After the Damen Silos were demolished last year, the city has warned the new owner at 1910 W. 29th St. that an allegedly unauthorized parking lot was built without a stormwater management plan, violating the city’s stormwater ordinance and zoning rules.
The warning landed on a site where the Damen Silos once stood—after the rubble cleared, paved ground started taking shape.
City inspectors went to 1910 W. 29th St. on June 18 and found the land was paved and being operated as a parking lot. The city says the owner had not submitted a stormwater management plan to control runoff.
The absence of a plan, the city said, violates the city’s stormwater ordinance. Stormwater management matters not just for flooding control, but also for protecting nearby waterways, including the Chicago River. The warning letter also says the lot violates other zoning ordinances.
The property’s new ownership traces back to 2022, when Michael Tadin Jr. and his family acquired the Damen Silos and more than 20 acres of land where they once stood from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration for $6.5 million. The former grain silos—dormant for years—were torn down last year.
For decades. the massive structures near South Damen Avenue along the Sanitary and Ship Canal were owned by the state for more than 90 years. They were a recognizable landmark on the Southwest Side and appeared in the movie “Transformers: Age of Extinction.” A petition to save the silos drew more than 1. 000 signatures.
In a statement. Tadin said he doesn’t believe he needs a permit because his parking lot does not create stormwater runoff. He also said it isn’t permanent. “This is a temporary pervious surface. ” his statement said. adding that the area was being used by a neighboring business in a planned manufacturing area.
Tadin has not said what he plans to do with the property. City Hall said the owner has been advised “to submit a formal plan in order to bring the site into full compliance with the code through a lawful building permit. ” and that ownership was also advised to stop using the parking lot until compliance is established.
The letter says the matter is being referred to the city’s law department, and that failure to correct the violations could result in potential fines of thousands of dollars a day.
Separately, Tadin owns MAT Asphalt in McKinley Park, a major city contractor. The plant has also been the subject of odor complaints and a class-action lawsuit that paid out $1.2 million to neighbors.
Damen Silos stormwater management plan zoning violations parking lot Chicago River 1910 W. 29th St. Michael Tadin Jr. MAT Asphalt McKinley Park
Stormwater plan?? So basically theyre mad he parked cars wrong? Lol
I saw the headline and thought they were talking about parking ON the street near the old silos. But it’s literally a lot already paved and used as parking. If it’s “temporary” then why is it already like fully built up
So Tadin says it’s pervious and temporary… but “pervious” usually still messes stuff up if you got runoff coming off it. Also MAT Asphalt in McKinley Park has odor stuff so of course people gonna be suspicious. Idk why the city waited, I mean after Transformers money I thought everything would be handled
Confused tho, didn’t the state own the Damen silos forever? Like how is the new owner allowed to just do whatever after buying the whole thing for 6.5 mil. And temporary pervious surface sounds like something you say when you don’t wanna file paperwork. Thousands of dollars a day is crazy, but also Chicago will fine you for literally breathing air wrong.