Batman Post Office Sells for $40 Million

Winning bidder an unidentified man in his 60s who sat totally silent

Why so ... seriously expensive?

A mysterious and unidentified man bought on Thursday, for $40 million, the post office that was transformed into the Gotham National Bank for Batman: The Dark Knight.

The winning bidder was a man in his 60s who sat totally silent, nodding his bids to a woman with him, presumably an attorney.  The man's identity could not be immediately determined.

The Lee family from New York City was the main competition.  They said they'd hoped to turn the building into offices, condos and a hotel, but ultimately backed out of the bidding.  A man said he was representing a company called H&H Industries.

Local investors said they thought the roughly 3 million square foot facility, located at 433 W. Van Buren St., would have gone for much less, given the amount of clean-up and work required.

A $300 million plan to build condos, offices and a hotel on the site fell through two years ago. Potential investors in the past have also considered a casino, water park or hotel for the location.

Once the world’s largest post office, the building that straddles the Eisenhower Expressway has been empty since the mid-90s when the United States Postal Service moved to another location nearby.

It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places but is not a Chicago landmark.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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