WIN: Renovated Patio Theater Energized by Live Music and Performances
"After hanging on for two-and-a-half years, the historic Patio Theater is bringing back more events, concerts and other shows as entertainment life reawakens."Like many music venues, the nearly 30,000-square-foot theater at 6008 W. Irving Park Road closed its doors at the start of 2020 and only reopened at the...
WIN: Senators Durbin and Duckworth Support National Landmark Designation for Roberts Temple Church
"Several U.S. officials on October 21 visited the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ where leaders and historians gathered to share the historic significance of the church that held the funeral of Emmett Till."The meeting came as the church marks its 100th Anniversary in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood."A Chicago...
WIN: Flat Iron Arts Building Purchased by Preservation-Sensitive Buyers
"Longtime owners of the iconic Flat Iron Arts Building in the center of Wicker Park have sold the property to a pair of local real estate developers."The Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., has for decades been home to artist studios, performance spaces, cultural organizations and many...
WIN: Exceptional Renovation Underway at Belden-Stratford
"From its creation in 1923, the Belden-Stratford apartment building in Chicago’s Lincoln Park community was designed for an elite crowd. Over the years, its status slipped. But now, courtesy of a top-to-bottom renovation backed by billionaire Joe Mansueto, it soon will have a new introduction in high society. "Mansueto’s investment...
WIN: Strong Community Support for Historic Preservation and Reuse of Historic Mars Candy Factory Building
"When it comes to what community members want to replace the Mars candy factory 2019 N. Oak Park Ave. in Galewood once it closed in 2024, the people have spoken. Residents have settled on a mixed-use development for the site."'So this is a factory with walls,' Goldstein said on...
WIN: Long-Vacant West Loop Landmark Mid-City Trust & Savings Bank To Become Boutique Hotel
"An upstart hotel company that frames itself as a cross between Airbnb and traditional inns has purchased a long-vacant West Loop landmark where it plans to spend more than $20 million turning the property into its biggest location to date."A venture of Chicago-based Neighborhood Hotel paid $14 million late...
WIN: Preston Bradley Center Auditorium and Social Services Saved By Preservation-Oriented Buyer
"An Uptown church and social services center is getting a much-needed renovation and conversion into a nonprofit community hub after being sold for the first time in its nearly 100-year-history."The now-closed Preston Bradley Center at 941 W. Lawrence Ave. has been sold to Daniel Ivankovich, a renown orthopedic surgeon,...
WIN: Pioneer Arcade Receives Preliminary Chicago Landmark Approval as part of Adaptive Reuse Plan (Chicago 7 2015)
After over a decade of vacancy, the Pioneer Arcade received Preliminary Chicago Landmark approval at the November 3, 2022 Commission on Chicago Landmarks meeting. This protection is long-overdue and essential to protect its beautiful ornate facade as part of an adaptive reuse project. The Pioneer Arcade was a Chicago...
WIN: Rapid Roller Printing Building to Become Affordable Residential Lofts
Rapid Roller Printing Building, 1928, Schmid & Ryan, 2548 S. Federal St. Image Credit: Chicago Tribune January 28, 1928"Solar panels may soon cover the Near South Side rooftop that used to hold a big sign that read 'Muhammad Speaks.”"The city Plan Commission at its meeting today will consider rezoning...
POTENTIAL WIN: Grace’s Furniture Building Could Reopen as Logan Square Athletic Club
"Redevelopment of the old Grace’s Furniture building in the heart of Logan Square has taken yet another turn as the developers behind the long-delayed project have dumped city-approved plans to open a boutique hotel on the site."Now, developers Blue Star Properties and Marc Realty are looking to redevelop the...
WIN: Renovated Patio Theater Energized by Live Music and Performances
"After hanging on for two-and-a-half years, the historic Patio Theater is bringing back more events, concerts and other shows as entertainment life reawakens.Like many music venues, the nearly 30,000-square-foot theater at 6008 W. Irving Park Road closed its doors at the start of 2020 and only reopened at the...
POTENTIAL WIN: City Requests Proposals for Pershing Road Central Manufacturing District Warehouses With Adaptive Reuse Focus (Chicago 7 2020)
"The City of Chicago is once again pushing for redevelopment of its underused and dilapidated Central Manufacturing District properties, including the historic Quartermaster Depot warehouse at 1769 W. Pershing Road, Chicago, and the neighboring vehicle storage lot and shed building at 1717 W. Pershing Road."A tour of the properties...
POTENTIAL WIN: Funding Awarded for Adaptive Reuse of Von Humboldt School Into Affordable Teacher Housing(Chicago 7 2014)
"Protracted plans to redevelop long-vacant Von Humboldt Elementary School into an 107-unit apartment complex for teachers got a boost in city funding to help move plans forward.Newark, N.J.-based RBH Group was awarded $18 million in tax-exempt bonds last month to bring 'Teachers Village' to the shuttered Humboldt Park elementary...
