Depression-era building in downtown Des Plaines being demolished to make way for apartments

After a two-year delay, the demolition of a historic building in downtown Des Plaines is finally underway.

The activity at 622 Graceland Ave. sets the stage for the eventual construction of a six-story, multiuse building with apartments, a restaurant and a parking garage.

Completed in 1941, the old building served as a U.S. Post Office until 1974 and as the headquarters for the Journal & Topics Media Group from 1987 to 2023. It’s been unused since then.

The building was “significant” because it was a New Deal-era post office, according to a report from Illinois’ Historic Preservation Division. It also contained murals funded by the Works Progress Administration, an employment and infrastructure program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help lift Americans out of the Depression.

Demolition began Tuesday and should take about three weeks, said Jeff Rogers, Des Plaines’ community and economic development director.

This won’t be the only building coming down as part of the redevelopment project. So will a neighboring building at 1368 Webford Ave., which was also used by the Journal & Topics company.

Because the Webford Avenue building encroaches onto Union Pacific Railroad property, the rail company needs to approve plans for its demolition, Rogers said. That hasn't happened yet.

Barrington-based Compasspoint Development is behind the multiuse project, which originally called for a seven-story building and gained city council approval in 2023. A revised plan that dropped the building to six stories got the council’s go-ahead in 2024.

No construction schedule has been delivered to city hall, though, nor have any construction permits been issued. Compasspoint’s plan has to clear bureaucratic hurdles not only from Union Pacific but also from ComEd and the Illinois Department of Transportation, Rogers said.

Danny Rigoni, a development manager with Compasspoint, declined to comment on the future of the project.

Regardless of the delays, Compasspoint’s development agreement with Des Plaines remains in effect, and city officials expect the apartment building to be constructed.

Des Plaines resident John Kaszynski lives about two blocks from the demolition site and walks his beagle, Remy, past it two or three times a day. During one such walk Friday, Kaszynski said he hates to see buildings torn down but thinks the 85-year-old structure “served its purpose.”

“We need housing in the area,” he said.