River Forest officials have told a Cook County judge they are finished waiting on the long-stalled Lake & Lathrop redevelopment and want the legal saga over the half-built corner brought to a close. Village President Cathy Adduci blasted the years of delays as “dysfunction, unnecessary banter, lies and delays.” The court has set the next hearing for July 9.
Judge Orders Warring Sides To Stop ‘Playing Games’
During a Cook County Circuit Court hearing, Judge Anthony Kyriakopoulos sharply admonished Sedgwick Properties and Wintrust Bank and told them to “stop playing games” after a run of incomplete filings and continuances dragged the case out, according to The Real Deal. The judge told attorneys he could not authorize any new construction while the foreclosure action is still pending. Observers said the tone suggested the court’s patience is wearing thin.
What Was Supposed To Rise At Lake & Lathrop
The project won approval in 2018 as a five-story, 30-unit condominium building with ground-floor retail at the Lake and Lathrop corner. Units were marketed at prices up to $1.4 million, with initial move-ins targeted for 2019. River Forest revoked the developer’s building permit in 2023 after work stalled and issued a stop-work order, which left only a small portion of the project completed, according to the Wednesday Journal. Nearby residents and merchants have repeatedly complained that the unfinished structures are a blight on the corridor.
Financing Collapsed And Litigation Followed
Beverly Bank & Trust, a Wintrust affiliate, approved a $20 million line of credit for the development in 2022, then canceled it the following year and later sued Sedgwick Properties for roughly $4.2 million, which led to a foreclosure filing in May 2023, according to The Real Deal. That litigation is now in its third year and has blocked a clean transfer of title or the entrance of a new developer. Local officials say repeated legal maneuvering and incomplete filings have significantly slowed the process.
Village Pushes The Court For Firm Deadlines
Village President Cathy Adduci has urged the court to put hard timelines in place and hold all parties accountable, saying the village will continue to “pursue progress and advocate for our residents,” according to a statement from the Village of River Forest. The village has separately sought demolition of the incomplete structures and says it will keep monitoring the site while the foreclosure moves forward. Officials emphasized that while the village cannot resolve the foreclosure itself, they expect the court to set a schedule that gets the property back to a condition that allows future development.
Why This Corner Has Everyone So Frustrated
Lake & Lathrop sits on a central stretch of River Forest’s Lake Street corridor, and its long stagnation has kept key retail space offline and dampened activity downtown. In the decade since the parcel was first greenlit, the most substantial nearby new project has been a 125-unit assisted-living community, The Sheridan at River Forest, which opened in 2021, according to a Bricks Inc. project listing. Village leaders say getting the corner into active use again would boost nearby businesses and restore much-needed foot traffic on the street.
Legal Tangles Keep The Site In Limbo
The foreclosure has been moving forward alongside the village’s separate demolition case and other procedural suits, and a judge previously declined to order demolition while the foreclosure remains unresolved, the Wednesday Journal reports. Consolidated cases and repeated continuances have made it harder to bring in a new developer or clear the site entirely, and attorneys are expected to press additional motions before the July hearing. If the court imposes a firm schedule, it could set the stage for a sale to a new owner or a trial that decides whether the bank can foreclose and clear title.
The next hearing is scheduled for July 9, when the court may set deadlines, require fuller filings or move closer to trial, according to village officials in their news release. For residents and business owners who have watched the corner sit half-built for years, that date now marks a chance for a long-awaited reset.