WIN: ‘Authenticity is Guiding Principle’ for Adaptive Reuse of Peabody Elementary School into Residential Building (Chicago 7 2015)
"There used to be a teacher’s desk in each classroom at the old Elizabeth Peabody public school building on Augusta Boulevard in Noble Square. Now each one has a kitchen island."The Peabody school, one of dozens of Chicago Public Schools buildings shut down in 2013, is getting a second...
WIN: Henry B. Clarke House / Bishop Ford House to Begin $1 Million Renovation
"Bishop Louis Henry Ford, the influential Black pastor who saved a noteworthy 1830s house from ruin and rehabbed it over the course of decades, may be honored with more than simply renaming the house."City officials 'are looking at ways we might amplify the story' of Ford buying the Greek...
WIN: Muddy Waters MOJO Museum Momentum Finally Overcomes Delays with Approval to Buy Adjacent Vacant Lot
"The Muddy Waters MOJO Museum could get a new garden to host outdoor performances — if the city allows the owner to buy an adjacent lot."Museum founder Chandra Cooper and her team unveiled plans for the empty lot during an Aug. 30 community meeting. They hope to transform the...
WIN: Long-Vacant Former Englewood Firehouse to Become Community “Living Room”
"Community leaders and local officials gathered Tuesday for the ceremonial groundbreaking at a multimillion-dollar project promising to transform a long-vacant landmark into a culinary hub."Englewood Connect, a $14 million eco-friendly food hub and year-round community 'living room,' will replace the vacant, 93-year-old Engine Co. 84 firehouse at 6204 S....
SUN-TIMES EDITORIAL: Downtown’s Endangered Century and Consumers Buildings Deserve Landmark Status (Chicago 7 2011, 2013 & 2022)
"The Century and Consumers buildings, two vacant downtown skyscrapers that are shamefully rotting away and now targeted for demolition by the federal government, might soon gain a powerful advocate."The Commission on Chicago Landmarks has asked the city’s Department of Planning to work on creating a landmark designation report on...
WIN: Chicago Vocational School (CVS) Added to National Register of Historic Places
Update: Chicago Vocational High School was approved for National Register of Historic Places on August 15, 2022.“We’ve been plenty concerned about Chicago Vocational, the architecturally important but underutilized Art Deco/Art Moderne designed high school in the city’s Avalon Park neighborhood.“Built in 1941 for 4,000 students, only about 800 pupils...
WIN: Long-Vacant West Loop Landmark Mid-City Trust & Savings Bank To Become Boutique Hotel
"An upstart hotel company that frames itself as a cross between Airbnb and traditional inns has purchased a long-vacant West Loop landmark where it plans to spend more than $20 million turning the property into its biggest location to date."A venture of Chicago-based Neighborhood Hotel paid $14 million late...
WIN: Landmarks Report Confirms Century and Consumers Buildings are Landmark Eligible (Chicago 7 2011, 2013 & 2022)
"The Commission on Chicago Landmarks delayed a vote on the preliminary landmark designation of the Century and Consumers Buildings during its recent monthly meeting on Thursday. The vote would’ve set up a battle between the city and the federally run General Services Administration (GSA), as they seek to spend...
WIN: After Decade Long Year Effort, Clarendon Park Community Center Breaks Ground on $13 Million Renovation (Chicago 7 2015)
"One of Uptown’s historical buildings is undergoing a massive renovation after years of neighbor efforts to preserve it."City officials helped break ground Tuesday on the renovation of the Clarendon Park Community Center, a 106-year-old field house once threatened with demolition."The city and Park District are spending $13 million to...
WIN: Chatham Roller Rink Reopens After Renovation
"After a months-long hiatus, a beloved skating rink has reopened on the South Side with a fresh look."The Rink, 1122 E. 87th St., reopened Sept. 1 after closing in November. Owners Curtis and Ramona Pouncy celebrated the occasion with a grand reopening, welcoming about 400 young people back to...
WIN: Adaptive Reuse Progressing of Vintage Fulton Market Industrial Building Into Guinness Chicago Taproom
"Renovation and construction work are rapidly taking shape for Fulton Market’s new Guinness Taproom. Coordinated by developer Fred Latsko, the project is an adaptive re-use of the former Pennsylvania Railroad Terminal Building at 375 N Morgan Street. A former destination for street art, the converted beer hub will yield...
WIN: Historic Bridgeview Bank Lobby to Become WeWork Co-Working Space
"The Chicago developer turning Uptown's landmark Bridgeview Bank building into apartments has enlisted WeWork to operate co-working space on the property's lower floors, the shared-office giant's first location on Chicago's North Side."In a rare deal by WeWork in a residential property, the New York-based company will run a 25,000-square-foot,...
