate channels in Oak Park.

7:45And what the city council member and others told me is that all the historic preservation protections that are on those Frank Lloyd Wright houses. It's not just emotional, but it is actually written into ordinance would prevail over any change in zoning. And he thinks it's a slippery slope because that's what it kind of sounded like from the from the quotes. It seems like he's saying conflating the zoning changes with an eventual change for the historic piece, but you're saying those are two separate things. Yeah, I think you're used to the phrase slippery slope is appropriate because while he does say in the video, these will be demolished soon. He goes on to spell it out and in the emails with me, he spelled it out more fully that these several steps would happen and we'd be sliding down a slippery slope to losing Frank Lloyd Wright houses. You know, Frank Lloyd Wright was a very, very significant architect. Of course, he's super significant in Oak Park because he left this architectural patrimony for people. Those houses are part of the walking tours. There are major piece of the tourism draw of Oak Park. Hemingway is the beautiful parks are the restaurants are, but most people come to Oak Park who haven't been there before to see Frank Lloyd Wright.

9:02So the idea that these houses could be torn down really had people on edge and what he says is, you know, it actually could happen what he said in our email. Exchange is there is a possibility because when you look at the maps that shape Oak Park has distributed, you can see that I mentioned the Nathan Moore House earlier, the Nathan Moore House on its lot could be replaced by six units. So it's feeling is down the line somebody buys that house or somebody buys several Frank Lloyd Wright houses and land banks them for a time when the village council maybe isn't quite so concerned about Frank Lloyd Wright and is more concerned about getting more housing. Frank Lloyd Wright has gone out of style, whatever it is. And they'd say, okay, yeah, demolish these very important homes to build more housing. I have to say it's a stretch in my mind because it's very hard to imagine that there comes a time when Oak Park stops valuing its Frank Lloyd Wright homes.

10:07It's its identity like it's quite literally part of the brand of Oak Park. It's on the some of the signs. I mean, I'm looking at a print. I got one of my first trips of covering something in Oak Park of Unity Temple. I love it so much. It's over my desk. You've got to be getting me like I don't see it. It felt like clickbait to me when I saw it. But I often dismiss things because of that. And I wanted to give it a full listen out. So at the end of the day, you think it's a stretch, but he might have a point. Well, let me first say let me respond to you referring to clickbait. He does say in the video, no, this is not clickbait. That's a little bit hard to swallow because he has started out by saying this house will be demolished soon. He also said soon. Yeah, this house will be demolished soon. And again, he goes on in the video to say there's nothing up for demolition now. But in our email conversation, I did say, you know, you didn't say it conditionally. You didn't say this could be demolished. This might be demolished if X Y and Z happened. This would be demolished. You said this will be demolished soon.

11:19And I don't think we really came to closure on that. But you also mentioned being surprised. One of the people who was surprised was the owner of one of these homes that he held up as a likely demolishing candidate. A woman who has lived there for over 25 years, she spoke to me. And she said, this came as a surprise to me. You're telling me my house is going to be demolished. I think I'd be aware of that. And she was pretty upset about the idea that you would make this claim to oppose the shape of park program. Even though she owns a, you know, a Frank Lloyd Wright house on a big piece of property. She favors the shape of park program that would allow construction of more units on most lots in Oak Park. Very likely would not allow it on her lot because she's in the Frank Lloyd Wright historic district and any change to those properties, even dividing up the lawn needs to be approved and rarely would be approved.

12:21In fact, she says there's historical precedent that shows that the village board would never allow such a thing at the demolition of a Frank Lloyd Wright house. According to her research, she's lived in her house for about 25 years. But in the 1940s, it has a great big lot. And in the 1940s, she says somebody wanted to subdivide split off that lot and build something next to this Frank Lloyd Wright house. And the village board did not allow it then. And at that time, 1940s, Frank Lloyd Wright, he was kind of going out of still building, but sort of going out of style. Her feeling and the feeling of this village trustee I spoke to is it would be so very unlikely for one of these to be torn down for you to say so in a video is just to be rattling people's cages in order to bring attention to the issue. And he did say the issue matters to him very much and lives in Oak Park. He believes that the Yimby movement is sort of out of control. And he wants to see these historical homes cherished and preserved feels that if this plan passes, they may not be cherished and preserved.

