The six-story brick and timber loft office building 168 North Clinton Street in the West Loop was permitted for demolition on January 22. Built in 1889, the structure’s first floor served as the Haymarket Branch of the United States Postal Service in recent years, before closing in 2021.
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Fire escapes are underratedly cool. Photo by Daniel Schell
The permit names Atlas Industries as the demolition contractor, at a reported cost of $704,000. Atlas is the same firm that razed the former Cassidy Tire building two blocks northeast, at 344 North Canal Street, which is now the location of the new Cassidy on Canal apartment tower.
Photo by Daniel Schell
From the Clinton Green/Pink Line elevated platform. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
168 North Clinton sits at the foot of the Clinton Green/Pink Line elevated train platform, with the southwest entrance stairway just a few yards from the front door. Ogilvie Transportation Station is just a block away down Clinton Street. There are surface parking lots on its north and south sides, and an alley at the rear connecting Lake and Randolph Streets. No redevelopment plans have been announced, and no permits beyond demolition have been filed, suggesting the site may remain vacant in the near term.
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then whyyyyy
Exactly! If no immediate plans why are we demolishing a seemingly good condition building.
Probably a negotiation tactic to get the Dunkin’ on Lake building to sell.
A building requires ongoing maintenance and accrues utility and property tax costs. If an owner does not believe that the future sale price is enough to cover these, it makes more financial sense to demolish.
Just like Arlington race track got demolished so the assessor values as vacant land. Let alone the costs and liability of having a vacant building…just easier to bulldoze it all
Should be earmarked for residential conversion, maybe even affordable units given the location. Major shame.
That’s a damn shame. What a waste of a good building.
This city’s demo guardrails and preservation incentives are a joke.
This building should be preserved
Would be Interested to hear the full story on this. It is absurd that an entity just gets the approvals and spends the money to tear down an 1889 building.
This should not be allowed!
In many cities/towns, this building would be that place’s best building. And look what’s planned.
Totally agree with everyone’s points on this one. Timber loft buildings are highly desirable and frequently repurposed structures. To demolish one at all is terrible. To demolish one to create an empty lot is beyond my understanding.
More destruction for crappy blandness.
Such a shame, the West Loop COUKD HAVE been a very cool neighborhood, utilizing all the wonderful old buildings and their neighbor friendly density.
Well said west loop is looking like any north American city
Seriously? WTF? How was this signed off on, and Who signed off on it.
What is the play here? Unless there is some new proposal for the development of this parcel, how is this permissible? Regardless of the cost of maintaining the building, was the owner deliberately not seeking out tenants? Does tearing it down change the value of the parcel? The owner will likely still pay the same in property taxes, if not more now. I don’t get it?
No, taxes would be lower on a an empty lot vs a lot with a building although there used to be/still is (?) a provision for lower taxes for buildings that are mothballed.
Man we really have some perverse incentives in the city that allow CA 1889 buildings to be demolished for essentially no reason.
It’s a shame to lose this one especially without a development plan in place. I was hoping they could do some sort of infill development between this and the larger loft on the same block along Clinton and Randolph.
I agree the city shouldn’t torn it down its a beautiful building if I had the money and it was for sale I would buy it