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The Old Main Post Office, an unsolvable riddle for developers for nearly two decades, is being eyed for redevelopment yet again. Gulf Resources Development & Investment, a UAE-based firm, is in talks to buy the 2.7M SF campus at 433 W Van Buren for $150M.
The site has been vacant since 1996, when the USPS moved into a new campus across the street. Current owner Bill Davies has struggled to find partners to redevelop it since he won the building for $24.8M in a 2009 auction. A 2014 JV with Sterling Bay fell through when Sterling Bay withdrew, saying the two sides couldn't agree on a strategy. Walgreens considered moving its HQ from Deerfield to the site, but couldn't reach an agreement with Davies.
GRDI co-owner Jim Osborne has been in Chicago several times in recent months to broker a deal for the site. If an agreement is reached, Davies would retain an ownership stake in the redevelopment. [Crain's]
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