[k1052]

Ald. Hopkins holding up the sale of city property to Sterling Bay in North Branch:

As Mayor Rahm Emanuel salivates over the chance to lure Amazon's second headquarters to the city, an alderman has thrown a wrench into a deal that would create one of the city's best potential landing spots for the online retail giant.

On hold is the $105 million sale of the city's 18-acre Fleet & Facility Management site along the North Branch of the Chicago River to developer Sterling Bay. Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, yesterday helped block an ordinance that would have sent the deal to the City Council for final approval next month.

Hopkins cited a lack of transparency in the sale process and highlighted a bid that was higher than Sterling Bay's for the highly sought-after parcel. He convinced the Committee on Housing & Real Estate to table the ordinance until he and city residents have a chance to review details of all bids to buy the site.

"We're going to have to vet this sale with all the appropriate scrutiny that a $100 million-plus transaction deserves," said Hopkins, whose ward includes the North Branch site and who has been a vocal critic of certain aspects of the city's plan to open the North Branch Industrial Corridor to residential, office and other commercial uses.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/reale...anch-land-deal