UChicago Will Sell Medici Bakery And Z&H Market Cafe Retail Spaces

By Mae Rice in News on May 4, 2016 8:16PM

Inside Z&H Market Cafe (photo via Google Streetview)

The University of Chicago plans to put 13 of its off-campus Hyde Park properties on the market this month, the university recently announced. Sales of the properties, including the buildings currently home to Z&H Market Cafe and the Medici Bakery, are expected to close by fall.

The Med Bakery, for one, plans to stay put through the change in ownership.

"While the Bakery building is owned by the University, the Medici restaurant building is owned by Katherine Morsbach, the Medici owner," Kirsten Esterly, Medici on 57th's General Manager, told Chicagoist via email. "As of now, we [the bakery] totally plan on staying put."

Existing lease terms and rates for residential and business tenants will stay in effect until current leases expire. We've reached out to Z&H about whether they plan to stay at their location once their lease expires, and will update if we hear back.

University of Chicago bought these properties "many years ago" to ensure that there was stable, quality housing close to campus, James Hennessy, the university's associate vice president for commercial real estate, explained in a statement.

“As demonstrated by the University’s sale of residential properties last summer, the real estate market in the areas surrounding campus is now strong enough to attract a number of potential investors and support a range of residential options,” he said. That "strong" real estate market has already attracted a small Hyde Park Target (opening by early 2017) and a Jeanne Gang-designed luxury apartment tower (open now, with rents starting at $1,800 a month).

The full list of Hyde Park properties the University is selling includes:

1401 E. Hyde Park Blvd. (Carlson)

5107 S. Blackstone Ave. (Piccadilly)

5110 S. Kenwood Ave. (Shelbyrne)

5345 S. Harper Ave. (Harper Crest)

5330 S. Blackstone Ave.

5455 S. Blackstone Ave.

5706-10 S. Blackstone Ave.

1321 E. 57th St.

1323 E. 57th St.

1327-33 E. 57th St. (retail)

1413-15 E. 57th St.

1027-29 E. 48th St. (vacant)

5117 S. Kenwood Ave. (vacant)

The university will host a series of town hall meetings where tenants can voice concerns, and learn more about transition timelines for individual buildings, according to the announcement.

After this particular batch of university property sales closes, University of Chicago will own 13 residential buildings available to students, faculty, postdocs and staff.

[h/t DNAinfo Chicago]