As demolition continues on the former A. Finkl & Sons site in Lincoln Park, two neighboring industrial properties have found a buyer and possibly new life as a future commercial space. According to Crain's, developer Sterling Bay has agreed to purchase both the Gutmann Leather tannery and the Lakin General properties just next door to the massive Finkl steel campus along the North Branch of the Chicago River. While there's been much debate as what to do with the old Finkl steel site, Crain's suggests that Sterling Bay may already have some ideas for their new venture in Lincoln Park.

The properties are both part of a large Planned Manufacturing District (PMD), and while residential and retail wouldn't be possible without a zoning change, commercial office space is allowed—as long as its for tech businesses. Sterling Bay has made a name for itself by transforming aging industrial properties in the Fulton Market area into high-tech hubs, and it's likely that the developer may follow the same recipe for these two properties, whose sum adds up to seven acres in total.

·Here's a plan to fill 7 industrial acres near Lincoln Park [Crain's]

·More Info on the Large Industrial Property That Just Listed [Curbed Chicago]

·Previous Sterling Bay coverage [Curbed Chicago]

·Previous Finkl steel coverage [Curbed Chicago]