Mars Wrigley has chosen a commercial developer to reconstruct its historic factory site on the Northwest Side, the nearly century-old birthplace of the Snickers and Three Musketeers candy bars.
McCaffery Interests Inc. will now work with local community groups to formulate detailed plans for the 20-acre site in the Galewood neighborhood, including its landmark Spanish Colonial Revival building, according to a Mars Wrigley spokesperson. The candy maker plans to close operations there this year and move its manufacturing to other U.S. locations.
“We’re going to miss the smell of chocolate,” said Tom Drebenstedt, a board member of Galewood Neighbors, a local community group, but the shutdown will give neighbors the opportunity to help reimagine the space and reconnect it to the surrounding community. “Our world has changed, and we need to ask, do we need these massive industrial structures?”
A top concern for Galewood residents during a preliminary round of public meetings in 2022 was preserving the historic building at 2019 N. Oak Park Ave., a neighborhood attraction fronted by trees, lawns and flower beds. The Chicago Plan Commission in July agreed to designate the 1928 building, including extensions added in the 1960s, a Chicago landmark.
“It almost doesn’t look like a factory, and the community really liked the idea that the building would be preserved,” perhaps as a community center or library, said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, which took part in the community planning process.
The rest of the triangular site, now mostly parking lots, loading docks and other structures, could be replaced with a variety of uses, including senior housing, town homes, a wildlife habitat, renewable energy, a community gathering space or light manufacturing, according to the 2022 plan.
“We have a beautiful neighborhood, but how do we stay here as we age?” Drebenstedt said. “When it comes time to give up that single-family home, maybe the answer will be to just move down the street into new senior housing.”
In order to take those steps, the property, currently zoned for manufacturing, will need to be rezoned by Chicago City Council.
In a statement, a Mars Wrigley spokesperson said the redevelopment process would be conditional on the city’s rezoning process and on “continued engagement with the local community.”
“Mars remains committed to the city of Chicago and working collaboratively with all our stakeholders to redevelop the site for the benefit of the community,” the company said.
Other groups, including Austin Coming Together, Northwest Center and Local Initiatives Support Corp., took part in the 2022 planning, and Drebenstedt said the community now needs to work with the developer to flesh out the details.
“In 2022, we were trying to get ideas from everybody, and of course it may have to change,” he said. “There are a lot of pieces to this thing.”
Mars Wrigley won’t leave Chicago. The company still has its headquarters on Goose Island on the North Side, and recently established a research and development center on the island.
“They are committed to the Chicago area and have really put down roots,” said Jonathan Snyder executive director of North Branch Works, a nonprofit that promotes economic development along the North Branch of the Chicago River.
Snyder does not oppose the redevelopment of the historic Mars site but does advise caution whenever the city considers whether to eliminate manufacturing districts.
“I’m wary of it, just because we know how good manufacturing jobs are, and how they build up neighborhoods,” he said.
Chicago Tribune’s Talia Soglin contributed.
