"I just went to see it the other day," the buyer told GlobeSt.com following his winning bid at an auction conducted by Sheldon Good & Co.'s auction division. "It's a good location. It's got a lot of potential."

With a buyer's premium, the winning bidder will need just under $6 million to close the deal, which he plans to do with cash.

Before the auction, Sheldon Good & Co. suggested the building could be a headquarters for government agencies or foundations.

Minimum bid for the property, formerly anchored by Atlantic Bank and the National Bank of Greece, was $3.5 million, with reserve. The partnership selling the property waived the reserve when the bidding jumped from $5.45 million to $5.6 million, and the property was sold when the buyer upped his previous price by $250,000.

The seller, North Star Trust, paid $3.2 million for the building in December. The partnership bought the building from Atlantic Bank of New York, which booked a gross profit of more than $1 million in just less than three years of ownership.

The building had been managed by Insignia/ESG and most recently renovated in 2000. Before going vacant, the published gross lease rate was $23 per sf..

Tax records suggest the property may be a redevelopment candidate, as the Cook County assessor's office places 87% of the property's value in the land.

Sheldon Good & Co. auctioned Koko Taylor's Celebrity Blues night club at 1233 S. Wabash Ave. late last year, getting the seller $925,000, according to property records. The minimum bid for the 10,000-sf building was $550,000.

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