Teardown Begins at 2037 W. Division; Future Plans to Rebuild

Yesterday, scaffolding went up in front of 2037 W. Division St., just east of the Betancourt Realty building and west of Kiz Chicago. Workers said the building is in the beginning stages of being completely torn down, and that the lot will potentially be completely vacant in as early as three weeks, pending good weather.

A city permit made reference to an "emergency wreck," so we spoke to one of the demolition workers who told us that the building's structural issues made it highly dangerous, especially a broken beam that had caused the building's south wall to lean into the back alley. "We're going to take it down before it falls down," said one worker.

A local architect, Nick Hadley of arch-H LLC architecture, had outdated plans for the building's gut rehab on his website, so we called to see if he had any other news about the demolition or future plans for the lot. He said that there will be a commercial-use building on the site in the future, but that the details have not been finalized and that a timeline for construction has yet to be determined.

According to Hadley, the current owner, who purchased the building in 2007, has had issue after issue -- water coming in from the roof, rotted beams, a cracking facade, etc -- thus requiring a complete tear-down and rebuild. He would not confirm the details of what will eventually go in the new building, although he did mention that their original, pre-demolition plans (which you can see on his website) were for a restaurant so he "wouldn't be surprised if they were going to do something similar." His firm will be working on the new project and he said the building could potentially be three stories high instead of two.

This building has gotten a lot of negative attention in the neighborhood and has become a definite eyesore on an otherwise nice stretch of Division Street. Although it will be a bit odd to have a temporary gaping hole in the street's landscape, it'll most certainly be better than a blighted building.

What do you hope goes in the lot?