20-Dec-20 – An attorney representing a group of Chinese investors who loaned $49.5 million to a New York City-based developer to build a 60-story condominium/hotel tower at the corner of Wabash Avenue & Superior Street remains skeptical the developer will return his client’s money.

Symmetry Property Development had initially planned to replace a group of 19th century buildings at 42, 44, and 46 East Superior Street with a new skyscraper designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill. The existing properties, built shortly after the Chicago Fire of 1871, have now been included in the City of Chicago’s new Near North Side Multiple Property Landmark District.

While Symmetry has reportedly agreed to return the money to the investors, the matter remains far from settled.

“It is not a definitive settlement in any sense,” said Doug Litowitz (left), a Deerfield-based attorney who is representing the group of Chinese investors in a federal class-action lawsuit. “I think it is premature because the settlement gives them 60 days to find the money to pay the Chinese, and if they don’t get it, the lawsuit goes right back to where it was.”

The project was quashed in 2017 by 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly over concerns it would add unmanageable density and congestion to an already-busy intersection.

Attempts to contact Symmetry Property Development were unsuccessful.

The head of Symmetry, attorney Jeffrey Laytin, was once a high-profile intellectual property attorney in New York who represented clients such as professional sports leagues and expensive clothing brands.

The Chinese investors were participating in the federal EB-5 Visa program, which provides a path to becoming a legal resident of the United States. Each investor contributed at least $550,000 to the Symmetry project.