CHICAGO, IL- Monroe Investment Partners LLC of Chicago has just announced the sale of a 16-acre parcel of land in North Riverside to the Costco Wholesale Corporation for $5.5 million. The sellers are affiliates of Monroe and Lincolnwood Developers LLC. The site at 2500 S. Harlem Ave. is currently occupied by the former headquarters of the Edward Don & Co., but it won't last long.
“Demolition starts next week,” Monroe's Thomas R. Brashler told GlobeSt.com. “I say that happily.”
He explained that the loss of Edward Don to nearby Woodridge in 2012 could have been devastating for North Riverside due to the loss of sales taxes. “Most people did not realize that because they thought of it as just a warehouse,” but the distributor of restaurant equipment also sold many products out of the facility.
But Brashler also avoided the headaches of marketing the aging, unattractive headquarters. Last July, Crain's Chicago Business reported that the partnership had sued Edward Don for $1 million, charging that they failed to properly maintain the building. The dispute continues today, Brashler said. “They had obligations to maintain the building and we don't feel they fulfilled that obligation.”
Costco will soon launch a breakneck construction of their newest store. “They are renowned for building stores in 120 days; it's an amazing feat,” he said. The company should finish by October and restart the flow of sales tax dollars into the town's coffers.
North Riverside will kick in $6.8 million to help develop the site including upgrades to the nearby intersection of Harlem Ave. and 26th St. Brashler thinks these improvements and the coming of Costco will attract other retailers to the area. Monroe and Lincolnwood retain ownership of some parcels; enough for perhaps four outlot buildings, and plan to market them to restaurants or other users.
And now that Costco has signed off on the deal, “we're going to start marketing them in a big way.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
