Chicago Med Examiner Ditches Plans to buy Downtown Building

Cook County has canceled plans to move the medical examiner’s office to the West Loop, ending months of speculation.

The proposed relocation, which involved the county purchasing a two-building complex from Neil Doyle’s TradeLane Properties for $15.5 million, has been shelved, Block Club reported. The properties in question include the 80,000-square-foot, two-story building at 325 North Ashland Avenue and the adjacent 20,600-square-foot site at 1532 West Fulton Street.

The buildings were intended to house the medical examiner’s office, replacing the one at 2121 West Harrison Street. However, Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. revealed that negotiations with the Illinois Medical District had reopened, effectively halting any further plans to move the office to the West Loop.

“I think that they initially were thinking about moving because they couldn’t work out a deal with the medical district. And I think those talks are back on,” he said.

In August, a Change.org petition voiced strong disapproval of the proposed move from business owners in the Kinzie area, who argued that the medical examiner’s office would deter customers and slow development in the area.

“We strongly believe that bringing the CCME to the proposed location will completely redirect the ascent of the neighborhood and see it remain a largely vacant, overlooked sector of aging warehouses and other buildings in need of repair. Simply put, our customers, guests, and clients will not come and visit a neighborhood next to the City’s morgue, which would be sandwiched between the only two restaurants in the area,” the petition said.

While Burnett acknowledged those concerns, he said they likely weren’t the main reason for the county’s decision to reconsider.

— Andrew Terrell