Astor House
Astor House, originally known as the Pratt Lane Hotel and built in 1927, came to prominence in the news on Thursday, March 28, 2013, when the new owners of the building, BJB Properties, doing business as: 1246 Pratt LLC purchased the property for $6.2 million. Attorney Gerard Walsh is listed as the principal agent of that company.
Up to that time, residents at the Astor House said they have long suffered with and complained about bed bugs, poor heating, low-water pressure, busted elevators, and other building code violations. The new owners took over in October, and 47 of the tenants suddenly had to face eviction which threatened to put some of them out on the street.
Tenants say the company wants to empty the building so it can be renovated and marketed to Loyola students and others at a higher rent.
After a lot of ink was used describing the battle between management and tenants, on Thursday, December 12, 2013, former tenants of the Astor House were evicted from their apartments — three days before the county's holiday eviction moratorium began.