Best of luck to the new owner and neighbor. This seems like great news for our community to have someone interested in it vs letting it just sit and decompose. Maybe we'll get that Italian restaurant for the south side of the tracks that has been talked about so much on these pages for so long. The view looking toward the river is lovely, of course.
from the latest (4-16-10) Riverside Newsflash from the Village...
Arcade Building Under Contract
On April 12, 2010, the Village of Riverside was notified by listing broker Scott Mladenik with LM Commercial Real Estate that the historic Arcade Building located at 1 Riverside Road is officially under contract.
The purchaser, Mr. Joe Zapani of Bloomingdale, Illinois will take possession of the property following Village approval of his development plans. PrinsBank, located in Prinsburg, Minnesota, will remain involved until Mr. Zapani obtains Village approval of his development plans. Mr. Zapani plans on completing the restoration of the exterior of the building according to the last approved plans and completing the interior as he is able to fill vacant units. Mr. Zapani, principle of A to Z Roofing and General Construction has developed commercial and residential units throughout the Chicagoland and suburban area. "I am a fan of historic structures and look forward to restoring this important historic building located on one of the prominent corners of the business district and being a part of the Riverside community," said Mr. Zapani during meeting with village officials.
"Mr. Zapani's plan for ground floor retail and mixed-use for the second and third floors in the Arcade will be a driver in helping the Village revitalize our entire business district," said Village President Michael Gorman in reaction to a purchaser stepping forward to save the Arcade.
The building, listed on the Landmarks Illinois 10 Most Endangered List, was the center of a community effort to bring attention to this historic piece of Riverside through a 2,000 Sq. ft. mural that brought the entire community together.
Here is the Landmark's article on it...
http://rblandmark.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=6055