13:29So everybody's sort of agreeing on let's keep the Frank Lloyd Wright houses, but they're not agreeing on is, is there actually a threat to them? Right. Well, let's move on to another near suburb to talk about another historical home. It was actually on the endangered list I saw for landmarks Illinois, the Harley Clark house on Sheridan, just north of Northwesterns campus. I have driven by that home that building rather because I've only known it as a public building right the entire time I've, you know, been a, you know, at the university or teaching there. And I drive by it often and I'm happy to hear that it's going to be in its former glory. So tell me what is planned and wasn't it on a list for demolition at one point. Yeah, actually the Evanston City Council approved a demolition plan in 2018. That was, I guess that was sort of a moment of frustration for the city council because the building had gone empty.

14:30It's a beautiful mansion and we'll talk about its history, but it had gone empty in 2015. The city has owned the mansion since the 1960s the mansion is from the 1920s. Evanston Art Center had been in there for a while for decades. They say we're going to move out the city starts looking for another tenant frustrations that we may discuss in a few minutes. And finally the city says, okay, well, then maybe the solution is to demolish it. And so then the preservationist rise up and say, oh, no, you don't. And in 2024, a new plan was approved to redevelop the building under the auspices of a private company, Seladon. It's going to become a wedding venue, social rooms, sort of a community center, but for profit in some parts. And what has just happened, the new news is that the city of Evanston approved the preservation plan for the building. There are still approvals that are needed for the business plan and other things, but we see what they're going to do with the building this firm Seladon and its partners, what they're going to do with this building, which again has it's sat empty since 2015.

15:41It's been sort of poorly maintained for half a century when the art center was in there, not to blame the art center. It's just a very expensive building to take care of and a lot of maintenance got deferred. So it needs a lot. And what we saw in this new preservation plan that was approved is that it's going to get a lot. It was really interesting. I had a conversation with Susie Reinhold of revive architecture. She's leading the exterior work for Seladon. There's also a lot of interior work being done. This is a $20 million project. It's about a $35 million effort around Harley Clark, but $20 million going into restoring and putting back in order the building. And she said that they're doing all the things people would really love to do when they restore an old house, but can't really find the funding for just as an example. The roof is this beautiful old Louvichy tile and where two pieces of roof come together in a valley, you would often have metal flashing because it's cheaper.

16:43But what this has is custom made tile running down that valley and they are rebuilding all of that. They're not saying, okay, well now we need to save money. So now we'll go to the metal flashing. They're rebuilding the tile. It's those kinds of details. There are carved elements of stone on the outside of the building. Some pieces are missing. They're not casting new ones in drive it or something like that. They're bringing in stone covers to carve new versions of what used to be there. That is amazing. Yeah, all kinds of great things. All these big old steel windows, which have to be replaced in part because the glass is not as energy efficient as the glass we put in today. She said, you know, you could put in new replacement windows and they would change the lines of the house. Instead, new glass is going to be put into the old steel frames. The old steel frames have to be removed to have this done and then put back in with the new glass. So that the house will look as it did in 1927, 1928 when it opened.

17:47This was just really encouraging because again, this house was threatened with demolition not too long ago. You know, you said you drive past it. People in Evanston walk past, go to the beach behind it. Anybody driving up Sheridan road, bicycling up Sheridan road, it's going to stop and see this. It's this really grand place. But you know, it's been kind of overgrown in a little shaggy, especially in recent years while it's been sitting unused and they're redoing the exterior. So with a look brand new, they're going to redo the interior also redoing the landscaping outside, which was done by Jen's Jensen, the pioneer of Midwestern naturalistic landscape. There's a group that has a volunteer group that has been working on the landscape for years. This company is providing funding to them about $3 million to redo the landscaping according to Jensen's old plans, putting it trees, that kind of thing. Then inside, there's very extensive work going on apparently. So there are three floors, first floor and third floor have a lot of historical material still in place.

