U. of C. buys Borders store in Hyde Park

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Updated: November 4, 2011 9:01AM

The University of Chicago bought the shuttered Borders bookstore at 1539 E. 53rd St. in Hyde Park and is seeking retail, home goods, entertainment or restaurant tenants for the 250,000-square-foot space, university officials said.

“We believe this building has great potential for a wide variety of businesses” because of its capacity, unique features and parking lot, said James Hennessy, the university’s director of commercial real estate operations. The building has been vacant since March as part of Borders’ widespread closings prior to its ultimate liquidation.

The Borders purchase is part of the university’s effort to bring new retail to the area, including plans already announced to bring a four-screen Harper Theater and a Five Guys hamburger restaurant to the buildings at 53rd Street and Harper Avenue. Separately, Whole Foods Market announced last month that it will open a store in summer 2014 at 51st and Lake Park Avenue.

Meanwhile, a bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved Borders Group’s plan to sell off its assets through liquidators led by Northbrook-based Hilco Merchant Resources and Boston-based Gordon Brothers Group. About 30 to 35 of Borders’ remaining 399 stores could be sold to rival chain Books-a-Million Inc. The two companies are still in talks, but if that deal happens, it could save about 1,500 of Borders’ remaining 10,700 jobs, said Borders lawyer Andrew Glenn. Borders declined to disclose the locations of those 30 to 35 stores.

Contributing: AP