“Almost seven years after buying a historic building at a high-traffic intersection of the Logan Square neighborhood and drawing up multiple redevelopment plans, a Chicago developer is handing off the long-vacant brick structure to another local real estate investor to carry out a residential conversion.
“GW Properties late last month sold the five-story former Hollander Storage & Moving building at 2418-2420 N. Milwaukee Ave. for just under $4.8 million, according to online property records.
“The buyer is J2 Equities, an affiliate of Northbrook, Illinois-based Lelyn Group, a longtime investor in several Chicago neighborhoods.
“The sale is the latest change for a more than century-old property that residents in the neighborhood northwest of the Loop business district have closely watched in recent years, worrying that the structure would deteriorate before it could be repurposed.
“J2 Equities CEO Jason Wiznitzer said the firm intends to follow through on plans the city already approved for GW to convert the property to 62 apartments and 13,000 square feet of retail.
“Following GW’s long-running plan, J2 plans to demolish a single-story building adjacent to the Hollander building to make room for a five-story structure connected to the historic one. The combined building will create room for apartments, yet-to-be-determined retail on the ground floor and amenities such as a fitness center, co-working space and a rooftop deck.
“The development will keep the Hollander name in some form, Wiznitzer said. “‘It’s an iconic part of Logan Square, it’s a beautiful building, and we want to honor that.’
“‘We put a lot of time, energy and money into it, but with changing markets and the limited bandwidth that we have, we decided to let someone else take it on so we can focus on other projects,” GW Principal Mitch Goltz said. ‘It’s bittersweet, but I’m happy to see the project get done.’ (Ori, CoStar News, 4/10/25)
Preservation Chicago had been in communication with developer Mitch Goltz of GW Properties, former owner David Hollander and aldermen’s offices to encourage a preservation-sensitive reuse of the building and to promote a potential landmark designation. All were open and receptive to the concept. We applaud Mitch Goltz for his stewardship of the Hollander Storage Building and bringing the redevelopment plans to where they are today.
Preservation Chicago encourages the new developer, Jason Wiznitzer CEO of J2 Equities CEO consider landmarking the Hollander Warehouse building and its highly decorative and intact lobby. A different building with similar name, the Hollander Fireproof Warehouse located at Milwaukee, North and Damen avenues was renovated in 2016 as part of the Northwest Tower/ Robey Hotel project.
Read the full story at CoStar News
- Historic, high-visibility building in Chicago’s Logan Square sells for residential conversion; J2 Equities scoops up former Hollander Storage & Moving building, Ryan Ori, CoStar News, 4/10/25
- Will Hollander Apartment Project Finally Come To Fruition? Neighbors Support Latest Proposal; After many false starts, neighbors hope the latest plans for the Milwaukee Avenue building will move forward, Ariel Parrella-Aureli, Block Club Chicago, 1/19/24
- Updated Plans Revealed For Hollander Building Redevelopment In Logan Square, Ian Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 2/20/24
- Hollander Apartments? New Proposal Could Bring Up To 57 Apartments And Retail To Historical Logan Square Site; The residential-heavy proposal comes after developers said plans for an all-commercial property were ruined by the pandemic. But Ald. Daniel LaSpata is concerned about adding more studios and one-bedroom units to the area, Mina Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 8/17/22
- Logan Square’s Hollander Building To Become Lofts, Retail, Day Care After City Council Vote; Developer GW Properties wants to rehab and redevelop the nearly 110-year-old building at 2418 N. Milwaukee Ave., a project years in the making; Mina Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 7/21/21
- Developer Buys Historic Hollander Moving Site, Plans Boutique Offices with Restaurant, Apartments, “I think it’ll be a nice complement to have the new meets the old,” the developer said. Mina Bloom, Block Club Chicago, 8/8/18