HGTV Show 'Windy City Rehab' Hit With Stop-Work Order

A Chicago home featured on HGTV show "Windy City Rehab" was hit with a stop-work order because construction work was completed without a permit, the Chicago Sun Times reports. The order came about because a garage and garage deck completed at the Bucktown home were both built without permits.

Buildings department spokesman Gregg Cunningham said City Hall has issued a $1,000 fine and will assess an additional $500 on top of the normal $500 permit-application fee.

“Performing work without a permit or beyond the scope of a permit is a serious offense that could pose a threat to construction workers and public safety,” Cunningham said. “It can also result in fines and costly repairs or remediation work by the owner in order to bring the project into compliance.”

He said the city will “closely monitor” "Windy City Rehab" co-star Donovan Eckhardt’s Greymark Development Group, and “we will not hesitate to take further enforcement action against the developer if necessary."

City officials met with Eckhardt on March 22 after two earlier stop-work orders at another Bucktown project and complaints from neighbors about noise, trash and unsecured work sites at the show’s properties. A deputy commissioner and a supervising inspector from the buildings department had called for the March meeting to discuss permit and inspection issues and neighbors’ concerns. Afterward, officials said Eckhardt agreed to address the problems and “be a good neighbor for any current and future construction work.”