LOGAN SQUARE — A building that has been home to Margie's Candies since 1921 has been sold, but the iconic ice cream parlor is staying put, according to the new owners.
The price tag for what's being marketed as "The Mil-West" building was undisclosed. The sale of the two-story, 29,000-square-foot building to Chicago-based Outpost Development and Baum Revision closed last Friday.
“This property is a truly unique opportunity — a real piece of history — in a thriving community," Scott Goldman, principal of Baum Revision said in a news release. “It hasn’t been available for over 100 years and is begging to be restored by an ambitious and thoughtful team. That’s where we come in. We’re very excited."
The property went under contract in May.
Built in 1911, the triangular building at 1965 N. Milwaukee Ave straddles the Milwaukee, Armitage and Western avenues intersection and is empty save for Margie's Candies, a well-known, third-generation ice cream parlor.
Margie’s Candies "is a Chicago institution and will of course remain," Goldman said.
The new owners say they plan to develop the ground level of the property "into a cutting-edge retail destination that pays homage to the property’s history."
Margie’s, a family-owned tenant of the building, will be one of the retail storefronts. The remaining first floor spaces are vacant and will be remodeled and marketed for lease through Baum Realty Group.
Adam Radcliffe, owner of Outpost Development LLC., previously said the building is "technically Logan Square but literally at the confluence of where Bucktown, Logan Square, Wicker Park and Humboldt Park meet."
Over 2,400 bicyclists a day and 50,000 cars pass Margie's Candies each day, according to statistics provided by Baum Realty Group, which is banking on Logan Square's "hotbed of urban culture and artistic expression" as draws for potential retail tenants.
Peter Poulos, the third-generation owner of Margie's Candies, owns several buildings in the area but does does not own the spot where his parlor is located, according to county records.
The building, just north of the CTA Western Blue Line Stop, was built for First Securities Bank, later acquired by Cole Taylor Bank. A branch of Cole Taylor bank that was adjacent to Margie's closed in December 2014 when MB Financial acquired Cole Taylor bank, according to reports.
Poulos said that Margie's Candies initially was called First Securities Candies when it started in 1921 and the name was changed in 1933 when his father, George Poulos, became the shop's sole owner and named it for his wife, Margie.
In May, Poulos said he welcomes the potential improvements from new landlords.
"I am supportive of the plan; it's better for the community. More jobs, more people working," Poulos said.
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