Fred Latsko Wins River North Air-Rights Lawsuit

A four-story commercial building at 9 West Kinzie Street won’t be getting taller any time soon.

The dispute between Chicago real estate power players Fred Latsko and Nick Anderson over the rights to develop on top of the River North building ended in Latsko’s favor last month.

Latsko has a strong presence in Chicago’s retail scene both in the Gold Coast and in Fulton Market. Anderson’s firm, Fern Hill, is developing projects in Fulton Market and the South Loop. It also has a 44-story residential tower in Old Town in the works.

Latsko alleged in his lawsuit that Anderson improperly secured air rights over the River North property, meaning he could — with potential city zoning permissions — build as many floors as he wanted above his top-floor unit on Kinzie and State streets.

Latsko owns the bottom floor unit that is occupied by swanky steakhouse STK Chicago. He alleged that any amendments to the agreement that governs the building needed approval from fellow unit owners.

Anderson, however, argued that the amendment that gave him the authority to build on top of the building was done to correct a clerical error. He claimed that the original agreement was not specific enough to determine what kind of construction was and was not allowed above his fourth floor unit.

The now-defunct Museum of Broadcast Communications, a former unit-owner in the building that was also named in the lawsuit, made the change to the building agreement stating that rooftop development rights had “no upper limits,” and shortly after granted those rights to Anderson’s LLC for his units.

The building has been majority owned by Anderson’s Fern Hill since May of last year when it purchased the remainder of the property and bought out the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

Anderson and his legal representatives did not respond to requests for comment. Latsko and an attorney for The Museum of Broadcast Communications declined to comment.

Latsko, via his LLC, River North Development Partners, requested that a judge weigh in on the matter and invalidate the amendment to the agreement. On July 19, a Cook County judge sided with Latsko, stating the amendment would have required further approval from fellow unit owners.

It also did not qualify as a clerical change because it “grants new and broader rights that were not present in the original version,” the judge wrote.

The lawsuit was not the only dispute playing out between Latsko and Anderson. Latsko also sued Anderson over a disagreement about how to address previous flooding problems at the building that forced STK to close temporarily. In April, Latsko requested to voluntarily dismiss the case.