DL3, Greenlining win $5M grant for century-old Woodlawn bank redevelopment

The city of Chicago has granted $5 million for developers Leon Walker and Lamell McMorris’ plan to transform a century-old bank building into a high-end office complex.

Revive 6300, a joint venture between the McMorris-led Greenlining Realty USA and Walker’s DL3 Realty, secured a $5 million community development grant for its plans to redevelop the Washington Park National Bank building at 6300 South Cottage Grove Avenue in Woodlawn, Block Club Chicago reported. The grant will account for a small portion of the estimated $40 million project cost.

The developers’ plans include transforming the property into 60,000 square feet of office space, dining and retail options on the ground floor, a skyline rooftop deck and public art installations. Walker, a managing partner with DL3, said the development will bring the first new Class A office space to the areas south of the University of Chicago in decades.

DL3 is close to finalizing the purchase from the Cook County Land Bank, which bought the property in 2017 after it had racked up $3.7 million in unpaid taxes after being empty for 25 years.

“We have signed a purchase and sale agreement, and it’s fully executed by the land bank board,” Walker told the outlet. “We have our deposits and we’re waiting to get some of this city funding in place before closing.”

The redevelopment plans call for the preservation and renovation of the 99-year-old limestone facade, but the rest of the building will be demolished and rebuilt because of roof, flooding and masonry damage. Previous plans had called for a full demolition, but a structural assessment performed by the land bank in 2018 found the existing framing system was structurally sound and in “good condition.”

“We were able to adapt the development plan so that it preserves what the community saw as an attractive — though it’s not historic — but an attractive structure for many,” Walker told the outlet. “They wanted to have that preserved, and we were able to do that.”

The $5 million grant will come from city bond funds and tax increment financing. 
— Victoria Pruitt