| Carson Pirie Scott pieced together the 750k SF it owned and then leased at State and Madison over the course of several years, and it took just as long to figure out what to do with it after its retailer left in the early 2000s. Last week, CREW members learned a little about the process of redeveloping the site from Joseph Freed & Associates' Kirsten Ekdahl Hull. With historic tax credits and a lot of help from Harboe Architects, Freed rebuilt the elevator lobby for the upper floor office space and smoothed out the differences between floor heights. Now, the office space is 85% leased and the retail is at 80%, with Target set to launch it's new CityTarget concept there next year. One catch: Target can't draw a big bullseye on the outside of the building because of its landmark status. The retailer is working to design in-window signage to bring in customers. |
Mayer, Hoffman & McCann's Shari Alberts told the audience not all historic projects are cut out for tax credits—to be qualified, the rehab project must have substantial value; she says plan on it being more than the cost to acquire the building and only on multi-million dollar buildings. The property also has to be income-generating—don't expect to get one on your old house, no matter how epic the things that happened there. |
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