Excerpts from dnainfo.com:
At a Plan Commission meeting June 15, officials will introduce a resolution to sell 102-year-old firehouse in Rogers Park at 1721 W. Greenleaf Ave. to Jim Andrews and Dean Vance, a long-time neighborhood couple who have sought to renovate the building for years.
They want to transform the firehouse into a work-live space that would include rooftop solar panels, a geothermal heating and cooling system, and two greenhouses. Other features would include parking for up to 10 cars; transforming the building’s 10,000-square-foot concrete lot into a landscaped garden; restoration and retention of the firehouse’s facade; and an emphasis on maintaining as much of the architectural integrity as possible.
The two would live on the second floor, while the first floor would be used for their ad agency and therapy practice.
They attempted to buy the building during the city’s last round of bids in 2013-2014 and were among three finalists selected by community members to potentially take it over, but an error by the city required the process to be halted and restarted.
Earlier this year Ald. Joe Moore (49th) said though he had gone through a community input process to recommend the best buyer to the city, he was told he would have to choose the highest bidder instead.
In February, the city opened the Greenleaf Avenue firehouse back up to bids for the third time since it closed in 2009 and issued a request for proposals with a target selling price of $315,000.
The estimated $1,657,540 renovation could potentially triple the property’s value to about $925,280. If all goes according to plan, the pair hope to have the renovations are finished by the end of 2018.
The station, formerly home to Engine Co. No. 102, has been on the market several times since it closed in 2009 after the construction of a newer firehouse. The 6,323-square-foot building was finished in 1915 and sits on a 8,934-square-foot lot.
thanks Dan & Dennis
