CHATHAM — The former Illinois Service Federal Savings & Loan building is up for sale for $1.5 million.
Renamed GN Bank in 2016, the 8,293 square-foot building at 347 E. 87th St. has been vacant since July after the owners decided to close the branch. The bank’s original Bronzeville branch remains open.
The Chatham branch was built in 2000, according to a real estate listing.
Illinois Service Federal Savings & Loan was one of the first Black-owned banks in the country, providing mortgages to African Americans during a time when white-owned banks denied Black customers opportunities. On the brink of closure in the mid-2010s, Ghanaian politician Papa Kwesi Nduom bought the bank in 2016. It is the last Black-owned bank in the city.
Realtor Bill Tuggle said he’s received calls from people interested in the 21-year-old building, and they’ve said the space would be ideal for a cannabis dispensary or educational institution.
“It’s a beautiful building with such a great history connected to it,” Tuggle said. “The bank has helped generations of families and businesses.”
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