Pedestrians walk down State Street past an empty store front in the Block 37 Shops. (Keri Wiginton/Chicago Tribune)

Joseph Freed and Associates will no longer own the star-crossed Block 37 mall in the heart of downtown Chicago, a Cook County Circuit Court ruled Friday, bringing to close a year-long effort by banks to foreclose on the troubled property.

The Chicago-based developer has been ordered to turn over ownership of the high-profile shopping center to a group of banks led by Bank of America on Dec. 17, after documents related to the sale of the property are presented to the court and approved, according to Freed spokeswoman Jayne Thompson. Get the full story »