WEST HUMBOLDT PARK — Buyer's Flea Market, a neighborhood staple since the 1980s, is rebuilding about 10 months after a massive fire that sent cars parked on the rooftop plunging through the building.
Last week, the owners secured a permit to construct a new building at 4545 W. Division St., which will be similar in size to the previous building, according to Greg Morand, president and general manager of the Buyer's Flea Market. The permit application pegged the cost of the work at $13.3 million.
Morand, who runs the market with four other families, is aiming to finish construction by June and reopen shortly thereafter.
"We're excited. It's been a long journey from March until now," Morand said. "There are so many people wanting this and depending on it."
The two-block-long flea market caught fire on March 8, causing cars parked on its rooftop deck to plunge into the building as the roof slowly collapsed. Officials said the four-alarm fire was so taxing that crews had to bring in water from other neighborhoods to fight it.
There were no injuries, but all of the inventory in the market — everything from food to electronics — was destroyed in the blaze, which cost hundreds of vendors their livelihood, including the Sahagun family.
"For 15 years, we've worked as a family to grow our business and provide quality products to our customers. My parents dedicated everything to our family business but now it has unfortunately been destroyed," wrote Gaby Sahagun, who ran "El Tipico" fruit stand at the market.
Sahagun and several other vendors launched fundraising campaigns to rebuild their businesses and support their families.
Determined to move forward, Morand and his team vowed to rebuild the market, thinking it would take a few months to demolish the torched building and obtain all of the necessary permits. The process ended up taking about 10 months.
"It's been a monumental task with the demolition, finding contractors and an architect. A real group effort. Everybody's been working very hard to get back what the vendors and the community lost," he said.
Now that the team has secured a construction permit, Morand said the "slow part is over" and rebuilding can officially begin.
So far, the project has cost about $16 million, including $3 million in out-of-pocket expenses for Morand and his team. While insurance covered most of the $13 million construction cost, it didn't cover certain code upgrades and underground work, Morand said.
The new building is pre-cast, which means it will shipped in pieces and assembled on site. It will have a rooftop parking garage like the old building, but Morand said the community doesn't need to worry about cars plunging through the new roof.
"It's totally different," Morand said. "That would be the most unlikely thing to happen."
He said that's because the rooftop parking garage didn't cause the fire. Officials told Moran the blaze started outside and was electrical in nature, however, they couldn't provide an exact cause.
It was the second fire that damaged the market, according to Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), who didn't respond to a request for comment on the rebuilding plan. The first occurred in the 1990s, she previously said.
According to city records, the flea market failed a building inspection in 2014 that found broken concrete in various parts of the building, including the parking lot.
Morand said his team is "bringing everything up to code" and installing new features like sprinkler systems and electrical outlets to ensure safety.
"We changed everything we could think of to make the building better and safer," he said, adding that there will be new bathrooms, elevators and other added amenities.
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