LOGAN SQUARE — There are signs indicating prominent neighborhood landlord M. Fishman & Co. may acquire the old Milshire Hotel.
The Milshire, a single room occupancy facility at 2525 N. Milwaukee Ave., is being vacated. Tenants recently were told by management that they must leave by May 31.
Illinois Secretary of State records list a filing by Logan Square landlord M. Fishman & Co. to create a Limited Liability Corporation called "2525 Milwaukee," the address of the four-story Milshire.
Filing an LLC for a building is a “99 percent indicator” that a company intends to acquire a property, according to DePaul finance professor Rebel Cole, who called it "very important" to the process.
Under such arrangements, LLCs are used to insulate owners from liabilities at a property, he said.
The Milshire, known as a single-room occupancy dwelling, had become home to transient men and women, many with mental illnesses and alcohol and drug-abuse problems. Last week, a note to residents signed "Your Landlord/Friend Art" said, “After over 43 years in the Logan Square area, I have decided to close the Milshire Hotel. I wish you all well, and hope you find another place to live that you will be happy in.”
Listen to Darryl discuss the Milshire's closing here:
Various business listings name Arthur Fischoff as president of the hotel. Calls to the hotel seeking comment on a potential sale were unreturned.
M. Fishman and Co., owned by Mark Fishman, owns at least 22 buildings in Logan Square, including the Logan Theater, according to the company’s website.
The company has become the target of protests by some tenants and local housing activists for what they say are unreasonable rent increases.
Experts say rising rents in Logan Square are an example of a situation occurring in a number of U.S. cities: an increase of people in their 20s seeking to live in popular neighborhoods but not owning their own homes.
Daniel Laspata, co-chairman of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association's Housing and Land Use Committee, said the closing of the Milshire as an SRO and rising rents in Logan Square present a particular problem for the Milshire tenants.
"I think the challenge is doubled based on the population that's served by the Milshire," said Laspata. “Those folks are going to be at a high risk of being homeless."
