Bids Start at $300,000 for Chicago's Post Office

[diamonddog_74 32]

The behemoth Chicago Central Post Office will be auctioned on August 27 with bids starting at $300,000.

The following is the New York Times article about this magnificent building and its auction.

Bids Start at $300,000 for Chicago's Post Office

[Easy Bakes 253]

Thats cheap for a big chunk of downtown Chicago.

Some one should buy it and rename it Sears Tower.

[Ntq€310 1]

The biggest issue I see is what is the building used for. I heard some thought it should be turned into a massive transit hub as part of the plan to build a midwest high speed rail network, others wanted a officer/residential building. It's big, and it's bulky, and the economy sucks. so it's going to be hard to find a option that works.

[Jumpthefence 74]

What would you even do with a building that big?

Lots and lots of offices, I suppose.

Or a giant warehouse?

I'll bet bidding goes above $5 million or even 10 million pretty quick, but the land itself could be worth that.

[High5flyier 7]

What a beautiful building,would make a great BAT project and contribution to the game.

I would like to see the post office cut back to just 3 days a week, I certainly don't use its services like I used to,times are a changing.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

You mean this old thing?

I really hope whoever buys it finds some use for it (eventually). It dosn't seem like a good time to develop, but 300k isn't much of an investment for a property that massive, it might sit for another few years just due to the stagnent market. I just hope no one tears it down.

[mayor_brando 8]

Originally posted by: High5flyier

What a beautiful building,would make a great BAT project and contribution to the game.quote>

I downloaded it last week. Anyway, I think the Postal Service is cutting back and closing down offices all over the country. I know that they're talking about closing around five post offices where I live due to decreased demand.

[diamonddog_74 32]

Originally posted by: SimHoTToDDy

You mean this old thing?

I really hope whoever buys it finds some use for it (eventually). It dosn't seem like a good time to develop, but 300k isn't much of an investment for a property that massive, it might sit for another few years just due to the stagnent market. I just hope no one tears it down.

quote>

I don't think anyone really wants it torn down. However, most of it (the center part) is a warehouse that's no longer needed. From what I've seen, only the sides facing Van Buren and Harrison (the North and South ends) are really worth keeping architecturally. The Van Buren (North end) side is where the main lobby is since it used to face the Main Concourse of Union Station. That's where the bank heist scene from The Dark Knight was filmed.

The other issue is the Ike (I-290) running underneath it which was a quick and dirty way of extending Congress Pkwy into the West Side as suggested in the Plan of Chicago (1909). However, it wasn't built the way the Plan envisioned it: a tree-lined parkway as the East-West axis of the city.

This could be an opportunity to create a beautiful public space by opening up that center area.

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[hym 358]

Originally posted by: Barbarossa

We need to remember that our personal needs/desires have no place in a community service.  IMO, people should continue to support the USPS, because falling back on Fedex, UPS, and DHL is 1) costly, and 2) over-rated.quote>

The USPS is not a community service; it is a government corporation and needs to be run as such.  It is the continued mismanagement of the USPS that allows for companies like UPS, Fedex, and DHL to charge more for effectively the same service and still draw customers.  Or as one person put it, "Never trust the Post Office to do what it says it will."

From personal experience, if the USPS says it will be delivered in 2-3 days, it often gets there in 3-5.  I've gotten to the point where I pay for a tracking number for every box I have to mail.  The USPS says it's supposed to provide daily updates, but the best I can ever get from them is one update saying they received the package and one saying they delivered it.  It's a complete information blackout for the next however many days it takes them to ship it.  Contrast this with UPS.  I ordered a textbook online and apparently it's being shipped from Bangkok.  UPS has been providing regular updates of every time that something of significance happens with the delivery.  My book has been in 4 different countries and UPS continues to provide frequent updates as to which city it is in and when it leaves that city to travel somewhere else.

In summary, the USPS finds itself in its current state because of it's own actions.  It has poorly managed itself, has poor customer service, and has managed to convince people that it isn't capable of getting the job done well (if at all).  I refuse to stand behind incompetence like that.

[blade2k5 1,523]

Originally posted by: BarbarossaAnd I wouldn't like to see the post office reduced to three days a week.  I can accept a reduction to five days a week (eliminate Saturdays, that's fine by me).  We need to remember that our personal needs/desires have no place in a community service.  IMO, people should continue to support the USPS, because falling back on Fedex, UPS, and DHL is 1) costly, and 2) over-rated.

Barbarossaquote>

And the US Postal service isn't?  That's laughable at best.  I get way better service from Fed-Ex and  I'm willing to pay a bit more for that good service they've provided me when I've used them.  Can't say the same for the US Postal Service.

