The category of new highrise condominiums now includes some stiff competition, the result of a resurgence in highrise construction after a decade-long lull. Other new highrises, such as Riverview and the Bristol, are superior to River Bend in certain respects, but for its combination of location, price, views and design, we think River Bend offers the best overall package in a new highrise condo.

The $100 million development will include 161 luxury condos in a narrow, 38-story highrise designed with only six or seven units per floor. The building will have the intimate feel of a boutique both because of the small floor plate and the single-loaded corridor design, which allows for unit entries on one side and floor-to-ceiling glass on the other. The building and units respond well to River Bend’s strategic riverfront location, across the water from the Merchandise Mart and the spectacular 333 Wacker, in a formerly industrial corner of the West Loop. The east façade of the building curves softly, echoing the bend of the river and offering what promises to be a breathtaking view.

The model units at Bank Note Place reflect imagination and whimsy, the kind of serendipitous approach to conversion that once made lofts thrilling and now has become all too rare. Someone had fun designing these. The fact that this is the first loft development by Jay and Ann Gallagher of Chrysalis Development may explain why they’ve gone out of their way to take a creative, playful approach.

"We believe ‘loft’ has become a homogeneous marketing term, so we’re trying to offer the buyer a different choice out there," Ann Gallagher says.

Models in the steel and concrete building, include unusual touches, such as polished concrete countertops, bamboo floors, sliding perforated metal track doors and arched clay-tile ceilings. The original tile ceilings are especially striking, creating domes reminiscent of a Greek temple or Roman ruins.

The building, which actually is a combination of four different structures, also has a unique layout. Plans call for a partial demolition that will result in a common landscaped courtyard of 90 by 160 feet - an exceptional amount of green space in a 105-unit loft development.

The location of Millennium, a 32-unit townhouse project, was a challenge when architect Matt Kupritz began working with the site around three years ago. The spot, across the street from the new offices of K2 Architects, the firm where Kupritz and his father, Phillip, are principals, was not exactly a settled residential location. It sits directly north of Bertrand Goldberg’s curvilinear, futuristic-looking CHA Hilliard Homes, just east of the elevated train tracks and near a number of industrial buildings. But the problems of location became the pearls of the project in Kupritz’s imaginative hands.

Kupritz used the context skillfully, echoing the descent of the nearby tracks, for instance, in fireplace boxes that end slightly lower on each unit from north to south. The homes have striking, modern features - most notably the externalized angle of fireplace flues and the stairways that are steel rail on one side and colorful stucco on the other - but they are also warm, with each unit clearly defined and facing the neighborhood.

Wolfram Towers is the kind of place you can imagine yourself living in. Not just eating and sleeping, but really living. Imagine coming home from work and unwinding in a rooftop hot tub, sipping a drink and taking in the skyline view from your quiet West Lakeview perch. Sufficiently relaxed, you can pad down to your private balcony and throw a steak on the gas grill that was included with your unit. Inside, entertain friends in a condo that includes angled hardwood floors, granite kitchen counters and microwaves.

The all-inclusive package makes sense given developer Robert Levin’s background building multi-million-dollar mansions in Lincoln Park. And the design appeal of the complex - really four buildings in one - makes sense given the aesthetics of architects Pappageorge Haymes. The buildings are really separate structures, connected only by a narrow strip of wall that allows the first-floor parking garage to be contiguous. The façade also folds back into regular courtyards, providing more light and green space than in many condo buildings, and several shades of brick add to the architectural variety.