“The demolition of the Damen Silos is underway and moving quickly. Just five days in, the smaller buildings surrounding the massive structures near South Damen Avenue along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal are already torn down and destruction of the silos has begun, according to city officials and owner Michael Tadin Jr. The biggest portion of the demo project includes two sets of 80-foot concrete silos and a tower that’s about 110 feet tall. The demolition will take months.

“Tadin, who acquired the more than 20 acres of land that include the silos in 2022, has not announced what he plans to do with the site. Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration sold the property to Tadin for $6.5 million.

“McKinley Park Development Council circulated a petition in recent weeks to make the Damen Silos a public park and festival grounds. More than 1,000 people signed the petition, according to Kate Eakin, the group’s managing director.

“The group Preservation Chicago also advocated for turning the land into park space and a concert area. Blue Star Properties, which redeveloped the former Morton Salt warehouse on North Elston Avenue and created the Salt Shed concert venue, was among the bidders in 2022. Blue Star was the lowest bidder, however, offering about $3 million less than Tadin.” (Chase, Chicago Sun-Times, 7/18/25)

“Community leaders want to save the historic Damen Silos from demolition — and possibly turn the Southwest Side site into public festival grounds similar to the popular Salt Shed.

“The Damen Silos, 2900 S. Damen Ave., have been abandoned since 1977 but have remained standing and have become something of a local landmark after being featured in 2014’s ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction.’ The large grain elevators have been a destination for urban explorers in the city for years.

“But with the site’s new owner moving forward with plans to demolish the silos, neighbors and preservationists are mounting a last-ditch effort to save the structures and turn them into a public amenity of sorts.

“A consortium that includes Preservation Chicago and McKinley Park Development Council outlined details of the redevelopment plan, akin to what’s been done at other former industrial complexes in Seattle, Buffalo and even Buenos Aires in Argentina, they said. The plan proposes that a land trust buy the site and a developer operate it.

“The McKinley Park Development Council kickstarted a petition for the festival grounds proposal that has over 670 signees, Eakin said.

“Since late 2022, advocates have been contending with looming demolition plans after MAT Limited, a local company that opened a controversial asphalt plant in McKinley Park in 2018, bought the land for $6.5 million from the state and applied for five permits to demolish the buildings, including one with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

“Thanks to the demolition threat, the site was featured on 2023’s seven most endangered buildings in Chicago list. Turning it into festival grounds with public green space would be transformational for the industrial area around the silos, said Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller.

“‘This would be a festival ground and also a park space, a green space along the Chicago River,’ he said.

“Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) slammed the state’s decision to sell the silos to MAT and said his criticism of the handling of the site led the silos to be removed from his ward in 2023 ward redistricting.

“‘These [demolition] plans are because of [the State’s] failure,’ Sigcho-Lopez said in an interview Thursday. ‘He sold the land off to a private entity, and now we’re seeing what we’ve seen for a long time in these communities, which is a lack of care. When I got [redistricted], multiple people came to me and told me that it was because of my protesting of the state’s decision on this site.’

“Sigcho-Lopez said pressuring the city into acquiring the land through eminent domain would be the most viable option in saving the silos from imminent demolition.

“The silos now fall into Ald. Julia Ramirez’s 12th Ward, and she has also been in steadfast opposition to demolition proposals since assuming office in 2023, she said Thursday.” (Thrush, Block Club Chicago, 6/27/25)

Preservation Chicago has been concerned over the fate of the Damen Silos for many years. Damen Silos site became a 2023 Chicago 7 2023, after the State of Illinois’ decision to sell the site, and the demolition of the Crawford Power Station and the ADM Silos.

Preservation Chicago has been working closely with McKinley Park Development Council, BlueStar Properties, preservation partners, greenspace partners and community partners urge the City of Chicago to take decisive action to convert the Damen Silos site into a 23-acre riverfront public park and permanent festival grounds.

The Damen Silos and 23-acre site at 2900 S. Damen Avenue has been vacant since 1977. Despite calls from community members and nonprofit organizations to reimagine this site as a community-oriented green space, in 2022, the State of Illinois rushed a process to sell the property for $6.5 million.

After months of negotiations, the current owner recently rejected several purchase offers from the public/private consortium that wants to convert the Damen Silos site into a riverfront public park and permanent festival grounds.

