Fort Dearborn Station Redevelopment

Consideration is being given to a major redevelopment of the Fort Dearborn Station Post Office located on the block bordered by Dearborn, Grand, Clark and Ohio. 

On January 30 approximately 100 people attended the first public meeting on the project at the River North facility.  Bradford Meador, Manager of Real Estate for the USPS Great Lakes Service Office presided and representatives of Alderman Reilly and Congressman Davis were in attendance.

Mr. Meador explained that the primary objectives of this initiative are to improve operational efficiency and generate revenue.  He said that he and his colleagues had met with Alderman Reilly and other city officials and were aware of the "2020" Chicago Central Area Plan and its emphasis on the creation of green spaces.  The USPS plans to distribute an RFP in mid-March asking for development proposals for the 1.6 acre property, which is currently zoned DX7, and that community input was welcome. All proposals submitted during a 60-day period would then be reviewed and a determination would be made about appropriate next steps. Brendan Reilly's representative reiterated  the Alderman's openness to input and indicated that subsequent public meetings would be convened to address the issue.

Mr. Meador said that the present two-story facility was incapable of efficiently serving its two postal zones and that they wished to replace it with two new facilities.  Under one of several possible scenarios, the retail and carrier components of these could be located either onsite or at remote locations within a "preferred area" defined by the USPS. He indicated that almost any arrangement that led to what he called a "win-win-win" outcome was possible, including city purchase of the property, large-scale mixed use development, land swaps, or some combination of these or other options. 

Many of the local residents in attendance expressed a strong desire for all or part of the site to be redeveloped as a public park, citing concerns about increasing congestion as a result of ongoing development and the absence of such amenities in the area.

RNRA will monitor this issue closely, feature it at upcoming community meetings, post additional information as it becomes available and create an online survey to collect community feedback on design proposals.  Please check back for updates.

Click here to access a recent Crain's article on the project

Click here to access a map of the USPS Preferred Area for facility relocation

Click here to access 2008 USPS statistics

Click here to access the 2020 Chicago Central Area Plan

• Note: from the Department of Planning and Development home page, find "Community Plans" and select "Central Area Plan". Then select the desired section to download the PDF.

Click here to access RNRA's letter to Congressman Davis

Click here to access Alderman Reilly's letter to Commissioner Randall

Click here to access USPS's March 19 Press Release

Click here to access Staubach Company's website for this project

RNRA Perspective on Neighborhood Development

Neighborhood development obviously has both positive and negative implications. Most residents of River North recognize the value of expanding the tax base to pay for city services and of transforming vacant or underutilized properties into more attractive, safer, revenue-generating additions to the neighborhood. They know that business owners require certain levels of pedestrian and vehicular traffic before opening new stores and offices and they recognize that developers have the right to build on the properties they acquired for this purpose, subject to applicable rules. A busier skyline, increased congestion and disruption during construction are some of the unavoidable consequences of a desirable community.

The RNRA believes that developers should look beyond the economic viability of a particular project and endeavor to contribute to the quality of life in the community and the value of local real estate. The due diligence for each proposal should include an independent assessment of its potential impact on neighborhood and architectural character, security, green space, traffic, parking, sightlines, the pedestrian experience, pet resources, affordable housing and retail commerce.  Projects should be designed to improve, rather than degrade, these essential elements. Each development plan should also consider worker parking, truck staging, work hours, site lighting and other construction protocol matters in order to minimize noise, disruption and inconvenience to existing residents and businesses.

If development is conducted in this way, we believe that residents will generally be more supportive and that by working together to cultivate River North’s reputation as a vibrant, creative and desirable community, all parties will benefit in the long run.

Developers: access our new  Project Review Form

Check out our downloadable Development Matrix and map!

 
View Larger Map