Historic West Loop warehouse slated for demolition

Just days after the city released a historic factory building near the Clybourn Corridor for demolition, another piece of Chicago’s industrial legacy has been placed on the chopping block. According to the city’s Demolition Delay Hold List, which lists architecturally and historically significant properties that are pending demolition, the owner of the old commercial building at 1217 W. Washington is planning to demolish the structure.

The building’s listing in the Chicago Historic Resources Survey (CHRS) suggests that the structure “possesses potentially significant architectural or historical features.” However, the entry notes for the property don’t reveal much else besides the decade of its construction and architectural period. The city lists the owner of the property as Peppercorn 1217 LLC.

Phil Denny’s Peppercorn Capital is just one of several key players in the booming Fulton Market area. According to the company’s website, the firm owns and operates numerous historic industrial properties which are largely used as office and retail space. In addition to 1217 W. Washington, Peppercorn also owns the old William Schukraft & Sons factory building next door at 1201 W. Washington, which is expected to become the future home of the Chicago Sun-Times. While both properties are examples of West Loop industrial architecture and the neighborhood’s manufacturing history, neither appear to be listed as contributing properties to the newly minted Fulton-Randolph Market District.

According to a commercial listing from 2015, the notes indicate that the building had been “newly renovated by an experienced developer” at the time of its listing. Spaces at 1217 W. Washington were available for 60-month leases starting December 2015. The listing also highlighted the building’s historic nature and industrial character. True to its industrial heritage, the building had most recently served as a showroom location for furniture manufacturer and supplier Veeco Manufacturing.

Phil Denny declined to comment on the pending demolition request for 1217 W. Washington.