As the developers and operators of the Salt Shed on the North Branch of the Chicago River, BlueStar Properties sees great potential for a permanent festival grounds at the Damen Silos site. Despite decades of neglect, if saved from demolition, the Damen Silos buildings could become a dramatic and unique visual centerpiece of a new venue.

Additionally, the expansive 23-acre Damen Silos site could become a permanent festival ground to host many summer festivals that are currently held in parks across Chicago which put strain on the parks and local communities.

After sitting vacant and blighted since 1977, McKinley Park neighbors deserve to have this site prioritized, and turned into a dynamic community asset and greenspace.

Read the full story at Block Club Chicago and Chicago Sun-Times

• Damen Silos demolition underway as historic structures make way for new development; The massive silos should be completely torn down within months. The future use of the site is still unknown, Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times, 7/18/25
• The Iconic Damen Silos Are Coming Down; Work at the McKinley Park site has been ahead of schedule, and crews started taking down the silos Friday morning, Colin Boyle and Francia Garcia Hernandez, Block Club Chicago, 7/18/25 
• Damen Silos Demolition Documentation Blog, McKinley Park Development Council
• Eradication Of The Damen Silos Is In Full Effect, Daniel Schell, Chicago YIMBY, 7/31/2025 (with many photos)
• Damen Silos were a landmark for graffiti artists to hone their craft; The demolition of the Southwest Side structures ends decades of artists socializing and crews battling for silo supremacy, Genevieve Bookwalter, Chicago Sun-Times, 8/1/25
• Damen Silos, Facing Demolition, Should Become Public Festival Grounds, Local Leaders Say; Preservation advocates want the abandoned 23-acre site redeveloped into public festival grounds similar to the Salt Shed, Charles Thrush, Block Club Chicago, 6/27/25
• Demolición de los silos de Damen está marcha mientras estructuras históricas dan paso a un nuevo Desarrollo, Los enormes silos deberían estar completamente demolidos en unos meses. Aún se desconoce el uso futuro del siti, Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times, 7/22/25
• Demolition of Chicago’s Damen Silos to begin next week despite fight from preservationists, Sabrina Franza, CBS Chicago, 7/8/25
• City issues permit for demolition of Damen Silos in McKinley Park, Lily Carey, Chicago Tribune, 7/3/25
• Damen Silos should be a concert venue, groups say; Preservationists and a community organization say a public park and musical festival site is an idea worth pursuing, but demolition of the structures appears imminent, Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times, 6/26/25
• Damen Silos To Be Demolished After City Approves Permits, Ending Preservation Battle; The city approved demolition permits for the iconic silos Thursday. Neighbors and officials have objected to the demolition over environmental concerns, with some hoping the site could become festival grounds, Charles Thrush and Francia Garcia Hernandez, Block Club Chicago, 7/7/25
• City issues permit for demolition of Damen Silos; Chicago’s Department of Buildings approved the permit days after outlining a plan for the demolition at a community meeting at the Arturo Velasquez Westside Technical Institute; Cindy Hernandez, Chicago Sun-Times, 7/3/25
• Preservationists Decry Demolition of Chicago’s Damen Silos; Demolition of the local landmark linked to Chicago’s history in the grain industry could start at any time, Annemarie Mannion, ENR Midwest, 7/7/25
• As Damen Silos Demolition Moves Forward, Southwest Siders Ask City To Consider Preservation; Neighbors overwhelmingly oppose the demolition of the silos. If it goes through, neighbors want stronger measures to prevent pollution in an area already facing environmental issues, they said at a meeting, Francia Garcia Hernandez, Block Club Chicago, 6/29/25
• City issues demolition permits for Damen Silos; The silos at 2900 S. Damen have been vacant for almost 50 years, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 7/4/25
• PETITION to Make Damen Silos a Park and Festival Grounds!
• With Damen Silos facing demolition, activists fight to preserve site as park and concert space, Sabrina Franza, CBS News Chicago, 6/27/25
• Community meeting planned for Damen Silos demolition; A June 27 public meeting is set to discuss the demolition plans for the more than century-old grain silos on the city’s Lower West Side, Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times, 6/17/25
• The Damen Silos — now at the center of demolition drama — have a colorful history; Preservationists argue that the unique structure, vacant since the 1970s and a darling of gonzo artmakers, was the skyscraper of its time and deserves to be saved, Robert Loerzel, WBEZ Chicago, 9/25/23 (Long-format article with many historic photos)