Two larger towers (shown left and right) were part of Phase 3. Phase 2 included a new tower (shown center). Despite the interest, actual work on the abandoned building failed to take place. Downtown’s emerging tech scene was enticed by the Post Office's large, open floor plans and many envisioned the space as the next Merchandise Mart - which had recently repositioned itself as a technology hub. While updated renderings of the project’s towering later phases made it easy to dismiss the whole thing as a pie-in-the-sky flight of fancy, potential tenants were giving real attention to the existing historic main building. In 2013 slightly more detailed plans were revealed after IPD partnered with architects at Antunovich Associates. Original massing plan International Property Developers Regardless, Davies and International Property Developers pushed forward and were granted zoning approval by the city in 2012. As a result, the project raised an untold number of eyebrows and was certainly not without vocal detractors. To say the plan was overly ambitious would be an understatement, especially considering the difficult global economic climate of the time.

He and his company, International Property Developers North America, envisioned a $3.5 billion phased, mixed-use mega-development that would eventually include a trio of towers and 16 million square feet of residential, retail, entertainment, and office space. He announced big plans over the following years. The story begins in 2009 when British-born developer Bill Davies bought the Old Chicago Post Office for $24 million. The City of Chicago recently announced that it would retake control of the 12.6 acre site that includes the main Post Office as well as neighboring annex buildings, but how did we get to this point? The Story so Far Despite its prime location and a recovering economy, the reactivation of the hulking art deco building straddling the Eisenhower Expressway has faced one setback after another at the hands of a elusive and eccentric foreign investor and is evocative of the on again/off again nature of ultimately cancelled Chicago Spire project. After closing its doors in 1996, the 2.7 million-square-foot Old Chicago Post Office represented one of the greatest redevelopment opportunities in the history of the city.

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