July 19, 2006
BY DAVID ROEDER Business Reporter

The buyer of Chicago lakefront land slated to get a 124-story building claimed full control of the project Wednesday and said its original developer is out of the deal for now.

Garrett Kelleher, executive chairman of Shelbourne Development Ltd. in Dublin, Ireland, said he has purchased the property with a loan from Anglo Irish Bank. A spokesman for Kelleher, Chicago attorney Thomas Murphy, said the 2.2 acres was acquired for $64 million.

Murphy said Christopher Carley is not a part of the sale. Carley assembled the deal, hiring celebrity architect Santiago Calatrava for the project and navigating City Hall for approval of what would be the tallest building in North America.

Carley could stay on as a local manager of the project, but that?s still to be negotiated, Murphy said. Groundbreaking could occur in early 2007.

?There?s no partnership and there?s no joint venture here,? Murphy said. He said Carley will be paid an unspecified sum for his involvement in the deal so far.

Carley was unavailable for comment. Among the assets he has in the deal are more than 90 sales contracts, each accompanied by $20,000 in refundable deposits, he has reported getting after a test marketing period.

The building has been approved to host 300 condominiums and 150 hotel rooms, some of which also could be sold. Its Calatrava design is unique and includes a spire that could contain antennae for digital TV. Each floor is rotated about 2 degrees from the one below it, giving the building a swirling appearance. Many real estate experts have warned that Carley, who has endured financial setbacks on other major deals while managing to complete them, never understood how expensive the building would be.

In his announcement of the land sale, Kelleher placed the project?s value at $1.2 billion. Carley last estimated it at $600 million.

?His may have been too optimistic and ours may be too pessimistic,? Murphy said when asked to explain the difference. ?Costs have changed a quite a bit in the year since this project was started.?

Kelleher's firm reported having more than $2 billion of development work in progress in Dublin and work in Great Britain, Belgium and France. He spent 10 years in Chicago starting in 1986, first working as a subcontractor on small projects, before returning to Ireland with his family.

?He has been looking at a lot of projects in Chicago,? Murphy said. ?He comes to Chicago on a regular basis, and he has an international vision for what this building can be.?

The building is slated for East North Water Street where it meets Lake Shore Drive. As the new owner, Kelleher is calling the project 400 North Lake Shore Drive for now, Murphy said.

Carley marketed it under the name Fordham Spire after his own Fordham Co.

The seller of the property is a venture aligned with LR Development Co. LLC, which could apply the proceeds to its own plans for a 57-story condo building at 515 N. Peshtigo Ct., a vacant piece about a block north of the Calatrava building.