Mavrek Scoops Up Gold Coast Retail After Stalled Tower Plans

After years of unrealized condo dreams, a well-located Gold Coast property is headed for a more grounded reset.

Chicago-based developer Mavrek acquired 12–16 West Maple Street, a four-story, roughly 20,000-square-foot building near the corner of State and Maple streets for $6.5 million, with plans to renovate and reposition the asset as a modern retail and office property, CoStar reported. Urbanize Chicago reported that the deal was announced by the buyer, which is betting on the corridor’s foot traffic and scarcity of available space rather than another high-rise swing.

The building sits on a 7,900-square-foot site with 75 feet of frontage along Maple Street, a high-visibility stretch just east of State Street. It’s partially occupied, including by CorePower Yoga on the fourth floor, providing some in-place income as Mavrek maps out its overhaul.

Calmwater Capital, the California-based lender that took control of the property through a deed in lieu of foreclosure nearly five years ago, sold the site. Greenstone Partners was hired to market the asset.

The transaction closes a long and winding chapter for a property that has repeatedly tempted developers aiming sky-high. Maple & Ash co-owners David Pisor and Jim Lasky bought the site in 2017 for $13.1 million and pitched an ultra-luxury 22-story condominium tower with just 12 units. That plan stalled, as did a later proposal in 2022 for a 34-story condo tower by another development group.

Instead of chasing entitlements for a vertical project, Mavrek is leaning into what the site already has: ground-level retail potential in one of Chicago’s priciest and most pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. The Gold Coast remains a magnet for luxury brands, high-end dining and affluent shoppers, anchored by Oak Street boutiques like Hermès, Dior and Chanel and restaurant heavyweights including Gibsons and Maple & Ash next door.

“There’s very limited sites like this available that come around,” Greenstone Partners CEO Danny Spitz said in a statement. “The location sells itself.”

Mavrek tapped Mid-America Real Estate Group to handle leasing, signaling a push to land top-tier retail and office tenants rather than speculative concepts.

— Eric Weilbacher