It’s been exactly eight weeks and a day since Chicago’s City Council granted landmark status to the Art Deco McGraw-Hill Building at 520 N. Michigan Ave. And there’s still no word on whether Nordstrom Inc. will or won’t build a store on the property just west of 520.
Greg Merdinger, the project manager and a principal of Chicago developer John Buck Co., says, “We’re working on it.”
David Mackie, executive vice president in charge of real estate for Seattle-based Nordstrom, says, “We’re working on it.”
Greg Longhini, of the city Planning and Development Department, says, “They don’t have a deal yet, but we’re hoping they’re working on it.”
The expectation, both by Nordstrom and John Buck, was that the building wouldn’t be landmarked, meaning it could be demolished and Nordstrom would start building.
But 520 was landmarked, with John Buck’s proviso that he would dismantle the building’s facades, demolish the rest, then rebuild and put the building’s hallowed “skin” back on, slab by slab.
The expense of denuding 520 will be enormous; Buck is not publicly talking dollars, but there’s no question that the cost and delay involved are crucial to the negotiations and to the final decision by Buck and Nordstrom. “This is a financial transaction that has to work for both of us,” Mackie says.
Meanwhile, Nordstrom is going through other throes: Net profit for the 1997 fiscal year was $147.5 million, down from $165.1 million the previous year. Mackie says: “We take the long-term view” on the economy and retail industry; “short-term fluctations don’t drive decisions” on building.
Retail analysts say the standoff can’t go on forever. The speculation is that a decision will come in a week or two.
Perking up Penneys: Does J.C.Java sound mellifluous? That’s the name Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney Co. is using for the coffee bars it’s testing in a dozen stores, mainly in the West.
Though none of them are in Chicago-area Penneys–yet–other retailers are bound to notice.
Greg Casserly, president of California-based The Coffee Group, which franchises coffee bars, describes the prototype J.C.Java in a Las Vegas Penneys as a “cute, shiny jewel of a store.”
The shops aim “to change the image of J.C. Penney,” Casserly says. “Coffee bars are a cutting-edge concept, and having one at the front entrance makes the store a destination.”
Decor includes “traditional materials, granite, chestnut burl, copper tops, tapestry chairs,” he adds.
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Nordstrom pioneered espresso bars in retail stores in 1981, a natural for a company based in coffee-craving Seattle. That’s also the home base for Starbucks, which now operates espresso stops in almost all Nordstrom stores.
Will rival Sears, Roebuck and Co. look into the world of cappuccino and latte? Spokeswoman Jan Drummond says, “So far, there’s nothing perking” on the caffeine side of Sears.
Remodeling: Yet another sign of intense retail competition comes from Elgin-based Seigle’s Building Centers. The company says it’s “re-engineering” its business in order to distance itself from the competition.
Mark Seigle, president of the family-owned business, says Seigle’s now identifies itself as “the professional’s choice”–meaning it has broadened its selections of building materials, cabinets and windows, specifically targeting home builders and remodelers. The six-store suburban chain, however, still caters to “project-oriented consumers” who need hardware and tools. An amenity is the drive-through lumberyard: Just pick it up and pay at the gate.