Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Logan Square's 105-Year-Old Hollander Site Could Be Redeveloped Soon

By Mina Bloom | August 14, 2017 6:03am | Updated on August 14, 2017 9:22am
 The company is putting its five-story building, annex and parking lot up for sale after more than a century.
The company is putting its five-story building, annex and parking lot up for sale after more than a century.
View Full Caption
Cook County Assessor

LOGAN SQUARE — The Hollander Storage & Moving site at 2418 N. Milwaukee Ave. — known for its stately brick facade and side-facing painted sign — soon could be redeveloped after more than a century.

The longtime family-run company, based in suburban Elk Grove Village, is planning to put the 105-year-old five-story building, known as "Warehouse B," and its accompanying single-story annex and parking lot up for sale in the coming days, company executive David Hollander said.

It's a move the company has been considering for years because of the building's age, according to Hollander.

"There's always been difficulty with that building. It really isn't designed well for warehousing and logistics," he said. "It was designed for horse-drawn trailers."


An old Hollander moving truck is parked in front of the building, 2418 N. Milwaukee Ave., circa 1935. [Hollander Storage & Moving/Facebook]

The building now is used to store archives and records — not large equipment. If the site is sold, the company plans to move all the material it houses and the few employees who work there to Hollander headquarters in Elk Grove Village, Hollander said.

It's unclear what the list price will be. Hollander declined to disclose the figure. Efforts to reach Hollander's real estate agent over the weekend were unsuccessful.

Whatever the list price, the site is poised for redevelopment. It's right in the middle of a Milwaukee Avenue stretch that continues to see major changes.

Last year, the ramen noodle restaurant Furious Spoon replaced 30-year-old Mexican restaurant El Charro. Then the owners bought the neighboring dive bar, Two Way Lounge, and teamed up with mixologist Dustin Drankiewicz to open a new bar, Deadbolt, in its place.

The same group is planning to open a cocktail bar in the nail salon on the other side of Deadbolt called Pink Squirrel. Last week, a proposal surfaced to open a boozy Taco Bell in the storefront on the other side of Hollander's parking lot.

Built in 1912, the Hollander building could be the oldest on the block.

Albert Hollander founded the company in Chicago in 1888, when horse-drawn wagons were the only mode of transportation. Over the years, generations of Hollanders have taken the helm. Today, the company provides both local and long-distance moving and storage services for individuals and large commercial and corporate clients.

Hollander said the sale won't necessarily mark the end of the company's presence in the city. He said the company is open to buying another building in Chicago that's more updated and can accommodate modern equipment.