18:54But the second floor was redone as offices and galleries and classrooms and stuff. So it doesn't have any historical material left. But what they're doing is taking a lot of what exists and copying it and also using old photos and copying from them to try to create on that second floor. Something very similar to what would have been there in the 1920s. So nice to see this level of preservation happening even nicer because this building could have been lost. Right. It absolutely could have. And it's one of those things. It's a landmark for anybody's right next to the lighthouse. So it really is part of that part of the lakefront. And I can't imagine if that business plan gets approved that they're not going to be booked for years in advance. I wish them well. I'm glad they're bringing it back. I do too. And at this point, it kind of doesn't become my story anymore. It becomes somebody's business story. I write about the house and the house is getting restored. So goodbye to the Harley Clark mansion from me. But I hope you do well.

19:57No, you're going to do a story when it's complete. And then you get to say goodbye. But for right now, people can check out the photos of what the renderings look like and what it looks like now and what the inspiration is at Chicago Business.com. Now let's come downtown for record breaking condo $8 million at one Chicago. Yeah, the highest priced home sale in the city of Chicago so far this year. There have only been, you know, I tracked the metro area. There have only been three in the metro area that have sold for more so far this year. There was a $17 million sale in Glencoh and there were two that sold for over 8 million 8.3 million in Lake Bluff and Naperville. But then this comes in at $8 million highest priced home sale in the city of Chicago so far this year. There are two houses in the city that have sold for $6.5 million. And those were the highest for the city. Why am I so stuck on highest for that kind of thing? Because when we see a gold coast condo, this is on Walton Street. When we see a gold coast condo sell for $8 million, it's another sign that the downtown housing market is coming back.

21:04It's really good to see that buyers are going into these high end luxury homes. We had some real trouble in the 2020s. There was the pandemic shutdowns. People had no reason to be downtown because not only was work but cultural centers but cultural attractions and restaurants and everything else were closed. So if I'm a wealthy empty nester, I don't really need to be down in the gold coast anymore. And then of course that was followed by a really difficult period with crime. And a lot of that was right there where I'm trying to live on the gold coast. So we saw a real decline in demand for those high end condos. So when we see something like this sell at $8 million, that's good news. I don't know how good the news is for the following reason. This is in the one Chicago building, which has been for sale for several years. It was going up prior to the problems that developed in the 2020s. It was going up in the late 2010s, the pre-COVID years. And at that time, I sat down with Jim Lecchinger, the principal of JDL, the development firm, in that building, things were really going well in the downtown condo market at the time.

22:14There were going to be four units sold at $10 million or more. One of them was going to be $28 million. So we've gone through a reset. His highest sale in that building so far has been $8.9 million. It's certainly possible that he hasn't let on but has some 10 and $28 million units. But I think this is sort of a sign of the reset. Prices are considerably lower now in part because there's a whole lot available because people weren't buying. And in part because some of the people who would have come down in the past still aren't coming down, still haven't come back down to downtown Chicago. So the reason I don't know how good a piece of news this is is I don't know what it was priced at before. So I don't know if this $8 million sale is at a big discount. Neither the real estate agent nor the principal of the development firm return my calls. So I don't know that. That's not to say I think it's bad news. That's just to say, you know, if it's discounted, let's just say from $15 million, then an $8 million sale is a little bit of a disappointment.

23:26Even though it's still a record. Yeah, right. I just want to be very clear. I've made up the number 15 million. I don't know what the previous price was if there was one. So that's just sort of a parenthetical statement about why we don't know how good the news is, but it's very good news if you take our recent reset into account. Right. So given that where does the upper end market stand right now? That sale was the one hundred and first of the year at four million dollars or more. At this time last year, there were a hundred and fourteen sold. So we're not quite up with what last year was doing, but that's pretty darn good. Given that the overall market, the market at all prices is well below last year. Last year turned out to be the record for sales at four million dollars or more. And as I think you know, the fact that we're at a hundred and one sales in late September is actually pretty interesting because up until the pandemic years, up until I guess it was 2021, the average number of sales at four million dollars or more was 51 for the full year.

