The Chicago Community Development Commission yesterday unanimously approved $51 million in tax-increment financing for the redevelopment of the Old Main Post Office, Crain’s Chicago Business reports.
It’s one of the largest subsidies granted by the city in recent years, according to Crain’s. The TIF, requested by developer Walton Street Capital, L.L.C., will fund 17 percent of the estimated $310 million it will take to convert the building into 300 condos, a 236-room hotel and 450,000 square feet of office space. Under Walton’s plans, an additional 800,000 square feet of the massive 2.5-million-square-foot Art Deco building will be demolished.
Crain’s quotes a report from the Department of Planning and Development that says, “Without this assistance, the developer would not achieve reasonable rates of return, and therefore, would not undertake the project.”