Local Homebuilder Going Out of Business

Local homebuilder Orren Pickell of Lake Bluff will watch the construction business he built be sold July 6 as part of an out-of-court alternative to bankruptcy, according to an article on Chicago Real Estate Daily.com.

Orren Pickell Designers & Builders, which has been in business for 35 years, will be sold for $350,000 to a group of six investors that includes a Pickell buyer who will not have a management role in the new venture, according to the article.

The company has built a number of luxury homes in Deerfield and Bannockburn.

The business once reported $60 million  in annual revenue, according to the article, but hit tough times swhen the real estate market spiraled downward.

Pickell once lived in Lake Bluff, buying a 20-acre estate in 2007 for $16 million. He was going to break up the land into a luxury home subdivision, but dumped the property last year for only $7.5 million.

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