EVANSTON, IL-A former Marshall Field's department store in the downtown area of this North Shore suburb on Chicago's doorstep has been converted into 54 one- and two-bedroom condominiums. The Evanston Galleria renovation kept many of the features of the art deco building constructed in 1929, from terrazzo floors in the lobby, original floor directories in the elevators and the trademark Marshall Field & Co. clock.

Evanston Galleria Investors, LLC bought the building September for $8.9 million, according to tax records. The building, converted into loft apartments after the store was closed in 1987, is a smaller-scale replica of the retailer's State Street location. It is located at Church Street and Sherman Avenue.

“We're incorporating as much of the building's history into the rehab as possible,” said Bob Horner, principal of Evanston Galleria Investors. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, both for us as developers and for the people who will own these homes,” said partner Ibrahim Shihadeh, president of Creative Designs. “It is very important to us that we do justice to such a historically significant structure.”

Units will be sold from $169,000 to $455,000, with deeded parking spaces available for $25,000. Creative Designs is general contractor for the project. Horner and Shilhadeh have a combined 20 years of development experience, building 5,000 homes.