820 South Michigan to change hands again

Recently on this blog I posted that Columbia College Chicago was still unsure about what to do with the former headquarters of Johnson Publishing Company at 820 South Michigan Avenue. Since the Johnson team exited the site in 2012, the building has remained practically vacant. Although the college initially laid out ambitious plans to turn the building into a new library and student service centre, these efforts have been scuppered by a number of logistical and economic factors.

820 South Michigan. Crains Business Chicago

It now appears that Columbia is tired of trying to find a way to develop the site, and is instead looking to offload 820 South Michigan to finance development in other areas of the city. Earlier this month in Crains Chicago Business, Alby Gallun reported that the college was in the process of hiring a broker to sell off the building. Director of Columbia's news office Cara Birch explained that due to restrictions on the building's interior (perhaps in part due to its significance as a historical site) and the problems posed by its vertical design, a retrofit no longer made sense.

Columbia had previously announced provisional plans to develop a new four-story, 104,000 square foot student centre on the corner of Wabash Avenue and 8th Street, and the sale of 820 South Michigan will now help to finance this project. Despite sitting on the building for a number of years, the college will probably come out ahead if the building reaches market value. When they purchased the site back in 2010, the real estate market was still in recovery mode, and prices on the South Loop have significantly increased over the past three years. Just a few days ago, Dennis Rodkin reported on a South Loop condo which sold for a record $3.2 million. Given the building's proximity to downtown, and its views over Grant Park and Lake Michigan, it is likely that the site will be developed into high end apartments.

820 South Michigan. Columbia Chronicle

A potential sticking point could turn out to be limitations on development of the site. When Columbia bought 820 South Michigan from Johnson Publishing Company, it made a number of concessions to preserve specific offices, including the top-floor executive suite of publisher John H. Johnson. Birch suggested that the college will look for a buyer that will continue to respect the buildings importance as a heritage site, but also noted that the college's agreement will end following the sale. The Columbia Chronicle reported that the building's historical value will not affect sale price, but this will not be confirmed until the site reaches the market.

The building's future may also be complicated by news that Johnson Publishing itself has been sold, with ownership of the company changing hands for the first time in its 70+ year history. In theory, the company would have had little say in the building's preservation anyway, given that the site had already been sold to Columbia. However, it is clear that the company retained close links with Columbia after the sale, and have continued to exert some element of influence over attempts to preserve its historic character. 

​More news to follow.