Old Main Post Office owner Bill Davies is back with another plan to redevelop the long-vacant property at 433 W Van Buren. The $64k question: Will this be the plan that finally moves forward?
Davies paid $24.9M for the building in a 2009 auction, but it's been empty for nearly 20 years, since USPS moved to a new campus across the street. During that time, rumors for redeveloping the building included using it as the site of a Chicago casino, along with several mixed-use plays. It's one of the largest and most attractive redevelopment sites downtown, but the biggest obstacle to any action on the property has been Davies. Previous plans to JV on redeveloping the building with Sterling Bay and Gulf Resources fell through. Davies nixed a $150M offer from Gulf Resources last year.
Davies' latest proposal involves going small, according to Crain's. He wants to build 300 micro-apartments, ranging in size from 280 SF to 600 SF. If that plan succeeds, Davies would add a 1,500-unit tower next door. All of this, obviously, is contingent on whether Davies can secure financing. Ever the optimist, he expects to begin building the first round of micro-units in March. [Crain's]
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