ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL. — The historic Vail Davis Building, located at 15 N. Vail Ave. in Arlington Heights, a northwest Chicago suburb, has undergone a complete makeover to create 16 luxury residences for upscale renters. CF Real Estate and 33, a real estate firm, acquired the historic mixed-use building in June 2014 for $2.5 million in an off-market transaction. Renovations at the Vail Davis Building included a total rehabbing of all rental units, new HVAC systems, electrical systems upgrades, new windows and a restored underground sewer system. The $1.4 million project was completed in early November and the 16 units are 100 percent leased. Restaurants La Tasca and Bangkok Café currently lease the ground-level retail space and have continued to operate during the renovations.
Completed in 1929, the building originally included 16 apartments on the second and third floors and eight retail establishments on the first floor: Redker Real Estate, a druggist, barber, fish market, tailor, restaurant, Western Union and the Hoggay pool hall. In later years, one of the more well-known tenants in the building was the Hertzog cigar factory, makers of the hand-rolled Gander Cigar. The Vail Davis Building, which features an English-style architecture, includes a distinctive castle tower that sets it apart from other structures of the era.