The mixed-use constructing at 7321 Madison St. is up on the market – and Andy Sokol, the gross sales agent for the property, mentioned he’s holding his choices open.
The sale comes after proprietor Mark Hosty spent a number of months making an attempt to hire out the area that was utilized by Forest Park Faucet Room bar earlier than Mayor Rory Hoskins declined to resume its liquor license. Butter & Brown Bistro restaurant continues to be open within the different half of the business area. Sokol advised the Assessment that ICOMM, an IT consulting enterprise, occupies the second ground of the 23,000 sq. foot constructing. He mentioned there are already some consumers, however he declined to elaborate any additional, citing non-disclosure agreements.
The vacant area lengthy housed Healy’s West Facet, a restaurant and bar, which was managed by Hosty. Hosty is a former Forest Park village commissioner. He now lives in River Forest.
Whether or not any of the attainable consumers comply with by means of, Sokol believes that the big business areas and its distinguished location on the Madison Road hall, on the northeast nook of the Circle Avenue intersection, would make it draw for Chicago eating places trying to arrange store in a extra reasonably priced rental area with out shedding the client visitors. But when that doesn’t work out, he can be open to promoting it as an funding property. Sokol believes it’s unlikely the customer would need to demolish the constructing, however he didn’t rule out a purchaser making an attempt to finish the present tenants’ leases early.
Whereas it was open, Forest Park Faucet Room confronted a number of complaints about loud music, fights and violating COVID-19 mitigation limits in place on the time. Whereas Butter & Brown hasn’t totally averted the blotter, the problems have been comparatively minor and largely resulted in warnings.
Final summer time, Hosty advised the Assessment that he wouldn’t communicate to any of its employees below any circumstances. Sokol, alternatively, answered the Assessment’s questions intimately.
“We’re very excited to promote it,” he mentioned. “I grew up going to that place as a school child. It’s actually a giant, lovely constructing on Madison.”
“I’ve just a few people who find themselves doing their due diligence and operating their numbers about buying [the building],” he mentioned. The constructing is listed at $3.3 million. A downside is a scarcity of on-site parking although there’s a village-owned car parking zone throughout Circle Avenue.
Sokol mentioned that, typically talking, an area like this could be enticing to restaurant house owners who get a ready-made area and different tenants to usher in additional earnings.
“An owner-occupant would purchase it, perhaps a restaurant group stepping into the suburbs, in order that they’d need to occupy it, and revel in having different tenants pay for the mortgage and the taxes and stuff,” he mentioned.
Sokol mentioned that “There’s been curiosity from native restaurant folks in addition to downtown [Chicago] restaurant folks,” however that he wouldn’t be antagonistic to promoting it to a well being system.
The opposite risk, Sokol mentioned, is that somebody would purchase it below the 1031 change, a federal tax code loophole that lets property sellers keep away from paying a capital positive factors tax on the revenue they made by shopping for an analogous kind of property of equal or better worth. In conditions like this, the purchasers normally merely acquire hire and rent a property supervisor and go away it to them to take care of the constructing and herald potential tenants.
Lastly, there’s a risk that somebody may purchase the constructing as an funding property – one thing that, Sokol mentioned, he can be open to as nicely.
Whoever the customer could also be, Sokol mentioned that he was assured that somebody would snap it up.
“You don’t discover many 23,000 sq. foot buildings in Forest Park,” he mentioned. “If Forest Park continues to hopefully develop, enterprise will come again and artistic folks would need to put areas in there, as a result of it’s a gorgeous area, it’s a cool loft-looking area. The basement has excessive ceilings. [The building] is a tank. It’s a super-strong, well-kept constructing, and somebody will take it.”