CHICAGO SPIRE developer Garrett Kelleher is scheduled to meet with union pension fund executives to discuss a possible deal that would help kick-start the long-dormant 150-storey condominium project.
Talks with union lenders have been underway since this spring but have resumed in earnest since Chicago lost its bid to host the 2016 Olympics, says Tom Villanova, president of the Chicago Cook County Building Construction Trades Council.
The current focus is on a $170-million land-loan package that would enable Dublin-based Shelbourne Development to pay off existing loans and settle outstanding liens against the lakefront project.
“That’s the ask,” says Tom Villanova.
He says officials with the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust and ULLICO Inc, a union insurer, are to take part in the meeting.
While there's no timetable yet for a decision, Mr Villanova says: "We're getting to the commitment stage." A spokeswoman for the project would only confirm the meeting, which was first reported by the Chicago Tribune.
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