Court Orders Joseph Freed To Hand Over Block 37; CRE Positions Remain in Demand (Tuesday's News & Notes)

And the saga of the Block 37 development in Chicago continues. This week, a Judge ordered developer Joseph Freed & Associates to hand over the keys to the project to the receiver. But wishing to hold on, Freed tries to secure potential investors in the development.

• The court has forced Joseph Freed & Associates to turn over Block 37 to a previously appointed receiver, according to Chicago Business. Meanwhile, The Chicago Tribune reports that Freed has started discussions with potential investors in a bid to gain back control of the project.
• General Growth Properties has tapped investment bank UBS to help it emerge from Chapter 11, according to the Examiner.com.
• Retailer Daily reports that Wal-Mart will lay off 11,200 Sam's Club workers in 2010. The retailer denies the lay-offs have anything to do with the recession.
• The National Retail Federation forecasts a 2.5 percent increase in retail sales in 2010, according to Reuters.
• A Student of the Real Estate Game reports that applications for jobs in commercial real estate remain near 2007's levels, according to statistics compiled by Cornell University.