Zombie buildings, by our definition, are developments that have returned from the dead. These five Chicago developments aren't quite ready to start doing the Thriller dance, but a couple of them could be close to coming back to life — others, not so much.
5. 1555 South Wabash
Construction Status: Construction finished in late 2009.
The Skinny: The website has come down, and the development's blog and Facebook site have been dead for over a year. More than 50 of the homes in the 176-unit building are currently listed on the MLS, so technically it has come back to life, but have any buyers even closed on their units? This could be a good candidate for a future auction.
4. Pure, 24 S. Morgan St.
Construction Status: Construction finished in 2008.
The Skinny: After cheating investors out of a reported $80 million, developer Salman Ibrahim vanished, leaving a completed building for the bank to deal with. At least half of the units were finished, and there was talk of the development going rental, but there isn't much evidence of it on the web. Does anyone live there now?
3. Lexington Park Condominiums, 2138 S. Indiana Ave.
Construction Status: Construction finished in 2009.
The Skinny: Since construction wrapped, the 35-story tower has been as empty as Geraldo's Al Capone vault. In May, Corus Bank took over the 35-story tower, but they haven't announced their plans for the high-rise. To make matter worse, it sounds like most of the tower has been severely damaged by flooding.
2. Staybridge Suites, 699 N. LaSalle St.
Construction Status: Unfinished
The Skinny: What once looked like a spiffy addition to the River North streetscape has been mummified for more than two years, terrorizing the neighborhood like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. A foreclosure suit was filed in 2008, and legal wrangling over the site has continued ever since. This is the only non-residential building to make the list.
1. Waterview Tower, 111 W. Wacker Dr.
Construction Status: Unfinished
The Skinny: Work ground to a halt on the planned 90-story tower in 2008, and the 26-story parking structure has been rotting ever since on the south side of the Chicago River.
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