City funding awarded to Washington Park National Bank redevelopment

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot recently announced that the Washington Park National Bank redevelopment has been awarded $5 million in Community Development Grants. Located at the southwest corner of E. 63rd St and S. Cottage Grove Ave, the bank building was designed by Albert Schwartz in 1924. With DL3 Realty leading the project, the redevelopment will preserve two of the building’s facades after the building fell into disrepair.

Designed by bKL Architecture, the project will turn the abandoned building into a new 5-story mixed-use building encompassing 70,000 square feet of space. Once completed, the building will include Class-A office space, ground floor retail space, coworking space, and a food hall. With the building in critical condition, the design will preserve the historic facades while building a new structure behind it.

Originally planned as far back as early 2020, the developer was looking to demolish the building to clear the way for an entirely new building. The Cook County Land Bank Authority, which owns the building, pushed back on that plan and encouraged the developer to rethink their plan to preserve the building.

The new funding source will help get the project on its way toward realization, however it is unclear what kind of zoning approvals may be required for the project. A timeline for the construction is currently unclear.