The grills are cold, the stools are empty, and now the legendary Palace Grill in the West Loop is officially in play.
The Blackhawks-themed diner, a neighborhood fixture for more than 80 years, is being marketed as a redevelopment site after a 2024 fire shut it down. The move shines a bright light on a short stretch of Madison Street within walking distance of the United Center at a moment when arena-area plans and investor interest are steadily ramping up.
What’s on the market
The building that housed Palace Grill is being pitched as a ground-up opportunity, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. Broker Scott Maesel of SVN Chicago is handling the listing, and the brokerage describes the roughly 19,000-square-foot parcel as a candidate for a mid-rise replacement that could suit housing or mixed-use development.
Fire, family, and the pause
Palace Grill has sat on the block since 1938 and has been in the Lemperis family since 1955. That run was interrupted in February 2024, when a fire caused extensive interior damage and forced the restaurant to close, as reported by Block Club Chicago.
Owner George Lemperis initially vowed to rebuild, and fans raised money to help the comeback effort. But months of insurance back-and-forth and repair estimates left any reopening in limbo, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
What could be built
Under existing zoning, the property could support a four- or five-story building that might yield about 50 to 55 rental units or roughly 25 to 27 condominiums, making a mid-rise residential project a likely path, the broker told Crain’s Chicago Business. The outlet also reports that the Lemperis family hired a broker and chose not to reopen the diner after the fire, and that the listing does not carry a public asking price.
Why timing matters
The listing arrives as the United Center owners’ $7 billion 1901 Project, a plan to turn surrounding surface parking into housing, open space and a music hall, has pulled developer focus toward the Near West Side, according to WTTW. Brokers say the momentum behind that megaproject, combined with nearby transit access, can make compact sites like this one appealing infill plays for builders running the numbers on rebuild-versus-redevelop economics…