The Vrdolyak-Marina City connection

15-Nov-08 – As former Chicago Alderman Edward Vrdolyak awaits sentencing, his connection to Marina City merits recollection.

It was 1977. Vrdolyak was a 39-year-old 10th Ward Alderman who had earned the nickname “Fast Eddie” for his ability to get programs pushed through the Chicago city council. (Left) Vrdolyak in the late 1970s, from Chicago Politics, Ward by Ward by David K. Fremon.

Over at Marina City, developer Charles Swibel was making mortgage payments on the complex, but progress paying it off was slow. The bank holding the mortgage, Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company, encouraged Swibel to convert the residences at Marina City from apartments to condominium units. Proceeds from the sales would allow $32 million in loans to be refinanced.

Given the task of selling 896 apartments as quickly as possible, Swibel looked for bulk purchasers – investors who weren’t necessarily going to be residents.

Here’s where the story gets a little complicated. It’s not surprising that one prospective investor he turned to was Vrdolyak, a friend of Swibel’s with whom he had worked during Swibel’s many years in the public sector.

Swibel offered Vrdolyak 50 condominium units. According to Swibel’s son, Howard, now a partner at a Chicago law firm, Vrdolyak got a bank loan and paid the list price.

“There was no discount,” said Howard Swibel in January 2008. “And he got the same kind of financing package that other people were able to get from Continental Bank.”

Not everyone was convinced. Some people were suspicious because the city council was voting on whether to allow the condo conversion at Marina City in the first place. It was alleged Vrdolyak was given “bargain basement” prices in an attempt to influence his support of the conversion.

Howard Swibel points out there was no reason for the city council not to approve the conversion. “It required city council approval because the original Marina City was a planned development, a special zoning package. It required a change in the plan that it was going to be privately-owned apartments.”

Vrdolyak bought the 50 units in 1978, rented them out, and sold most of them at auction on July 10, 1983. Market values at the time were estimated at $59,500 to $150,000 for the studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units.

The remaining units have since been sold and Vrdolyak is not currently an owner at Marina City.

Vrdolyak, now 70 years old, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail fraud in connection with bribes and a Gold Coast real estate deal. Sentencing is scheduled for January 9. (Left) A more recent photograph of Vrdolyak, who is a founding partner of Vrdolyak Law Group, LLC.

 From City Within A City: The end is coming: Marina City goes condo