WIN: Austin Pink House Dodges Demolition and Will Be Restored
"The iconic 'Pink House' on Chicago’s West Side is not being demolished, but it also won’t be pink for long, as its new owners have begun a full interior remodel to restore the dilapidated property — and give it a new paint job."Debra Kelch, who bought the house at...
WIN: Rapid Roller Printing Building to Become Affordable Residential Lofts
"Solar panels may soon cover the Near South Side rooftop that used to hold a big sign that read 'Muhammad Speaks.”"The city Plan Commission at its meeting today will consider rezoning a 1920s printing factory building for residential use. If it’s approved, 548 Capital will begin work developing 47...
WIN: Revised Hollander Warehouse Building Adaptive Reuse Moving Forward
"Developer GW Properties has come back to the community to propose a new plan for the rehabilitation of the Hollander Building. Located at 2422 N. Milwaukee, the building stands just north of the intersection of N. Milwaukee Ave and W. Fullerton Ave. The rear of the Hollander Building turns...
WIN: Ton Farm Underground Railroad Site Receives Recognition with Illinois Historical Marker
"A Southeast Side site that was part of the Underground Railroad is having a sign dedication event this Saturday."The Jan and Aagje Ton Farm was the first Underground Railroad site in Chicago to be recognized by the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom project. The farm once provided a...
WIN: Maxim’s to Reopen as the Astor Club in Late 2022
"On a recent sunny morning, Goudy Square, the small park in the heart of the Gold Coast at Astor and Goethe Streets, was alive with dozens of little children in the company of their parents, grandparents or nannies."You could hear their carefree and playful noise across the street where...
WIN: ‘Authenticity is Guiding Principle’ for Adaptive Reuse of Peabody Elementary School into Residential Building (Chicago 7 2015)
"There used to be a teacher’s desk in each classroom at the old Elizabeth Peabody public school building on Augusta Boulevard in Noble Square. Now each one has a kitchen island."The Peabody school, one of dozens of Chicago Public Schools buildings shut down in 2013, is getting a second...
WIN: Henry B. Clarke House / Bishop Ford House to Begin $1 Million Renovation
"Bishop Louis Henry Ford, the influential Black pastor who saved a noteworthy 1830s house from ruin and rehabbed it over the course of decades, may be honored with more than simply renaming the house."City officials 'are looking at ways we might amplify the story' of Ford buying the Greek...
WIN: Muddy Waters MOJO Museum Momentum Finally Overcomes Aldermanic Delays with Approval to Buy Adjacent Vacant Lot
"The Muddy Waters MOJO Museum could get a new garden to host outdoor performances — if the city allows the owner to buy an adjacent lot."Museum founder Chandra Cooper and her team unveiled plans for the empty lot during an Aug. 30 community meeting. They hope to transform the...
WIN: Francis Scott Key Public School in Austin Reopens as The Field School (Chicago 7 2015)
"Students attending a private Christian school will start the year in a renovated building that used to be Francis Scott Elementary School until CPS shuttered it nearly a decade ago. Now the building will house pre-K through eighth grade students attending The Field School."'We’re so excited to be in...
WIN: Covent Hotel Renovation and Conversion to Affordable Housing to Begin
"Construction is set to begin on the Covent Hotel redevelopment this September after years of planning and approval hurdles. Originally proposed back in 2016, the project at 2653 N. Clark will reuse the existing Covent Hotel building while adding a new building to the parking lot behind the building."Planned...
WIN: 100-Year Old ‘Ghost Signs’ Rescued Just Days Before Demolition
Bob Behounek, Robert Frese, Kelsey McClellan and Andrew McClellan pose for a photo at 3609 N. Ravenswood Ave. on Aug. 3, 2022, where well-preserved signs dating back to the early 1900s were recently revealed when the siding was removed. Photo credit: Colin Boyle / Block Club ChicagoThe siding...
WIN: Adaptive Reuse Progressing of Vintage Fulton Market Industrial Building Into Guinness Chicago Taproom
"Renovation and construction work are rapidly taking shape for Fulton Market’s new Guinness Taproom. Coordinated by developer Fred Latsko, the project is an adaptive re-use of the former Pennsylvania Railroad Terminal Building at 375 N Morgan Street. A former destination for street art, the converted beer hub will yield...
WIN: Illinois Institute of Technology Completes Restoration of Three Mies van der Rohe Buildings
"With Dirk Denison Architects and Gilbane Building Company, the Illinois Institute of Technology has recently completed a $70 million housing project that has restored three Ludwig Mies van der Rohe buildings. With the completion of the Carman Hall residential facility, the three-building project has renewed Illinois Tech’s front door...
