Sedgwick Properties Development is being sued by the condo board at the Marquee Chicago in the South Loop over what the board says is shoddy work that has led to damage-causing leaks.
The 25-story Marquee Chicago at 1454 South Michigan Avenue was completed in 2010 and has 208 units, including two, two-story penthouse condos on the 24th and 25th floors. Improperly installed windows and doors have caused drainage problems and leaks on the two top floors, costing the condo board at least $1.5 million to correct, according to a lawsuit filed Feb. 1 in Cook County.
Other issues in the building include improper wall insulation that caused damage in the building’s second-floor retail space, hot-water pipes installed without insulation and improperly installed concrete that caused premature degradation of the parking structure, the lawsuit claims.
The condo board learned about the extent of the problems beginning in summer 2016 after hiring firms to inspect the building and its parking garage, according to the suit. Sedgwick should have known about the problems because people affiliated with the developer were on the condo board, and because the developer still owned units in the building, according to the lawsuit.
Sedgwick started work on the building in 2006 and wrapped up construction in 2010, according to the lawsuit. Tishman Construction is also listed in the suit, though Sedgwick’s construction arm took over the job about two years in. Tishman never performed any of the alleged shoddy work itself, but the bad work was performed by subcontractors Tishman hired, the suit alleges.
The board is asking a judge to award it the cost of fixing the defects and the cost of hiring the consultants and architects that discovered the problems, according to the suit.
Sedgwick President Marty Paris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chicago-based Sedgwick was founded in 1996 and has developed residential and commercial throughout the area, according to its website. The company was cleared in July to build a 15-story condo building in River North, and they are joining with Keystone Ventures on a 30-unit condo complex in River Forest.