An opportunity borne of tragic circumstance, this highly attractive vacant parcel at 630 S Wabash is available today only because of the loss of Adler & Sullivan's Dexter Building. One of the oldest of the pair's buildings (1887), it was landmarked in 1996 and succumbed to fire 10 years later (see image at right via wikipedia). Per the city's Landmarks Division citation, The Dexter was an "irreplaceable link in the chain of work of one of the nation's most important architectural partnerships." Not to worry. Your job, dear developer, is slightly less daunting than replacing this irreplaceable link. However, if you possess a reverence for history and a dutifulness to the site's legacy, you'll not want to erect just any old junk on this property.
Ideally situated amidst Columbia College, East-West University, and Roosevelt University holdings, the parcel is just around the corner from the Harrison 'L'. On the market for $4.3M and zoned DX-12, highest and best use is definitely called for. There's technically two lots here, each permitting maximum buildable space of 100,000 sf with a mix of uses. So as it stands, there won't be any skyscrapers springing up. Apart from surface lots, the most comparable nearby lots we know of are the ones currently being developed into East-West dorms at 825 S Wabash and an RU Athletic Center at Wabash & Congress. What'll it be? Apartments? Offices? Hotel? More dorms? Interested parties, we beseech you, Please Build Here and please do it well.
·Fire guts historic building [Trib]
·East-West Jumps on the Vertical-Dorm Bandwagon [Curbed Chicago]
·Listing: 630 S Wabash Ave. [Dream Town]
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