24:35And we've more than doubled that everything is more expensive now home prices are much more expensive, but we also have had a big run up in the luxury sales in the last several years. So we're seeing even at a hundred and one in September were at twice what would have sold in a full year just a few years ago. And the slowdown is coming anyway. Remember the days when we could only move on in May and October when we rented. Yeah. Yeah. Speaking of rentals, let's talk about these high end rentals that are happening. Thirty thousand dollars a month and they are not available until next May. Yeah, this is an interesting turn that people are actually renting these units, even though they won't be able to move in until May. The specific building I'm talking about here is 400 lakeshore, which a lot of people know is the most recently unveiled most recently completed tower on Lakeshore Drive. It's right near the mouth of the river. It's immediately west of Lakeshore Drive in the same place is what's going to become to Sab park.

25:38A lot of people are aware of this spot on the north of the mouth of the river. This building has just been completed, though that's really external. The interior hasn't been completed. The less expensive rentals start to become available in March, but in May, some of these very high end ones in the upper floors of this tower become available. Some of them are already rented. There are six at twenty thousand dollars or more. Three of them are already under contract. I can't move until May and in September. I've put in a lease for my just last week somebody put in last Friday somebody put in a lease for a twenty five thousand dollar unit. That's actually higher in the building, though lower in price than this thirty thousand dollar rental because the building. The building has this kind of waterfall effect on top. The top floors are narrower than the ones below them. So it's less square footage. Yeah, so it's less square footage up there, but somebody rented a twenty five thousand dollar unit. The highest rental in the building is thirty thousand dollars. That's not taken yet.

26:40I talked to the rental agent who dealt with the people who rented that twenty five thousand dollar unit like you're paying a whole lot of money. You're not paying it till May and he said he couldn't tell me who they were or anything like that. But these are the kind of people who want to live in the newest, the nicest. The one everybody's talking about that building is definitely the one everybody's talking about. They're moving from another building on the river to this where they'll have a view out over the lake and they'll have a terrace facing the lake. And he said they were very happy to sign for it months in advance. The fact that people are doing that is pretty remarkable. You're not going to do that for your two thousand dollar a month. No, too bad rental because you're not even looking until short but shortly before your lease expires. These are people who you know want to have the best they'll pay for it now. They have what the agent on these units told me is these tend to be people who are downsizing who are selling a condo who might be looking for a second home either because they're coming in from out of state or because they're coming in from the suburbs.

27:44They're willing to wait until May because they want that one. Right. And they don't have a lease that's coming up that they need to move out. And I would also imagine on top of that that they have people to handle the pain of moving because who would move to a new building just because it exists unless they have somebody to that that absorbs the pain of that because the idea of packing up my place again in a couple of years is giving me hives. Right. Probably true. I think you go off to the south of France for a while and you come back and imagine hold your stuff. So I've been moved. I love it. So let's talk about a real estate magnet who just put down 40 million dollars for a home in Palm Beach. Neil Blooms new home. I did I he's the one I became a creeper for because I went and looked at the house because we couldn't publish the photos. But it is gorgeous. Yeah, it is gorgeous. And I wish I could have published the photos. The problem is when people buy or sell when our Chicago alumni buy or sell in Florida. I can't use the photos unless I have the express permission of the individual agent here.

28:58I'm generally have the permission of a brokerage. I may actually talk to the agent and get their permission. In this case, the agent didn't call me back. So I was not able to show people this really nice house in Palm Beach. It's on. You probably saw it's on Everglades Island, which is a little island in the intercoastal waterway. It's two miles from Mara Lago, the president's place. And it's pretty spectacular to be very, very accurate. I need to say Neil Blooms did not buy the house of the house. A trust that benefits Neil Blooms wife Kimberly bought the house, which is why the story says Neil Bloom has a new home that costs $40 million. This is quite a place. One of the other things I don't know is it was listed at $41 million furnished. And I don't know if at 40 they bought it without the furnishings and they're furnishing it themselves. You know, once again, you probably have people who are going to do this for you if you bought a $40 million house. Neil Bloom is such a piece of the firmament in the Chicago business community. Most people know his name in case they don't from 1968 forward. He was a partner in J. M. B. the big real estate firm that owned thousands of apartments dozens of malls all over the country.