By the way, didn't NDEX make a version of this post office a number of years ago?  I seem to remember the roadway running through the middle of it...

[SomeRandomAmerican 5]

The reason its going so cheap is that its so difficult to develop that building. The center part, over the Congress Street Expressway, holds the former sorting floors. These floors are chock full of support columns and have floors several feet thick from what I understand. Not to mention that the lobbies on the two sides are nationally preserved landmarks and can't be torn down. Every plan to turn it into condos or office space has been turned back by the huge cost and impracticality of clearing those floors. Not to mention that while the building wasn't in use, you'd have to patch the hundreds of broken windows and keep the massive structure heated to 55 degrees, as the US Army Engineers stated. Just think of how much that would cost in one of our winters.

On another note, $300,000 is only the suggested opening bid. You could put in a bid of twenty bucks and end up winning it.

[your_adress_here 11]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

Thats cheap for a big chunk of downtown Chicago.

Some one should buy it and rename it Sears Tower.

quote>

Seriously, if I had $300,000 to spare I'd buy that baby and make a huge party house out of it!.

[blade2k5 1,523]

Originally posted by: blade2k5

By the way, didn't NDEX make a version of this post office a number of years ago?  I seem to remember the roadway running through the middle of it...quote>

Originally posted by: SimHoTToDDy

You mean this old thing?

I really hope whoever buys it finds some use for it (eventually). It dosn't seem like a good time to develop, but 300k isn't much of an investment for a property that massive, it might sit for another few years just due to the stagnent market. I just hope no one tears it down. quote>

I guess that answers my question

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

It's ok Blade, it happens to the best of us.

Seriously, if I had $300,000 to spare I'd buy that baby and make a huge party house out of it!.

quote>

I'll chip in for a good time!

[belfastuniguy 18]

Originally posted by: blade2k5

Originally posted by: BarbarossaAnd I wouldn't like to see the post office reduced to three days a week.  I can accept a reduction to five days a week (eliminate Saturdays, that's fine by me).  We need to remember that our personal needs/desires have no place in a community service.  IMO, people should continue to support the USPS, because falling back on Fedex, UPS, and DHL is 1) costly, and 2) over-rated.

Barbarossaquote>

And the US Postal service isn't?  That's laughable at best.  I get way better service from Fed-Ex and  I'm willing to pay a bit more for that good service they've provided me when I've used them.  Can't say the same for the US Postal Service.

quote>

USPS is rather ridiculous, have personal experience of it.

Give me the Royal Mail any day

[Kryptowhite 9]

Of course, Fedex trumps both USPS and Royal Mail

I really like this building, hope they use it for something interesting. The blackhawks could gut the inside and make an arena haha.

[belfastuniguy 18]

I disagree

I do like FEDEX and UPS, but I only use them if I don't have the choice of Royal Mail.

[sneakeypete 16]

Royal mail? they seem to get Austria and Australia confused an aweful lot...

[Godzillaman 21]

Nice deal. 2.5 million square feet for $300 000...A Bugatti Veyron has it's price at

[Muck308 55]

If I had the money I'd buy both, and drive the Bugatti about inside the building.

I'm interested to see the results of the auction.

[Barbarossa 51]

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  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[Patricius Maximus 236]

The Post Office is a vital function of a government in a developed country, and it should not be cut back any furthur. I have seen people standing in long lines to mail a letter, and yet they claim there is no mail. Such long lines will only drive business away, so it is very counterproductive.

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

Story here.

The old PO has been sold. The winning bid is $40 million. This building is one-of-a-kind, and special to those of us from Chicago, so I am glad it was spared the wrecking ball. No word on plans for the historic hulk, my bet is because they are going to change the building sufficiently to be wary of public opinion.

[Easy Bakes 253]

A Water Park?

That would be a wierd use for it.

[Simfan34 11]

Well $40 million is more like it. 100X+ the starting price.

[Chptrk 86]

Originally posted by: manticorefan

Story here.

The old PO has been sold. The winning bid is $40 million. This building is one-of-a-kind, and special to those of us from Chicago, so I am glad it was spared the wrecking ball. No word on plans for the historic hulk, my bet is because they are going to change the building sufficiently to be wary of public opinion.

quote>

I wouldn't be surprised if they are wary of public opinion. In Chicago, we do not like our buildings to change. We keep out Rosemont Horizon, Marshal Fields Building, Sears Tower, Wrigley Field... you get the idea. But a water park would be funny!