“A year after the Hollander building project changed ownership, construction is underway on the long-awaited redevelopment.
“Construction started last week on the Hollander loft apartment project at 2418-2428 N. Milwaukee Ave., which was seven years in the making under former owner GW Properties before the company sold it to Northbrook-based J2 Equities last year for about $4.8 million.
“The project will redevelop the old moving and storage building, creating 62 loft-style apartments — with 12 priced below market rate — and featuring three or four retail tenants. J2 Equities promised the project would be largely the same as what GW had planned, with a few design changes.
“Work includes the already-completed demolition of a single-story building next to the Hollander, which occurred earlier this year after the project received its demolition permit in October. A foundational permit was issued in December for the new five-story structure now going up in its place, building records show.
“A full renovation permit for the actual Hollander building was issued at the end of March. Workers were seen adding scaffolding to the front of the building Monday, while others were working on the lot next door, which has three partially built walls so far.
“J2 Equities is an affiliate of family real estate and development company The Lelyn Group. The group has worked on Chicago-area neighborhood retail and office properties since 1985, including condo buildings in Ukrainian Village and Lincoln Park.
“I believe there’s a strong demand for new residential units, and combined with that, we’re able to provide some affordable units as well as part of this project, an ever-growing need,’ CEO Jason Wiznitzer previously said.
“This project has been sitting in development phases for quite some time. It’s a larger piece on the block of Milwaukee, and we’re honestly excited about the opportunity to bring the project to fruition and fill in the block.’
“The site was home to the Hollander Storage & Moving company for more than a century. The Hollander family sold the Logan Square building to GW Properties in 2018 and moved its operations to the company headquarters in suburban Elk Grove Village. In the years leading up to the first sale, the building was only being used to store the company’s records.” (Parrella-Aureli, Block Club Chicago, 4/1/26)
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 through five iterations since 2018.
Preservation Chicago applauds the new developer, Jason Wiznitzer CEO of J2 Equities, for taking on this important adaptive reuse project. Additionally, we encourage him to 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 Block Club Chicago
- Construction Begins On Logan Square’s Long-Awaited Hollander Redevelopment; A new rendering shows a five-story structure attached to the revamped Hollander building on Milwaukee Avenue, with space for five retail tenants, Ariel Parrella-Aureli, Block Club Chicago, 4/1/26
- Logan Square’s Hollander Building Gets New Owners Who Promise Long-Planned Redevelopment; The apartment project, seven years in the making under company GW Properties, was sold to Northbrook-based J2 Equities last month, Ariel Parrella-Aureli, Block Club Chicago, 4/16/25
- 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