The news follows a city report that finds that an illegalalternation of the drive-thru in the mid-1990s means it is nolonger a grandfathered use, which is what attracted McDonald's tothe property in the first place. The would-be buyer is AlanKravitz, part owner in and former project manager of PaulBrenneke's Avalon Hotel project on Southwest Macadam.

Kravitz, who also owns an interest in several area seniorhousing projects with another partner, recently formed his owncompany, Aiyana Group, the tagline for which is "progressive realestate solutions." Kravitz tells GlobeSt.com he also is buying upthe 40,000-sf block bounded by Broadway and Weidler and 17th and18th in the Lloyd District en route to another mixed-useproject.

Kravitz says the Hawthorne project will likely have 20,000-sffloor plates, with the first floor dedicated to retail, and theupper floors built out as moderately-priced condominiums, thedesign of which has not been finalized. Retail rents are expectedto be in the $18 per sf to $20 per sf range, which is consistentwith new development in the district.