Davies to Chicago: I Want the Post Office

Days after the city of Chicago moved to seize control of Chicago’s Old Main Post Office for redevelopment, British developer Bill Davies decided to fight city hall.

“If they use eminent domain . . . they could choose any building in the city and just say, ‘We can take that property, and pay what we want to pay’,” said Martin Mulryan, Davies’ project manager.

The developer bought the 2.5-million-square-foot property for $17 million in 2009, after defaulting on his winning auction bid of $40 million. The city became disillusioned with Davies after learning he had turned down offers of $150 million for the property from other developers – twice.