The $130 million sale of the Chicago’s Old Post Office and adjacent sites at 433 W. Van Buren St. to New York-based investment group, 601W Companies, officially closed last week and a 5-year, $500 million redevelopment plan is now underway.
The new plan, which will be split in to three phases, will create thousands of new jobs, The City of Chicago said. The building will be rehabilitated as offices, primarily targeting commercial users attracted to the building’s 18-foot ceilings and 250,000-square-foot open floor spaces, the statement says.
Changes will focus on modernizing the building and providing a variety of amenities tenants these days are looking for. Like the addition of a 3-acre rooftop park complex which will include outdoor cafes, events space, and a sports and fitness center complete with basketball and paddle tennis courts and a quarter mile running track. The building’s riverfront space will include a landscaped and renovated Riverwalk as a new public amenity, as well as a grand plaza for outdoor dining and leisure.
A 24-month initial construction phase will address building code issues, restore the facade and start window and roof replacement. The second phase will install new building systems and elevators and complete the window and roof work. The final phase will renovate the historic lobby, common areas and tenant spaces. Pre-leasing will start in 2017 with initial occupancy targeted for 2018.
Other properties 601W owns include: Chicago’s AON Center, Prudential Plaza, and the former Montgomery Ward warehouse at 600 W. Chicago Ave.
International Property Developers North America, or IPDNA, sold the 2.7 million-square-foot heritage building after having acquired it back in 2009.
The City Council obtained the architect’s–Antunovich Associates–detailed plans for the building in 2013, which included adding an additional 7.5 million square feet. Since then, IPDNA has researched the best uses for the Old Post Office and its adjoining sites along the Chicago River.
Executive Managing Director Lisa Davidson and Senior Vice President Tiffany Winne of Savills Studley in Chicago assisted in the transaction, along with Charles Hubbard from Matthews & Goodman in Liverpool. The firm represented IPDNA.
