The 54,500-sf building was part of the seven-building, 267,979-sf Soft Sheen Products campus. It will be reduced to 47,000 sf in Midway Broadcasting Corp.'s redevelopment, with 17,000 sf used by the radio station. The remaining 30,000 sf is likely to be leased to warehouse and office tenants, according to a proposal endorsed Tuesday by the community development commission.
Midway Broadcasting Corp., owners of one of the oldest African-American radio stations in the US, acquired the building in 2003 for $950,000, according to property records, financing the deal with a $760,000 mortgage from Covest Bank at 6.43%. In addition to using TIF money to pay interest, Midway Broadcasting Corp. will use some of it to pay leasing commissions as well as relocation costs.
"This project is not feasible to WVON without TIF assistance," says Colleen Stone of the department of planning and development. The property has been vacant since L'Oreal moved its Soft Sheen operations from the city in 2002, adds 8th Ward Alderman Todd Stroger. "Our TIF dollars could not be better served by this project," he says.
The redevelopment will make WVON's broadcast studios visible to passersby on 87th Street, as well as create a 1,500-sf resource library to be operated by the nonprofit Friends of WVON. The station's transmitting tower will remain at 33rd Street and Kedzie Avenue.
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