COMPREHENSIVE REDEVELOPMENT ON CHICAGO’S NORTHWEST SIDE

Bankers Life & Casualty Co.’s decision in the 1990s to vacate its Northwest Side offices and move its 1,000 employees downtown sent shockwaves through the Albany Park neighborhood it had occupied for more than 40 years.

In its wake were 600,000 square feet of vacant space in more than two dozen buildings, ranging from four-flats to old stores to a bowling alley that Bankers Life had converted to offices to accommodate expansion near the intersection of Lawrence and Elston avenues.

"We feared the neighborhood would fall apart," said Joel Bookman, who at the time was executive director of the North River Commission (NRC), an umbrella organization for several community groups.

With a $35,000 grant from the City of Chicago in hand, NRC convened neighborhood residents, businesses, and government officials to develop a master plan for the vacant properties. Buildings were inspected and NRC drafted a request for proposals, asking developers to submit a mixed-use plan including health care facilities, a senior housing complex, retail space, mid-priced residences and upgraded office space.

Fourteen developers submitted proposals.  Ultimately the entire property was sold to one buyer, as residents wished. North Mayfair Development paid $3.8 million for the entire package, which covered about 10 acres at a major Chicago intersection surrounded by a solid neighborhood apprehensive about a future without Bankers Life.

The redevelopment of Bankers’ properties restored residents’ confidence and faith in the neighborhood. Hope and enthusiasm replaced fear. Investment supplanted flight. A thriving neighborhood was made even stronger.

Today, the $45 million Mayfair Town Center complex includes housing, offices, clinics and retail space. In fact, the intersection is more vibrant and diversified now than it was during Banker’s Life heyday. The centerpiece is the 97-unit Mayfair Commons Senior Living, an apartment building developed jointly by NRC and North Mayfair Development Corporation. Other developments include 48 market rate condominiums, a new branch of the Chicago Public Library, an Islamic school, a bank, 10 business expansions, and the Mayfair Office Center with 26 businesses and 350 new jobs.