And by "chapter," we mean "Chapter 7" or "Chapter 13."Ah, slumlords. The beautiful vintage building at 1001-1017 W Leland (just west of Sheridan), aka "the building with the faces" or the "Sam Alexander Building," has suffered greatly over the last decade due to an owner who neglected it so much that the building ended up in housing court for more than six years.
Four years ago, all tenants left due to the blight the landlord's inactions had caused: unsanitary conditions (tarps tacked up on retail tenants' ceilings to stop rainwater from flooding the place) and shoddy repairs (windows that were glued into place and blew out onto the sidewalks during a windstorm). Two years ago, the bank foreclosed on the owner's corporation.
What's next for the building? We don't know. We hope it's still salvageable and that the previous negligent owner didn't do enough damage to ruin this Uptown classic.
Stay tuned.
Glued in the windows?! That is a special kind of stupid, glad nobody got hurt or worse. It reminds me of this dude who used Liquid Nails on everything and anything.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the status is on this building, if its on the historical registry, it should at least be an "orange" building. Some of the coolest terracotta on the building.
Wasn't Harolds Chicken in there way back when, I can remember that neon sign.
Important building on a crucial block, hoping for the best.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a shame for such a neat building. Speaking of abandonment at that location, anyone know what the status is/what ever happened to the Fresh Market grocery store next-door? I thought the sign said closed for remodeling (~year ago?), and a followup post on UU pointed out the possible perishable good still on shelves.
ReplyDelete(obviously any 'remodeling plans' have since gone by the wayside)