Smithfield Properties gets a 35,000-sf building on less than an acre in the DePaul neighborhood, one of the few sites in the area that has yet to see redevelopment. The property fetched a $12-million offer when Coyne American Institute put it up for bid, notes Kathy Feingold of the department of planning and development.

The value of the 2.5-acre site at 330 N. Green St., which Smithfield Properties acquired earlier this year from Heartland Partners, is estimated at $1.7 million, according to a project budget. In addition to the $9.2-million cost of the two-story building, another $2.4 million will be spend on improvements for Coyne American Institute, which provides training in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning as well as electrical fields.

The building is expected to be completed by January.

Russell T. Freeman says a location served by the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue and Green lines was one factor that attracted him to the Green Street site. "We draw an awful lot from the South Side, and that's why I liked this location," Freeman recently told the community development commission, which endorsed the financial assistance.