“The Cook County Land Bank is still working out the details of the sale of former Washington Park National Bank site to a prominent South Side developer.
“There is no hard deadline for completing the $250,000 sale to Revive 6300, a joint venture between DL3 Realty and Greenlining Realty USA, Land Bank director Rob Rose said. The Land Bank accepted the proposal for the property in March 2019.
“Once a sale is finalized, the partners intend to demolish the nearly century-old structure and replace it with a new one featuring 60,000 square feet of office space, said Alex Sparhawk, DL3’s director of acquisitions and development. “(Evans, Block Club Chicago, 1/21/20)
There are only a few buildings left in Woodlawn that embody the racial power and vitality the neighborhood’s history stands for. Tearing down another one is an unnecessary injury to Woodlawn’s history and to its current residents. It is universally understood that people construct their personal and social identities in dialogue with the buildings that surround their daily lives. The people who now live in Woodlawn will understand this message from the Land Bank – ‘You and your community’s history are disposable.’ And the community will ask – ‘Why are you going to displace us and our history, and who are you going to ‘revitalize’ the neighborhood for?’ (from a letter written to the Cook County Land Bank Authority from Michal Safar, President of the Hyde Park Historical Society on March 29, 2019)
Preservation Chicago urges DL3 Real Estate, the Cook County Land Bank Authority Executive Director Rob Rose, and the Cook County Land Bank Authority Board of Directors to preserve and reuse this historic building. The Washington Park National Bank Building is an important neighborhood anchor on a commercial corridor that has seen the tragic loss of many important buildings. It is essential for the long-term reinvestment and prosperity of this commercial district that this historic building be preserved and redeveloped. The building is linked to the Chicago Race Riots of 1919 and is one of the few structures still standing which witnessed this tragic event on the long march towards equality and social justice.