WEST LOOP — A Fulton Market produce wholesaler is making plans to sell its building, joining a list of meatpackers and wholesalers who have moved out of the area.
Rizes Foods, a produce wholesaler owned by the Bosnos family, plans to sell its ½-acre site at 201 N. Elizabeth St. Commercial real estate firm Transwestern has been contracted to sell or lease the site, a company representative confirmed.
The 201 N. Elizabeth St. site currently houses a 13,996-square-foot food distribution facility, which is available for sale or lease.
Rizes Produce is working with Transwestern to identify an alternative location for its operations.
Transwestern Principal Thomas Boyle, Vice President Fred Freeman and associate Paul Boccellari are marketing the property on behalf of the Bosnos family, which operate Rizes Foods. The property is being marketed without an asking price and would require rezoning for development.
Rizes Foods is at 201 N. Elizabeth St. [Google Maps]
“An increasing number of prominent companies, including McDonald’s and Google, are relocating to the West Loop, a vibrant retail and entertainment district,” Boyle said. “The right buyer or lessee has the opportunity to transform this asset into a new residential, commercial or mixed-used development that realizes the full potential of this site and capitalizes on the broader transformation of the neighborhood.”
The existing building was built in 1989.
As more trendy restaurants and shops move into the booming neighborhood, a number of meatpackers and food processors have announced plans to leave.
In December, Morreale Meats, one of Chicago's oldest meatpackers, sold five properties in Fulton Market for $36 million.
In October, the city's oldest fresh fish wholesaler, Isaacson and Stein Fish Co., announced it sold its buildings in Fulton Market for $9 million to make way for retail. The Fulton and Halsted site borders Morreale's 816-20 W. Fulton Market property.
In June, Pastorelli Food Products, a company that has called the West Loop home since the 1930s, announced plans to sell its facility at 901 W. Lake St.
Bridgford Foods is also making plans to leave the neighborhood. In its place, the company aims to build a 13-story luxury apartment building and boutique office space at 170 and 171 N. Green St.
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