The developers of a luxury high rise on north Lakeview Avenue have secured a $170 million construction loan that they say ensures completion of the condominium project overlooking Lincoln Park by 2012.

Ricker-Murphy Development LLC announced on August 16 that it received the loan from a consortium led by the American division of the Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui. Ricker-Murphy has teamed up with the General Electric Pension Trust on the high rise, already under construction at the site of the demolished Columbus Hospital, 2520 Lakeview.

John Murphy, a partner in Ricker-Murphy, said the firm had shopped the project to over 100 lenders before closing the deal. He attributed investor interest to the strength of GE pension fund sponsorship and the “unique attributes” of the project.

“I think if you study the Lincoln Park market and look at the scale of this project …nothing has been built at this size and scale for approx 30 years,” said Murphy.

“When you look at location, amenities, proximity to downtown market and attributes of the project itself, that’s a very attractive combination for condo buyers,” he added.

The refinancing means that vertical construction will soon commence on the building’s three towers.

The 229-unit complex, designed by Chicago-based Lucien Lagrange Architects, will sit on over three acres and overlook the North Pond in Lincoln Park. A center tower rising to 39 stories is flanked by towers reaching 16 and 22 stories. The project also encompasses a one-acre private park behind the tallest tower and nineteen town homes on Deming Place and St. James.

An underground parking garage with 498 spaces is included.

The one-to-four-bedroom units, ranging in size from 899 to 4,703 square feet, are priced at $1 million to $5.7 million. Eleven penthouses with 3,500 to 8,300 square feet carry price tags from $4 million to $11 million.

Murphy declined to discuss the estimated cost of the project. He said that 30 percent of the units are under contract.

The anticipated completion date is the summer of 2012, with first deliveries in the beginning of that year.

The project has evolved through tough economic times. Hit by the credit crunch, in 2009 Ricker-Murphy reduced units by one-third, from 292 to 198 and cut down the highest building from 41 stories to 33, said Murphy.

At the time Ricker-Murphy filed an amendment with the city that allowed it to add up to six stories and 31 additional units. The venture also proceeded with constructing the foundation while searching for the financing necessary to complete the project.

The loan comes at a time when federal income tax credits for homebuyers have expired and the city’s condo market remains weak. But Murphy said the developers are not considering any price reductions, and he is confident that the project has a strong market.

“We’ve recently executed contracts for units that comport to this [price] outline, and we expect that trend to continue,” said Murphy. He added that units sold include some in excess of 5,000 square feet.

“If you drill further down into the Lakeview and Lincoln Park markets, as recently as August there was an $8.5 million sale in close proximity.”

Chicago hasn’t seen a construction loan of this size since spring 2008, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. That’s when the Ritz-Carlton Residences development on North Michigan Avenue received a $137.5 million loan from a German bank.

Chicago real estate lawyer Michael Delrahim cautions that this development doesn’t forecast the fortunes of the condominium market or the loosening of construction lending on a citywide scale.

“What it really means is that a foreign lending institution has found this block to be a strong enough real estate market to be able to sell condos, said Delrahim. “When lending, it really is neighborhood by neighborhood, even more so block by block.”

However, Delrahim said that even in this sluggish economy there are a few factors that could favor an uptick in condo construction. These include interest rates that are at an all-time low, pent-up demand resulting from less recent construction and declining prices in some markets.

But regarding price, the higher price units are typically less affected than lower price units in a down real estate economy, said Delrahim. The buyers of higher price units tend to pay cash for units as opposed to getting high-priced loans.

Noting that units at Trump Tower are selling at more per foot than they were five years ago, Delrahim said, “It’s project by project as to whether or not prices have come down.”

Ald. Vi Daley (43rd) said the construction project at 2520 Lakeview was the biggest her ward had seen in “a long time.”

“Everyone I’ve talked to in the neighborhood seems to be thrilled that this is happening,” said Daley. “It’s employing a lot of people.”

The team at Walsh Construction, which is building the tower, estimated that the vertical construction phase there will see an average of 140 workers on site daily, said Murphy. In total it will produce an estimated 420 construction-related jobs.

Gene Fisher, executive director of the Diversey Harbor Lakeview Association, applauded the news.

The neighborhood association had held “countless” meetings with the developers to downsize the scale of the project in the nine years since it was announced, said Fisher.

The primary concerns for the residents about the high rise, which under a previous developer’s proposal had included 450 units, were height and traffic congestion.

“The 229 units represent quite a bit of progress, even though it took a long time to do,” Fisher said. “Most recently, the two side towers have come way down from the original project.”

He added that the developers had abided by the construction agreements in the foundation phase of the project and he expects continued cooperation as the building rises.