Rare Parcel in Chicago’s Gold Coast Listed

A prime slice of Chicago’s Gold Coast is up for grabs again, after numerous failed attempts to develop it.

The development site at 12–16 West Maple Street, next door to longtime neighborhood mainstay Maple & Ash, hit the market through Greenstone Partners, Crain’s reported.

The parcel spans 7,900 square feet, with one four-story retail building. It’s being sold by Calmwater Capital, a California-based lender that seized the site in 2020 via deed in lieu of foreclosure.

Calmwater took control after a venture led by Maple & Ash co-owners David Pisor and Jim Lasky defaulted on a $14.9 million loan issued in 2018. The partners had paid $13.1 million for the site the year before and pitched an ultra-luxury, 22-story condo tower with just 12 units. That plan fell apart. A second proposal, a 34-story residential building floated by another developer in 2022, also failed to materialize.

Calmwater and Greenstone are marketing the site as one of the few remaining development opportunities in one of the city’s most upscale neighborhoods, which is seeing a recent wave of activity. The listing notes proximity to the reimagined Carmine’s and Tavern on Rush, which are both reopening after multi-year upgrades and the broader retail rebound.

The property’s DX-7 zoning allows dozens of units. The listing has no public asking price, but it’s expected to fetch between $10 million and $12 million, Spitz estimated.

The balance on the defaulted mortgage at the time of the deed transfer is unclear. But after years of false starts, the site is back in play. Developers eyeing a Gold Coast comeback may finally take a swing.

Recent real estate activity in Gold Coast includes the pocket listing of a historic mansion for nearly $9 million. A vintage apartment building at 1100 North Dearborn, held by a family office for more than half a century, sold for just $174,000 per unit recently.

— Judah Duke