WIN: Revised Hollander Warehouse Building Adaptive Reuse Moving Forward
"Developer GW Properties has come back to the community to propose a new plan for the rehabilitation of the Hollander Building. Located at 2422 N. Milwaukee, the building stands just north of the intersection of N. Milwaukee Ave and W. Fullerton Ave. The rear of the Hollander Building turns...
WIN: Landmarks Report Confirms Century and Consumers Buildings are Landmark Eligible (Chicago 7 2011, 2013 & 2022)
The Century Building, 202 S. State Street. Photo credit: Chicago Architectural Photographing Company, State Street, 200-298 S. Folder 1177, Sheet 13, CPC_04_D_1177_013, Chicago - Photographic Images of Change, University of Illinois at Chicago. Library. Special Collections DepartmentKey preservation and Chicago Collaborative Archive Center leaders following the two hour meeting...
POTENTIAL WIN: City Seeks Redevelopment for Roseland Theater and other Roseland Sites (Chicago 7 2020)
"More homes and spots for businesses and shopping could be coming to Roseland as the city looks to redevelop three large sites in the neighborhood."The city’s Department of Planning and Development soon will open the process to pitch redevelopment ideas for the closed Gately’s Peoples Store, the former Roseland...
WIN: After Decades of Delays, St. Boniface Residential Adaptive Reuse Moving Forward (Chicago 7 2003 & 2009)
"Construction on a long-delayed project to turn a historical Noble Square church into condos will begin as soon as the city grants a key permit, the developer said this week."St. Boniface Church, 1358 W. Chestnut St., was bought in 2016 by STAS Development President Michael Skoulsky, who pledged to...
WIN: 7 Acre Former Locomotive Headlight Factory Renovated into The Terminal Innovation Center
"As a real estate project, the property marketed as The Terminal in West Humboldt Park reveals itself slowly — so slowly that it’s hard for passersby to appreciate."Walk by the two-story building at 1334 N. Kostner Ave. and you see a handsome example of industrial architecture from a century...
WIN: New Owner Values Historic Pizzeria Uno and Due Buildings
"The man who expanded Chicago restaurant Pizzeria Uno into a national chain has sold the River North buildings that house the original location and its sister spot, Pizzeria Due, back to the company for $2.3 million and $4.2 million."The plan is to keep the buildings unchanged—except for a few...
POTENTIAL WIN: City of Chicago Seek Developers for Central Manufacturing District Warehouses (Chicago 7 2014 and 2020)
Watch Preservation Chicago's Central Manufacturing District-Original East District Walking Tour video recorded September 25th, 2021 Image Credit: Preservation Chicago"The city is reviving a push to redevelop a massive and empty historic warehouse it owns in McKinley Park, starting with a plan to put the property up for sale."The Chicago...
WIN: Original Decorative Cast Iron Window Elements from 1899 Donated to Illinois Railway Museum
Preservation Chicago and The St. Jude League Building/The Williams Building at 205 W. Monroe donated 16 large, original cast iron window members on July 11, 2022 to the Illinois Railway Museum. The current plan is to incorporate these building elements into the IRM visitor center. We wish to applaud the...
WIN: Rusnak Brothers Store Adaptive Reuse for Auburn Gresham Healthy Lifestyle Hub Complete
"South Side healthy living center will soon open on 79th Street, bringing neighborhood essentials to the community, nearly two years after winning a $10 million citywide prize. The Healthy Lifestyle Hub, 839 W. 79th St., will open July 29, 2022 said Carlos Nelson, director of the Greater Auburn Gresham...
WIN: Long Vacant Englewood Firehouse to be Restored by INVEST South/West for Eco-Food Hub
"Developers of a multimillion-dollar project that would transform a historical Englewood firehouse into an eco-food hub could break ground this fall as they work through the summer to get final approvals."McLaurin Development Partners, a real estate development team, received a key city approval this month from the Community Development...
WIN: Laramie State Bank Restoration Powerfully Catalyzes Chicago Avenue Revitalization (Chicago 7 2019)
"Plans for renovation of the historic Laramie State Bank building in Austin are taking shape. Nearly 20 small businesses are planning to remodel or open on the stretch of Chicago Avenue that calls itself the Soul City Corridor. And Shawnie Jones' year-old Chicago Eats Sports Bar is enjoying robust...
POTENTIAL WIN: Zoning Amendment Submitted for Salvation Army Building Adaptive Reuse as Hotel and Apartments (Chicago 7 2021)
"Thousands of apartment units and a hotel could replace the former Salvation Army property and a neighboring site steps from the city’s first casino in River West."Chicago-based Shapack Partners plans to transform two areas, including the closed store at 509 N. Union Ave., into an apartment-hotel hybrid campus, according...