CHATHAM — A developer wants to convert the former site of the city’s last black-owned bank into suites for beauty entrepreneurs. But officials at the struggling bank said they have not yet decided to sell the building, even as the developer is meeting with neighbors and the local city council to gain their support.
R&D Builders LLC plans to open Chatham Salon Suites, an exclusive location for licensed salon professionals, at 87th Street and King Drive. Cosmetologists, makeup artists, nail technicians, beauty therapists and massage therapists could set up shop there.
Chatham Salon Suites would replace GN Bank’s Chatham branch. GN Bank listed the Chatham building for sale in February 2021 for $1.5 million before taking it off the market and reopening in June 2022 with limited drive-thru and ATM service.
At the time, the bank’s management told the Block Club that they were “taking steps” to obtain a banking license from state regulators before reopening as a full-service branch. However, the 87th Street building never reopened.
GN Bank was formerly known as Illinois Service Federal Savings & Loan. A branch in Bronzeville at 4619 S. King Drive remains open.
GN Bank has been in talks with Eric Dantzler, the owner of R&D Builders, “and nothing has been finalized yet,” Chiefy Nduom, chief operating officer of GN Bank, told Block Club.
In July, Nduom told Block Club that the Chatham branch was “not officially closed” and that “exciting things are in the works.”
“We think (Dantzler) has a good vision, but we have not made an official decision yet,” Nduom said. “We regularly review what we do with the official factory site.”
R&D Builders is “in negotiations with the owners of the property,” Dantzler said.
Dantzler and Ald. William Hall (6th), in whose district the construction project is to take place, met with neighbors Thursday evening to gauge interest in the project.
The renovated 8,000-square-foot building would include 20 to 26 salon suites, all equipped with the materials a licensed professional would need to “walk in and start working on day one,” Dantzler said. That could include a tool station for irons and brushes, a shampoo bowl, massage tables, cosmetic chairs and more.
All utilities, including water, electricity, gas and Wi-Fi, would be included in the lease, and salon employees would be able to decorate their units, Dantzler said. Weekly rent will average $325.
Renovating the King Drive building will cost about $1.5 million, Dantzler said. Dantzler will serve as developer, general contractor and construction manager, he said.
R&D Builders wants to install solar panels, remove the gas line and upgrade the heat pump and plumbing. They will also give the 20-year-old bank’s exterior a “facelift” by adding paint and repave the parking lot, Dantzler said. The developers will convert the bank’s drive-thru into additional salons.
“This place is an eyesore,” Dantzler said. “The landscaping is not well maintained, the signage is not well maintained, so we have a comprehensive renovation plan for the site.”
The Chatham Salon Suites will provide a place for local small businesses and entrepreneurs to work and attract customers from other communities to Chatham’s busy 87th Street, Dantzler said.
“Unfortunately, there was some vacancy (on this site) due to the closure in 2020, but our plan is to redevelop this historic landmark,” Dantzler said.
Dantzler and his wife and co-developer Sheila Dantzler operate a similar business in the Bronzeville Salon Suites, 80 E. Pershing Road. They have worked in the real estate industry in Bronzeville for nearly 20 years, Dantzler said.
GN Bank was founded in 1934 as one of the first black banks in the United States. The bank supported black families on the South Side for decades while white banks systematically denied loans to black customers.
After suffering financially during the Great Recession and the mid-2010s, the bank was on the verge of closure. Papa Kwesi Nduom, a Ghanaian entrepreneur, bought it in 2016 with a “$9 million bailout plan,” according to Crain’s and ProPublica.
According to ProPublica, in 2018 Nduom changed the name to GN Bank after Groupe Nduom, his family’s business conglomerate in Ghana.
But the Nduoms had difficulty turning things around.
Customer service declined and employee turnover increased. A ProPublica investigation with Captain Hard Times owner Josephine Wade-Smith found that longtime customers were at risk of losing their homes to fraudulent practices as the bank struggled to maintain financial stability.
According to Crain’s, GN closed the 87th Street branch in 2020 as the bank struggled to make a profit. The bank received more than $20 million in city grants and $10 million in state funds to keep it open in 2017 before leaders paid it all back because they couldn’t afford the interest, ProPublica reported.
In the last two years, operations have started with limited services.
At Thursday’s meeting, more neighbors were in favor of the parlor suites proposal than against it, Hall said, but it remains unclear whether the project will move forward.
Dantzler still needs to “dot the i’s and cross the t’s” at GN Bank, Hall said, before purchasing the building and going through the city council’s inspection and zoning process.
Hall was not involved in the talks with GN Bank and Dantzler about buying the property, he said. He did not know whether other developers were interested in the property because it was a “private deal that required public support,” Hall said.
Hall considered the GN Bank building for his first City Council appointment last year as South Side residents urged him to open a district headquarters a few months after taking office.
“(GN Bank does) a very poor job of communicating,” Hall said. “It was a problem. It was a problem with me, which is why our office was not there, among other things they do. So I can’t obstruct, influence or ask the bank to tell me who is looking at their property.”
The former GN Bank has been vacant for some time and “a vacant building of any kind is a sore thumb,” Hall said.
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