Tax Break Recommended for 203 N. Wabash Work

The building was recommended for the Class L incentive, as well as landmark designation, by the commission on Chicago landmarks late last week.

A partnership consisting of two attorneys and an architect acquired the 158,000-sf building in August 2001 for $10.6 million. They plan to start a $1.4-million renovation project in April, with the largest budget item--$291,500--for repairing and cleaning brickwork. Another $212,500 is budgeted for replacing a first-floor storefront and the main entrance to the building, which reportedly is 87% occupied.

The owners, 203 N. Wabash Investors LLC, paid $239,000 in property taxes last year. While they expect to save $711,000 as a result of the Class L incentive, the city's department of planning and development says property taxes will likely rise as a result of the increased value of the property.

If there is money left over, the owners will do interior work, city officials say.

Constructed in 1927, the building was designed by C.W. and George Rapp, whose only other work product is the Paramount Building in New York City's Time Square. "Its overall construction exemplifies the kind of ornamentation and formality that were once considered essential in the banking business," says department of planning and development commissioner Alicia Berg.