The Ricketts Family Paid $20 Million for a Parking Lot

By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 14, 2011 9:40PM

Joni Mitchell, in her song "Big Yellow Taxi" sang, "they paved Paradise to put up a parking lot." Today comes news the Ricketts family bought a parking lot across Wrigley Field to possibly build a paradise. From the looks of things, they paid a premium.

Chicago Real Estate Daily reports the Ricketts family paid $20 million for an acre of property across from Wrigley Field that is currently home to a McDonald's and its parking lot. A spokesman for the family won't say what the family plans to do with the property, on which they closed Nov. 18. He would only say “Parcels of land near Wrigley Field don't come up for sale very often and the investors did not want to let this opportunity pass.”

The Rickettses have made no secret that they wish to develop land around Wrigley Field and, logically, own more of the entertainment revenue around outside of the ballpark. That will start as soon as next season, when the Ricketts family will erect a merchandise tent on the lot.

McDonald's isn't sweating the sale, either; any plans for developing the land must include a Golden Arches.