Lawsuit against Museum of Broadcast Communications dropped

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: Deal ends contractor's lawsuit against broadcast museum : By: Eddie Baeb : April 29, 2009 : (Crain's) -- Pepper Construction Co.'s foreclosure lawsuit against the half-built Museum of Broadcast Communications has been dismissed as part of an unusual deal that gives the general contractor a mortgage on the River North property. : The deal breathes new life into the ambitious, 50,000-square-foot proposed museum at State and Kinzie streets that seemed all but dead in December when the museum's board decided to try to sell the property. : While the project, which has been stalled nearly three years, remains a decided long shot, museum CEO and founder Bruce DuMont says the deal with Pepper gives him time to find private donors and make another plea for state funding. : "This (the Pepper agreement) buys us time, so we can hopefully get beyond this bleak economic time," says Mr. DuMont, a longtime radio broadcaster and host of the syndicated radio show "Beyond the Beltway." : The agreement with Chicago-based Pepper involves dismissal of Pepper's lawsuit and lien over roughly $4.5 million in unpaid bills for construction work on the project that has sat mostly dormant since May 2006. : Pepper last month provided a mortgage to the museum that calls for Pepper to be paid $4.79 million by March 1, 2011, according to property records. : So Pepper, in essence, goes from being the contractor to being the project's lender, as there's no other outstanding mortgage. The company avoids foreclosing on the non-profit museum and also won't face the prospect of having to prove in court what it was owed for the work. : A Pepper executive and the firm's attorney in the matter declined to comment and referred inquiries to Mr. DuMont. : The museum's board in December decided to put the property up for sale when Mr. DuMont failed to raise enough money from donations to pay off Pepper and secure a construction loan. : The museum's board hired CB Richard Ellis Inc. in January to sell the property, but no formal marketing was done. Michael Vesper, a CB executive vice-president who continues to advise the museum, says there was some interest but no viable deals given the difficult real estate sales market and uncertainty over the project's future. : Now, Mr. DuMont says the ouster of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich could help the state finally pass a capital bill that might provide funding for the museum. Mr. DuMont has railed against the ex-governor, saying Mr. Blagojevich reneged on a pledge to provide millions in state funds. : Without state funding, the museum is unlikely to happen. : The ever-optimistic Mr. DuMont says he's hoping Gov. Pat Quinn's administration will see the museum's construction as an economic stimulus effort. Mr. DuMont is also playing up the project's aspiration to be among the nation's most environmentally friendly museums. : "If you want a shovel-ready project, a shovel-ready green project and a ribbon to cut in 12 months, I've got a building at State and Kinzie that can do all those things," Mr. DuMont says. : He says he's had recent discussions with state officials, but gotten no commitments. : "This is not the greatest time to get any real estate project done," Mr. DuMont says. "But we are undaunted in trying to get the museum completed. There is a new governor and Legislature, and our hope is we would be able to get some state support." : If the museum is salvaged, the deal with Pepper would probably deserve as much - or more - credit than any politician. : "Pepper stepped up big-time here," says CB's Mr. Vesper. "Hopefully, in the long run, we can get this done."

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