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CHICAGO-Nearly four years after putting out a call for developers to bring retail space to a Bronzeville intersection, the city's Department of Planning and Development is back to proverbial square one. Meanwhile, the top bidder for the property in the first go-around is seeking to renegotiate its price, as well as demolish an existing building on the northeast corner of 35th Street and Michigan Avenue rather than renovate it.
The community development commission recently rejected the two proposals for the property, from De La Salle Institute, as well as the former owner, Feiyun Chen. Both agreed to pay the city's asking price of $635,000 for the half-acre site and build mixed-use projects. The purchase price represents the city's cost of acquiring the property.
De La Salle Institute, which has its Catholic boy's high school at 3434 S. Michigan Ave., first planned to re-use the building as part of a redevelopment that included a new high school, says Audrey Mathis of the Department of Planning and Development. De La Salle Institute also has more development experience than Chen, whose own plans hinged on acquiring neighboring property.
However, De La Salle Institute has since revised its plans to include demolition of the vacant building as well as a lower price, Mathis says. As a result of the change, the department of planning and development will continue to market the property, Mathis says. De La Salle Institute remains interested in the property, she adds, encouraging news to at least one member of the community development commission. "They've been there 100 years," says Clyde Martin.
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