Recent photos show the demolition of the canopy structure at 120 W Ontario Street, formerly 631 N LaSalle Drive in River North. According to recent permits, developer John Graham plans to replace a former BP gas station with a similarly-sized station.
120 W Ontario Street, post-demolition. Photo by Jack Crawford
120 W Ontario Street, post-demolition. Photo by Jack Crawford
The site of 120 W Ontario Street. Via Google Maps
The 20,000-square-foot property is at the northeast corner of the W Ontario Street and N LaSalle Drive intersection. River North’s mixed-use One Chicago Square is a nine-minute walk away, and will top out in 2022 as Chicago’s eighth tallest building. Magnificent Mile at the intersection with W Ontario Street is a 10-minute walk east.
Bus route 156 is accessible via the LaSalle & Ontario intersection and within a block’s length of the property. Additional bus route 22 access can be found via the Clark & Huron stop, less than a four-minute walk northeast. The CTA L Red Line is accessible at Grand station, a five-minute walk southeast and the Brown and Purple Lines are available at Chicago station, a six-minute walk northwest.
The property is owned by Graham Enterprise Inc., a Vernon Hills-based developer. For the recent demolition permit, Graham Enterprise had switched the address and transferred prior permits from 631 N LaSalle Drive to 120 W Ontario Street. Another listed party is Ralph Schmidt as both the architect of record as well as the structural engineer. As far as design, no renderings have been revealed for the replacing station, though the permit noted that the new canopy will be of the same “size and type.”
R Carlson & Sons, Inc. is serving as general contractor for the development. While Graham Enterprise projected a construction cost of $5,000 in the permit, it is unclear if this is the final or total figure for the development. It is also unknown as to whether the accompanying convenience store will be removed, since no permits have indicated such at this point.
No construction timeline is known, although foundation work for the new canopy is likely imminent.
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I was the dealer of that station for 25 years. It was when I had it that it was turned into a pumper…rather than a repair station. WOW!!! I have book that was written about me and the station and a number or newspaper articles about the station.