'Downstate kid' to lead Hyde Park project
(Crain's) — A Downstate native with two small college-town projects under his belt scored an unlikely coup by winning the right to lead a $240-million mixed-use development near the University of Chicago.
City and university officials bypassed well-known local developers to select David Cocagne, 32, for an office/retail project on the site of the Harper Court shopping center that would include a hotel and residential units in a second phase.
Even Mr. Cocagne, CEO of six-person Vermilion Development Inc., admits his firm was a long shot for the job, the biggest it has ever tackled. But the selection doesn't surprise colleagues.
"He's a Downstate kid from Taylorville, Illinois," says Craig Bazzani, a former U of I chief financial officer and a member of Vermilion's board. "He has all the right ingredients for a good work ethic."
Vermilion's proposal would transform the parcel, seen as an important gateway to the university's campus, into a South Side haven for eating, shopping and entertainment.
Mr. Cocagne — his name rhymes with romaine — beat out 11 bidders with strong local ties, including McCaffery Interests Inc. and Mesa Development.
"After reviewing the proposals, we felt that Dave Cocagne and his team will create a destination in Hyde Park," says the neighborhood's alderman, Toni Preckwinkle (4th), who's also the Democratic nominee for Cook County Board president.
Mr. Cocagne may have helped himself by adding some well-known Chicago talent to his team, including residential developer Jon Zitzman's JFJ Development Co. and zoning lawyer Jack Guthman of Shefsky & Froelich Ltd.
Vermilion was founded in 1992 by Louis Mervis, owner of a Danville-based industrial recycling firm. The firm, which still has an office there, has been based in Chicago since June 2008, Mr. Cocagne says. Vermilion has developed about 800,000 square feet of mainly office and industrial properties, mostly in Central Illinois.
Mr. Cocagne's portfolio includes two 32,000-square-foot mixed-use buildings, one near the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and one near Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. Each was a $5-million to $7-million project, says Mr. Cocagne, who also worked on a 45,000-square-foot medical office building in Danville.
The firm has never undertaken anything as big as the Hyde Park project, which would replace a city-owned parking lot and the 40-year-old Harper Court shopping center at 5211 S. Harper Ave. that the U of C acquired in 2008.
Construction could begin next year on the $110-million first phase, which is to include 150,000 square feet of retail space and 150,000 square feet of office space, some of which is to be leased to the university.
Later phases could include up to 160 condominiums, 75 apartments and a 200-room hotel on a site bounded by 52nd and 53rd streets and Harper and Lake Park avenues, according to Vermilion.
The biggest hurdle is how to pay for the project. The Daley administration will provide an undetermined tax-increment financing subsidy, but Vermilion will still need to obtain financing.
To get a loan, Mr. Cocagne says he will need to lease part of the retail space, which he admits won't be easy at a time when few companies are expanding.
Mr. Cocagne, who now lives in Chicago, grew up in Taylorville, about 30 miles southeast of Springfield. He graduated in 2000 with a degree in finance and economics from the University of Illinois, where he was student body president from 1998 to 1999.
He joined Vermilion in 2004 after working three years for Champaign-based Fox Development Corp. and one year as head of real estate and construction for Oberweis Dairy Inc. of North Aurora.
He earned an MBA in 2008 from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, completing the degree while he ran Vermilion.
In a typical week he worked three days in Danville, then drove 90 miles to the Indianapolis airport on Thursday mornings. He flew to Philadelphia, attended classes, then returned to Illinois on Saturday night.
"He's impressed all of us as a thoughtful and energetic fellow," Mr. Guthman says. "This (development) is his first but it certainly won't be his last in Chicago."
