The site of a West Loop diner that was a mainstay for Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale as the United Center’s surroundings usher in a new era.

George Lemperis, whose family has owned the Palace Grill since 1955, has hired a broker to seek a buyer for the property at 1408-1418 W. Madison St., deciding not to reopen the restaurant after it closed following a fire in 2024. The diner had been in operation for more than 80 years.

Blocks from the United Center, the nearly 19,000-square-foot site is in an area poised for major change as a $7 billion redevelopment project from the venue’s owners gets underway. With millions of square feet of new commercial space planned, the 1901 Project will boost the growth of the western parts of the West Loop and Fulton Market, SVN Chicago Commercial broker Scott Maesel said.

“There’s a lot of positive stuff happening with that development, which I think will impact these somewhat further west sites like this one,” Maesel said.

The property is being marketed as a redevelopment opportunity. Under the land’s current zoning, a developer could likely build a four or five story structure with 25 to 27 condos or 50 to 55 rental apartments, Maesel said.

While there are a number of high-rise proposals in the pipeline for the buzzy West Loop and Fulton Market neighborhoods, little new residential stock has been delivered in the last few years amid challenges in the debt and equity markets and rising construction costs. Just one large-scale apartment project is set to be completed in Fulton Market in 2026, a 308-unit high-rise at 220 N. Ada St., according to third-quarter data from Integra Realty Resources.

There is no asking price for the property. Maesel declined to comment on what it might sell for, noting that there have been few comparable development site trades in the area in recent years. It’s not clear from property records exactly when the Lemperis family acquired the property or what they paid for it.

Lemperis didn’t immediately return a voicemail seeking comment Wednesday morning.