Drawing of the 500 North Milwaukee proposal
We don’t do a lot of real estate news around here. But when it comes to the grey-slathered pile of boards known as 500 North Milwaukee Avenue, we’ll make an exception. That’s because 500 North Milwaukee is consistently the building we receive the most e-mails about. Neighbors, commuters, and fans of downtown wonder how it is that such a prime location can be the home of such a dilapidated building.
Drawing of the 500 North Milwaukee proposal
We last checked in with 500 North Milwaukee back in January when the Chicago Plan Commission approved the construction of a two-building apartment complex on the property designed by Pappageorge/Haymes. Urban Form Investments was supposed to put up 227 residences in a 14-story tower and and four-story smaller building, separated by North Green Street.
If you’ve popped out of the CTA Blue Line Grand/Milwaukee station lately, you’ve seen that it simply didn’t happen. So, what did happen? According to Crain’s Chicago Business, the property has been sold once again. This time to Akara Partners, a River North “data-driven, direct real-estate investment platform.”
But Crain’s did manage to get a quote from one of the principals at Akara, who pledged to tear down the current eyesore before the end of the year (“Yay!”). But also acknowledged that he didn’t have the money quite lined up yet to start construction on the new building (“Awwww”). To date, the city has not issued a demolition permit.
