Chicago & Midwest + South Side | February 17, 2021

Landmarked Defender Building Trades in Bronzeville

Interra Realty arranged the $2.48-million sale of the Chicago Defender Building, a landmarked mixed-use property at 3433-35 S. Indiana Ave., in a historic section of Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood known as the Gap.

Built in 1899 and designed by Henry Newhouse, the property served as a synagogue before housing the Chicago Defender newspaper from 1920 to 1960. One of nine buildings in Chicago’s Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District, which was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1998, 3433-35 S. Indiana was renovated in 2016 to have one ground-floor commercial space.

Interra senior managing partner Joe Smazal represented both the seller, TRB Properties One LLC, a venture led by Tom Boney, and the undisclosed buyer.

“We’re seeing continued enthusiasm for property in and around Bronzeville, with a lot of private investment and a couple of large planned developments,” said Smazal. “We expect to see continued interest in this submarket as investors pursue stabilized assets.”

Get CRE News in 150 words

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny

Connect

Inside The Story

Connect With Interra Realty

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

Order Reprints