-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
213 W. Institute Place, a vintage seven-story loft office building in River North just sold for 61% less than was paid for the building in 2017. It's another data point illustrating the decimated value of office buildings as companies shedding office space have driven up vacancy and as higher borrowing costs have whittled the pool of prospective buyers. Many office properties in the heart of the city are now worth less than the mortgages tied to them, fueling a historic wave of distress.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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In Detroit you could buy abandoned homes for a dollar! It’s coming to Chicagoland.
And the seller is nonetheless happy to get 39% back on its 2017 purchase. Think about that. Think about impending impact on residential tax burden if these many “downtown” commercial buildings sell at such significantly deflated prices.