Until the 1950s, it was a bank. Then it was a shoe store. Then a dance studio. Then a pawn shop. Now, the early-20th-century terra cotta building at 1623 W Melrose St in Lake View is being reborn as a loft condo development.
The nine-unit Citizens State Bank Lofts is identifying itself with the original occupants of the building (smart move not going with “The Old Pawn Shop Lofts”) by restoring the old CSB emblems on the building. The developer also is adding two stories to the existing three-story neoclassical structure and constructing an all-new glass facade on Lincoln Avenue.
Units will have exposed brick, floor-to-ceiling windows, stone fireplaces, private balconies and parking in a heated garage for $30,000. Two duplex units will have ceiling heights of 22 feet in living rooms. Prices range from the $360s to the $740s. Sales, through developer Gary Solomon & Company, are underway now.