Our Sears Tower finds loving owners
Mike Quinlan, NWS Chamber
Published: April 30, 2010
2400 W Madison
It’s 2003. We’re not even in Iraq yet, there’s a national real estate boom, and the West Haven community is undergoing its greatest transformation in over 50 years. Major real estate developments are sprouting up and down Madison Avenue. “What first attracted us to the Bank Building were all of the developments happening just west of Ashland,” explains Lou Sopcic, “and of course the skyline views”.
The Sopcic family, a mother and her two sons, found the West Town Bank Building in desperate need of some TLC. “The previous owner had left the Bank Building in such poor condition that the City was giving demolition a serious consideration. When we took over, it was an entire gut rehab from top to bottom,” says Lou. “The timing felt right, it felt like everyone suddenly realized how great it is to live in the City by taking advantage of living close to downtown.”
Even under the best conditions, the rehab was an ambitious one for sure, converting eight stories of vacant office space into 62 residential units and updating 5,000 square feet of new retail space. Fortunately for the Bank Building, the Sopcic family had a lot of experience in diving into adaptive re-use projects, though never on this scale. “The secret is to find the right partners to stick with you through thick-and-thin and we found that with Community Investment Corporation”. CIC is a not-for-profit lending institution dedicated to proving loans to these types of rehabs in communities like West Haven. “It was their biggest loan at the time, it would never have been possible in today’s economy”.
Madison and Western in the 1920's
Because of their hard work, The West Town Bank Building has been officially designated a Historic Chicago Landmark. From the city’s website, “Built to house a bank and rental offices, this unusual neighborhood mid-rise "skyscraper" is a distinctive visual landmark in the Near West Side community area. A smaller version of the soaring 1920s-era skyscrapers built in Chicago's Loop, it is finely detailed with both Art Deco- and Modern Classical-style ornament, including stylized eagles sculpted in limestone. Beginning in the 1930s, the building housed radio stations WSBC and WGES that broadcast pioneering African-American radio programs hosted by Jack L. Cooper and Al Benson.”
In 2009, the Sopcic family received the Chicago Landmark “Award for Preservation Excellence” for its adaptive re-use and exterior restoration of the West Town Bank Building by Mayor Daley. To download award info, click here.
Lobby of restored West Town State Bank Building.
Fast forward to the present. The renovations have been complete and the apartments go fast. Click here for a slide show of some of the apartments and a rental description. “We get a nice mix of people wanting to live in the area. A nice variety of professional backgrounds who want to take advantage of living in a historical building with an unobstructed skyline view. In fact, our asking price has been a non-issue. What we’re really looking forward to is Pete’s Fresh Market opening up. Having a grocer across the street will make a huge difference.”
The renovated ground floor commercial spaces are completely leased as well. Tenants include a mortgage company, real estate attorneys and a salsa dance studio.
A sneak peak of Sweet Cafe, during a private art opening.
The cherry-on-top is the upcoming Sweet Café. “My mother runs a successful organic bakery called Sweet Dreams in Glenview. She uses certified organic ingredients in all of her baked goods. The chocolate éclairs are my favorite. When the timing is right, our family plans to open our doors here as a second a second location.”
So what’s been the hold up with Sweet Cafe? “Well there’s been a lot of excitement around this and we’re excited ourselves too.” Lou explains, “Truthfully there’s two items we’ve been waiting on. The first is trying to deal with the city and its sidewalks, they’re vaulted and are in really bad shape. The second is Pete’s Fresh Grocers, we’d like construction to begin so they can open up ASAP. That will drive a lot of additional foot traffic here and for all of the local retailers.”
A special thanks to the Scopic family, for their past, present and future contributions to our community and our Sears Tower.
Address: 2400 W. Madison St.
Year Built: 1929-1930
Architect: Mundie & Jensen
Date Designated a Chicago Landmark: October 1, 2003
Wish to inquire on the availability of an apartment? Contact Darian at (773) 983-0609
Posted in Chamber News