A team of real estate developers is planning a residential conversion project of the former Anixter Center headquarters in Lincoln Park.
The venture, which is being led by Interra Realty co-founder Jon Morgan and Heart of America Group, purchased the 140,000-square-foot building and the 35,000-square-foot parking lot right next to it for almost $15 million, Crain’s reported.
The existing building at 2032 N Clybourn Avenue will be converted into an apartment building with 136 residential units.
The project has gotten good feedback from the neighborhood and Second Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins, who was most concerned about the preservation of the standing three- and four-story building complex, the paper reported.
The new apartment complex is set to benefit from the transformation of the nearby Lincoln Yards project, which is being developed by Sterling Bay. The $6 billion project will include 55 acres for an office campus, as well as apartments.
Mike Whalen, founder of the Heart of America Group, said the neighborhood is going to be a “powerful area over the next 10 to 15 years.” He said he feels confident about the new project as the venture has already seen success in leasing units in its recently redeveloped Southport Lofts.
Anixter, which offers programming for the developmentally disabled, listed the Clybourn Avenue property for sale in 2017 after the city opened up 760 acres of historically industrial land near the Chicago River for commercial use. The company sold a 27,000 square foot building at 2001 N Clybourn Avenue but still struggled to find a buyer for the main building.
The sale “helps support Anixter’s mission for years to come and will lead to thoughtful multifamily redevelopment in one of Chicago’s fastest-growing areas,” Eric Sorensen, managing director of Cushman & Wakefield said of the deal he helped broker.
Anixter Center CEO Rebecca Clark said the sale will help to stabilize the nonprofit’s long-term financial plan.
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[Crain’s] — Victoria Pruitt