Gentrification Complete? Demolition Of Logan Square Mega Mall Is Underway

By Stephen Gossett in News on Dec 5, 2016 4:09PM

It's the end of an era in Logan Square.

One of the last vestiges of pre-gentrification Logan has a date with the wrecking ball today: demolition is slated to begin on the Mega Mall building, at 2500 N. Milwaukee Ave., according to Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward). Demolition threats have loomed for months, with the teardown formerly expected to begin this past June.

The building has become something of a visual embodiment of the stages of gentrification: when operational the Mega Mall was a huge multi-vendor space that served the neighborhood’s now rapidly declining Hispanic population; then the husk became a canvas for an eye-popping street-art mural, courtesy of artist Amuse126 and Galerie F’s Billy Craven. After the rubble is cleared, the space will be—say it with me—a mixed-use development of retail and residential space. Word of who those tenants will be is still trickling in, but it’s expected to house a fitness center and a grocer, most likely a Jewel. The development is expected to include 220 housing units.