Bluhm wearing his poker face

Chicago -- Talk of casino at old Post Office site is way premature, he says

Neil Bluhm was adamant. He said it was premature to ask about a casino in downtown Chicago because he doesn't know if the Legislature will approve a gambling bill or what it might say.

But ask I must because Bluhm, as a principal of Walton Street Capital, controls a property that is tops on anybody's list for a casino site. It's the old Post Office at 401 W. Van Buren. And I imagined the prospect had crossed his mind because casinos are a big part of his real estate holdings.

So what about it? Bluhm said Tuesday that he hasn't studied bringing a casino to the Post Office and that no one from City Hall has asked about it. "If the city gets a license, and they want something, maybe we'd take a look at it," he said. He added: "We didn't buy this thinking we could be doing a casino."

What is in the works is a plan Bluhm called "fantastic" in its own right, a mix of condominiums, office space, a hotel and lots of parking. The proposal calls for removing about a third of the 2.5 million-square-foot hulk that spans Congress Parkway as it blends into the Eisenhower Expy. But even with the demolition, the vacant building has space in abundance.

Its size has been the big development challenge. Walton Street won the city's blessing, and a promise of a $51 million tax-increment financing subsidy, with a plan to group the condos in the north and south towers, leaving the span over the road for the commercial uses.

Are residences compatible with the noise and crowds of a casino? "Absolutely, yes," Bluhm said. "A lot of people have bought units in Las Vegas near the casinos. They're still selling."
Chicago Sun Times

News Added: 31 October, 2007

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