Architectural preservation? Admirable! Especially in Chicago now, with the built environment giving Al Capone some competition as the city’s global identity. It’s a feel-good thing. And it’s environmentally correct.
A case in point is playing out in Edgewater.
At least one developer would like to save the Nordine house. Andrew Ahitow, of City Pads, has a plan that would repurpose the mansion while expanding it into an apartment complex. Ahitow told me his company put in a “competitive” but unsuccessful purchase offer contingent on getting landmark status (which could allow for possible government financial incentives). When the offer was rejected, Ahitow said, he was told that the seller didn’t want to take the risk of going down the path of landmarking. The Nordine family attorney, Randall Romei, had no comment.
Osterman’s office said he has no comment. But the alderman’s dilemma is clear: preservationists have said that saving the house would, among other reasons to preserve it, honor Nordine. But it might not honor Nordine’s intentions.