30:19Built the Bloomingdale building built a lot of Chicago. He also runs Walton Street Capital, which is a private equity firm. He started in 1996. And he also runs Rush Street Gaming, which is a casino and gaming company. He started later. He is reported by Forbes to be worth $9.9 billion. By the way, I said he built the Bloomingdale building still has a home here, still has a condo in the Bloomingdale building. That according to the assessor is worth about $6.3 million. He's owned it since the building went up. So I don't have a purchase price. And he's got this fascinating story. So Neil Bloom and Judd Malcolm started this real estate company. They actually started with a third guy. And he left. But eventually in the late 1960s, these two guys are running this real estate company turns out they were classmates. They went to the high school. One grew up wealthy. The son of a car dealer. That was Malcolm. One grew up as he described it poor grew up with a single mother and his sister in an apartment. They go to high school together. They bond. The one is basically driving the other around in his fancy cars and things like that. They go to the U of I together. They end up starting a real estate company. And both of them get wealthy.

31:47It's sort of interesting. One of them has a rags to riches story. That's Neil Bloom and the other has a riches to riches story. That's Judd Malcolm. But they did it together as friends. I kind of like that. You know, two guys who became buddies in high school. There's a story about them in the Tribune from I think the 1980s. They went to high school in the 50s. People my age know the 50s from like happy days and Greece. And so the guys are all wearing their leather jackets. These guys had leather jackets for their group. And the wealthier boy, John Hocken paid for the leather jacket for the, you know, so it's a really nice story. And then they grow up. And now Neil Bloom is worth $9.9 billion and bought a $40 million house. It's just a beautiful thing. A rags to rich, a rags to really, really rich a story. Yeah, exactly. We're going to wrap up with an ex-sox player who is selling his house in Lakeview, which at first confused me. Because I was like, that's really a long commute from your job. But okay, but okay. I see you. So tell me about what's going on real quick in Lakeview.

32:52He has my name, Grandel. He played for the socks for four seasons ending 2023 four seasons before that in 2019. He signed the most expensive contract in White Sox history at the time, $74 million. He and his wife Heather bought this house long before he bought it. I wrote about it getting built because these are actually built by J.D.L. The same firm we were just talking about at one Chicago. This is an area. This is on surf in Lakeview. It's an area that was being redeveloped from industrial use. And the way to get houses on this one block was to make it sort of a private street. You're on surf street, but there's no street. It's all sidewalk and grass just for one block. You're behind a gate. And so there are 11 houses on one side of the block. And on the other side of the block is a private club house that belongs just to your houses. I love that concept. Really interesting layout. So it's kind of secluded and then Grandel buys something that has even more seclusion to it. So it's way at the end of this walking block. And then it has an internal courtyard.

34:00So like if you want to shut the world out, this is the place. And if people are looking for you, it makes a really smart way to protect yourself and your family in a way that doesn't feel like a big iron gate. You used a word in the article that I had to go and look up and then I went down a whole rabbit hole around the word greens word. Oh, creaks word. Yeah, I couldn't figure out exactly how to describe this idea. There are a couple of other parts of the city like an edgebrook where you don't actually have street up front. You only have sidewalk and green. And you might if if it's a certain age, you might have an alley out back for garage and this house does. But yeah, I think it's sort of a green sword. I couldn't figure out another way to put it. And so that's out front. But then you go inside. It's really interesting. You go inside and as soon as you walk in, you see the outside again because the house the house is essentially one room deep and then this internal courtyard.

35:02So living dining kitchen, a bedroom upstairs, a bathroom upstairs, separate suites. They all look down into this courtyard. So one of the things the real estate agent told me is, you know, this really makes for better flow when you're having a dinner party. It's not let's go out across the deck and downstairs and sit on some chairs on the lawn. It's we have some outdoor space that is essentially part of our indoor space our dining room. So you out there for drinks in here, flow back into the dining room for dinner. Really a very nice place. So Yazmani, Yaz, Grandal is from Cuba. And I thought it was interesting that there are some finishes that look sort of Cuban. There's big tropical print wallpaper and things like that really stylish house. And as usual, I got so caught up talking about the house that I forgot to mention the price. They're asking $3.3 million. And something I should add that I didn't say earlier is while you only walk up to the front, the house does have a three car garage out back. And so separately, you would enter by car out in the back.

