Windy City Rehab premiered on HGTV January 1, 2019. Focusing on the restoration of vintage homes in historic Chicago neighborhoods, it stars DIY Network and HGTV star Allison Victoria (whose real name is Alison Victoria Gramenos) and contractor Donovan Eckhardt. The pair set about purchasing run-down homes built between 1880 and 1980 and restoring them to their historic and architectural heritage.
However, it doesn’t look they will be restoring anything for the time being.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Department of Buildings recently told Eckhardt’s company Greymark Development Group, the developer associated with Windy City Rehab projects, they no longer have permit privileges in the city of Chicago due to bad behavior. The city has also moved to suspend Eckhardt’s real estate developer license and general contractor license for one year, the publication reports.
In the notice sent to Eckhardt regarding his license suspension, the city stated that he had worked without a permit at 11 different properties, in addition to multiple other offenses at those properties. This includes failure to comply with safety codes, hiring workers who are not licensed, and lying on permit applications for all 11 properties, among other violations.
The city of Chicago has now issued stop-work orders at all of the properties.
“The Dept. of Buildings takes this issue very seriously and takes action against developers and contractors who perform work that compromises safety for the public, workers or building occupants. We have been monitoring the work of Greymark Development Group closely and have taken progressive disciplinary actions to stop what has become a pattern of unsafe work and building code violations at multiple properties,” DOB spokesman Gregg Cunningham said in a statement.
On Monday, a spokesperson for HGTV provided the following statement from the network: “Issues related to Windy City Rehab have been carefully reviewed. Appropriate parties are in communication with local building officials and working to resolve any outstanding issues.”