Goose Island Greyhound maintenance facility could sell for $50 million

The transformation of Chicago’s North Branch Industrial Corridor looks poised to take another leap forward with news that Greyhound is actively shopping its nearly 8-acre maintenance facility at the southern tip of Goose Island for potential redevelopment. Crain’s confirmed today that broker Jones Lang LaSalle has been brought on board to find a buyer for the property. While Greyhound’s asking price was not publicly disclosed, a director with JLL told Crain’s that the bus company had previously received “unsolicited offers of more than $50 million.”

Flickr Creative Commons/MAS Studio Chicago

While numerous conceptual master plans and studies have shown the Greyhound property—among others—reimagined as mixed-use or high-tech offices, the site’s value ultimately hinges on the extent to which it can be rezoned. Part of a protected Planned Manufacturing District (PMD), the maintenance facility and adjacent parking lot face zoning restrictions when it comes to future uses and redevelopment.

Though no PMD has been lifted since the designation was first created by the city of Chicago, there are efforts underway to draft a new land use plan for the North Branch Corridor—a move that could eventually include dismantling or at least heavily amending long-standing protected industrial zoning designations. Other nearby large-scale redevelopment opportunities include Sterling Bay’s recently acquired 28-acre former Finkl Steel site and the 18-acre, city-owned 2FM facility.

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• Greyhound putting Goose Island property up for sale [Crain’s]
• Remaking Goose Island, One of Chicago's Great Industrial Hubs [Curbed Chicago]