Washington Park National Bank redevelopment approved by City Council

The Chicago City Council has approved the redevelopment of the Washington Park National Bank. 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 6-story mixed-use building encompassing 72,000 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. Located adjacent to the Cottage Grove CTA Green Line station, the building will include zero parking spaces. 

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.

With $5 million awarded in Community Development Grants, the project continues to move forward with this approved zoning change. With City Council approval, the site will be rezoned from B3-3 to B3-5.