An investment group has taken control of the landmark Delaware Building nearly three years after filing a foreclosure suit against the previous owner, county records show.
The venture is led by real estate attorney Steven DeGraff, who told Crain’s the building near the downtown theater district, at 36 West Randolph Street, could be redeveloped to include co-working, multifamily housing, student housing or even a hotel.
The eight-story building had been controlled by owners and an executive of Guaranty National Title, which is still its largest office tenant. But that group filed for bankruptcy after the DeGraff-led investor team bought the building’s debt and foreclosed in 2015, according to Crain’s.
Redevelopment on the 32,000-square-foot building could be hampered somewhat by landmark restrictions. The 144-year-old building is on the National Register of Historic Places. There is also a 99-year lease with McDonald’s for a restaurant on the first and second floors, in which the burger chain pays just $1 in annual rent.
But the property’s office tenants have only short-term leases remaining, and DeGraff said he has received numerous inquiries about the property from developers in the past few years. [Crain’s] —John O’Brien