After joint acquiring the old Chicago and North Western Railroad Company headquarters building from electronics distributor Newark Corp. in 2013 for $6.5 million, current owners ICM Properties Inc. and Hayes Properties Inc. have begun an $8 million renovation project for the four-story, 135,000-square-foot building, Chicago Real Estate Local reports. The building served as the railroad company's headquarters until 1980, when it was purchased by Newark, which occupied and ran operations out of the building for 33 years before selling it for a more efficient and appropriately sized West Loop location. The building sits on a footprint with a double courtyard and the remodel is intended to be revitalize and reconfigure the property for loft office use, with spaces starting at around 1,000 square feet.
Hardwood floors and exposed spiral ductwork will aesthetically tie the building to its industrial past, while new mechanical and communications systems will make the space appropriate for 21st-century commercial use. The project is on schedule to be open for occupancy at the beginning of 2016, and its central location on the increasingly active Lawrence Avenue streetscape will provide ideal connections to local residential, retail, and transit options, all within steps of the building.
·4801 N. Ravenswood [Hayes Properties]
·New photos: Massive former Newark building in Ravenswood gets gut renovation [Chicago Real Estate Local]
·Ravenswood company plans to move 350 jobs downtown [Chicago Real Estate Daily]
·Previous Ravenswood coverage [Curbed Chicago]
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