Three years behind schedule, Green Exchange close to signing a major tenant.

Have you noticed that hulking, huge, vacant, massive, old, other adjective warehouse that backs against the Metra tracks, I90, and Diversey?  Well that’s the Green Exchange, located at 2545 W. Diversey Pkwy.

Originally planned as loft condos, the neighborhood had major issues with the plans so the development was halted.  Does anyone know why there was an issue with an old delapidated lamp factory being turned into nice, new condos?  Now being advertised as the nation’s biggest showcase for environmentally friendly businesses, it’s been quite the elephant in the room for the neighborhood because the Green Exchange is three years behind schedule.

The developers are currently in talks to land a major lease with Coyote Logistics LLC which will take 18-31% of the 227,450 square feet of available space making the building over 70% leased.  Some would say Coyote Logistics isn’t much of a green buiness but Coyote is a trucking company that works to minimize the number of trucks traveling empty, which in turn reduces energy consumption and emissions.

Check out the full Crain’s Chicago Business article AND video HERE!

Local, Chicago home prices up for the 5th straight month!

Local home prices up for 5th month

Nov. 24, 2009

(AP) — An index of local home prices rose for the fifth straight month in September, further evidence that the housing market recovery is continuing.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index for the Chicago area increased 1.1 percent from August on a seasonally adjusted basis. Local prices were still 10.6 percent below their level in September 2008, according to a report released Tuesday by Standard & Poor’s.

An index of 20 major cities, meanwhile, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent in September from the prior month. Prices rose month-over-month in 11 metro areas, a weaker showing than in recent months.

Compared with a year earlier, prices were down 9.4 percent, the smallest year-over-year decline since January 2008.

“We have seen broad improvement in home prices for most of the past six months,” David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Standard & Poor’s index committee. “However, the gains in the most recent month are more modest than during the seasonally strong summer months.”

Prices, as measured by the seasonally adjusted 20-city index, are up more than 3 percent from the bottom in May. But they are still down 30 percent from the peak in April 2006….

Check out the full ChicagoRealEstateDaily articley by clicking HERE!