36:08So you're not only arriving by foot. It's just that if you arrive on at the front, you're only arriving by foot. And it's a really nice kind of way to think about being in a community with others too. I like that. I mean, clubhouse just a leather of us. Can you imagine? And the pool in the pool in the gym. It's very, it's a little bit better than having my own basement gym. But it's not as public and grimy as going to a big gym where you know, there are 50 people that morning. Indeed, indeed. Like the wiping things down with the wipes takes on a whole different meaning because it's only a few people have touched it. Dennis, as always, it is lovely chatting with you. What else you've got coming up? What are you working on? You know, I'm going into sort of a set of affordable housing issues in part because we have this big affordable housing event coming up at cranes next week. And so one of the things I'm doing is looking at ways that other cities, other Midwestern cities are trying to accelerate the construction of affordable homes, places like Minneapolis, Rockford, Indianapolis.

37:19What are they doing to get more housing built? We definitely need that here. Can't wait to hear about that and everything else that's going on on the MLS. Thank you so much, my dear. Thanks, Gene. See you. Coming up, World Business Chicago's Design Contest Winners, imagine a greener city. We'll cover that and more after this. Cranes daily just listeners know their Chicago biz. And here's a great way to prove it. Take the Cranes Weekly News quiz at ChicagoBusiness.com slash quiz. We know you keep up with the stories we feed you every day. Now you can test your knowledge with our weekly quiz. Visit ChicagoBusiness.com slash quiz. And of course, Cranes daily just is a great study guide. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts. You've never been one to settle. Stand down or stand still. You're a lifelong learner. Energized by excellence. There's a fire inside you. You can't ignore.

38:20You've got competition to outrun, momentum to build on and your own high standards to meet. Stop now. Not a chance. At Capella University, we help you catch what you're chasing because you've always had the drive. Now go earn the degree. Capella University. What can't you do? Visit Capella.edu to learn more. The loops long awaited economic spark plug will take a little more time to arrive. Google announced that it is pushing back the grand opening of its new Midwest headquarters at the Thompson Center to 2028. The tech giant had previously targeted a 2027 move in for the revamped 17 story building at 100 West Randolph. Google gave no reason for the delay as Cranes Danny Agger reported, but the post-pollont timeline means the central loop will have to wait another year for the massive influx of foot traffic. City leaders have been counting on.

39:21Since Google purchased the dilapidated former state office building in 2022, downtown landlords and city officials have viewed the historic overhaul as the single biggest catalyst to revitalize the urban core following the shift to remote work. Once complete, the Helmut Jan designed glass structure will house at least 2000 Google employees and the company is offering a fresh look at what the public can expect inside and out. New renderings released today highlight a drastically upgraded multi-story atrium featuring retail shops, dining options and a sweeping cascading staircase designed to serve as a central public gathering space. Outside on the plaza at Randolph and Clark, Google showcased plans for a massive new public art installation, replacing Jean-Dubou Fais' iconic monument with standing beast will be vector, a 30-foot tall sculpture by artist Sanford Biggers designed as an interactive accordion style structure based on traditional quilt patterns.

40:24You can check out the renderings at Chicago Business dot com. Google is currently actively recruiting retail and restaurant tenants for roughly 60,000 square feet of commercial space across the building's concourse and ground levels. The Chicago City Council is weighing a multi-billion dollar overhaul to one of the most controversial deals in city history, the 75-year Chicago parking meter lease. In a last minute push to secure city council approval before a September 30 deadline, current meter owners, a group led by Morgan Stanley, are offering Chicago a sweetener to allow a $2.53 billion sale to private equity firm Stone Peak Partners. Crane's John Plett's reports that under the proposed terms, Chicago would receive a one-time 75-million dollar cash payment, a 5% cut of all future annual parking meter profits, and a 2% fee on any future resale of the concession. Every dollar of that revenue will go directly toward the city's severely underfunded pension systems.

