Last year, reporter Jim DeRogatis wrote for BuzzFeed about parents trying to extract their daughters from Kelly’s alleged “cult.” The Justine Street studio, DeRogatis reported, was where the women in Kelly’s orbit stayed while in Chicago, and they “must ask his permission to leave.” The Cook County Sheriff’s Office has performed at least one well-being check at the studio, speaking with one of the women in Kelly’s entourage in 2017. According to a police report obtained by the Reader, the woman said she was fine and didn’t need assistance.
Reached by phone Thursday, James Hodur of Coldwell Banker Commercial, the real estate broker overseeing the sale, described the owner as an investor who “just wants to take the money out and do something else.”
Hodur didn’t reveal the owner’s identity, but according to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, Midwest Commercial Funding LLC has owned the building since 2016. Reached by phone, Robert Chandler, a manager with the company, replied “no comment” to the question of why it was selling.
The two-story, 8,000-square-foot building is listed as an “investment property with a high profile tenant paying $22,927.41 per month” and holding a ten-year lease with eight years left. The listing also boasts of a “fully built out recording studio, lounge and full kitchen, rear drive-in-door with 1 car garage.”
On Thursday morning, a black Mercedes van with tinted windows and a red Polaris Slingshot three-wheeler were parked out front. According to public records, Kelly remains the current tenant.
Article Appeared @https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2018/08/09/r-kellys-chicago-studio-and-alleged-cult-outpost-for-sale-with-him-in-it#more