41:29The deal also resolves a major political roadblock. Stone Peak has agreed to divest from Omni Air International, a charter airline used by the federal government for deportation flights, satisfying key concerns from progressive alder persons. Finance committee chair Pat Dau will call the revised proposal a departure from the old deal, promising long-term benefits for taxpayers. Long-time critic Alderman Scott Wagesbach echoed that optimism, noting negotiators managed to break open an agreement once thought completely ironclad. The stakes are high. Mayor Brandon Johnson previously considered buying back the meters for over $3 billion before dropping the idea as too risky. If the city council rejects this transfer, Stone Peak is expected to walk away, and current owners have threatened legal action against the city. The Finance committee is set to take up the measure next week. With a receiver waiting in the wings, resilience healthcare and its landlord are close to reaching a deal over who will control and presumably attempt to reopen West Suburban and Weiss Memorial hospitals.

42:39Cook County Judge Patrick Stanton said Tuesday afternoon after almost 4.5 hours in his chambers that the parties have asked until Thursday to iron out a deal. As Crane's healthcare reporter John Asplin reports, the unexpected pause postpons a court order receivership ruling. Rather than appointing a third party judge Stanton worked directly with legal counsel behind closed doors to help negotiate a resolution. Both facilities remain completely shuttered. Weiss Memorial in Uptown lost its license after shutting down over broken air conditioning and losing Medicare billing, while West Suburban in Oak Park was forced to close entirely when its elevators failed. Any upcoming operator faces a massive uphills climb. The health system is drowning in over $180 million in debt owed to private creditors, vendors and government agencies. Meanwhile, community opposition is mounting. The Chicago Medical Society and local West Suburban physicians are aggressively fighting potential takeover attempts by Michigan-based inside health systems.

43:43Doctors argue that inside refuses to give medical staff and community members an advisory role in patient care decisions. They are also opposing court appointed receiver candidates favored by current ownership demanding an independent party take the helm instead. Whether the two sides finalize a settlement or the judge steps into a point a receiver, the path to restoring care in Oak Park and Uptown remains severely blocked by infrastructure failures, canceled insurance contracts and crippling financial liability. World Business Chicago has selected two winning proposals in its Horizon Lines Design Competition. A contest launched earlier this year to help guide the city's long term economic development. Out of nearly 200 submissions, the winning entries focus on transforming the city's footprint into climate-resilient green spaces, leaning directly into Chicago's official model, herbs and orto, or city in a garden.

44:44Crane's Rachel Herzog reports the first winning concept dubbed green city rising comes from the Morton Arboretum. Their plan proposes a network of neighborhood mini-Arboreta, localized botanical gardens filled with natural trees and plants tailored to each community's specific ecological needs. The goal is to lower local temperatures, clean the air, manage stormwater runoff and boost biodiversity block by block. Morton Arboretum CEO Jill Koski says the ultimate vision is to position nature as a key stakeholder in Chicago's future economic and community growth. The second winner titled Wonderways comes from Urban Design firm MKSK. This proposal aims to overhaul Chicago's historic boulevard system, turning transit corridors into expanded green trails, public spaces and enhanced tree canopies. MKSK principal Brett Wydel notes that reimagining the boulevard will help connect diverse neighborhoods while laying the groundwork for climate resilience and long-term local investment.

45:51World Business Chicago says both designs offer complementary ways to make the city greener and more connected. While there are currently no fixed budgets, locations or formal funding commitments in place, World Business Chicago plans to collaborate with both teams along with public and private partners to explore how these two ideas can work together moving forward. Any eventual construction will still require formal city approvals and financial backing. Read the full story from Crane's Rachel Herzog at ChicagoBusiness.com. That's Crane's daily gist for now. Check in on our continuous news feed at ChicagoBusiness.com. Thanks so much to today's guest, Crane's residential real estate reporter, Dennis Rodkin. You can hear all our conversations on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get audio on demand. Remember to follow our show that way every new episode will be dropped right in your feed.

46:51Our show was produced by Todd Manley at Ear site studios. Thanks for listening. I'm Gene Sparrow and I'll meet you right back here next time. You've never been one to settle. Stand down or stand still. You're a lifelong learner. Energized by excellence. There's a fire inside you. You can't ignore. You've got competition to outrun, momentum to build on, and your own high standards to meet. Stop now. Not a chance. At Capella University, we help you catch what you're chasing because you've always had the drive. Now go earn the degree. Capella University, what can't you do? Visit Capella.edu to learn more.