New Homes Magazine

Chicago's Best
New Homes of 1999

New Homes ranks the best projects in the city,
from houses to highrises

It’s time once again for our choices of Chicago’s best new homes. Each year, our editorial staff visits dozens of new developments, pours over piles of brochures and floor plans and conducts interviews with countless developers and architects to find Chicago’s best projects.

This year the competition was especially stiff. The category of new highrises, for example, would have been all but empty a few years ago. Today, more than a dozen new highrises are under construction or are pre-selling condos. The number of loft projects has declined since last year, but the number of units is still large. Large-scale developments such as the Clinton Complex and Dearborn Tower continue to raise the bar for size and amenities in loft buildings.

One category that is in short supply is single-family houses. In the city, this phenomenon is largely a factor of costs in a booming real estate market. Between the prices of land, labor and materials, it has become difficult to find a new detached house for less than $300,000 – $400,000 to $1 million is the norm. Building a small to mid-sized condo building or townhouses is a much safer proposition for most developers than tackling a couple of high-end single-families on prime city lots.

Townhouses too have become a casualty of rising prices. The $200,000 townhouse is nearly non-existent, while plenty are priced above $300,000. New townhouses are more common than single-families, but they generally suffer from poor design and the developer’s imperative to get as many units as possible onto the available land. The problem had become so rampant in certain neighborhoods that new city ordinances now mandate a minimum amount of green space and limit density in townhouse developments.

In each of these categories, as well as in conversion of existing buildings to condominium ownership, New Homes acted as a potential home buyer, reviewing the available product. After looking at floor plans, pricing, amenities, architecture, location and other elements of new developments, our editorial staff selected the projects we thought represented the best available housing. The selections are admittedly subjective, but we think these projects would be at least good starting points for anyone in the market for a new home.

Chicago’s Best New Loft

Project: Metropolis
Address: 1935 N. Fairfield
Developer: Bill Senne
Architect: FitzGerald Associates
Prices: $140s - $280s
Occupancy: 2001

If you’re looking for a doorman, a concierge or a fine restaurant in your building, Metropolis is not the project for you. Then again, if those things are priories, you’re not shopping for a real loft, but Loft Lite. Metropolis represents a return to true loft aesthetics, a refreshing departure from the sanitized downtown buildings billing themselves as lofts these days.

The project, designed by FitzGerald Associates, includes two adjoining buildings, one heavy timber, one concrete construction. The units have hardwood floors, exposed beams and ductwork, exposed brick and fireplaces. The partial-height walls, oversized windows and ceiling heights that rise more than 14 feet provide a feeling of space in even the smallest units, which after all, was once the essence of loft living.

Developer Bill Senne and architect FitzGerald Associates are no strangers to loft construction. They have come up with interesting floor plans, including some angled layouts, some three-bedrooms and a 1,449-square-foot duplex with a private patio. The original façade on the Washtenaw building was not salvageable, but FitzGerald has crafted a new one using modern materials and maintaining the large window openings that dominate the Fairfield side.

Chicago’s Best New Highrise

Project: Park Place
Address: 600 N. Kingsbury
Developer: Stonegate Development
Architect: Solomon Cordwell Buenz & Associates
Prices: From $190s
Occupancy: 2001

At 18 stories, Park Place is not exactly a soaring thing, but it’s certainly proud – more than we can say for the conservative designs behind most new residential highrises in the city. How refreshing to see creative, thoughtful floor plans that don’t resemble every other floor plan drawn in the last five years. And how nice to see a building that responds to its environment with originality.

A curvilinear design on the building’s “river homes” interacts with the flow of the river yards away, and two-story atriums promise spectacular views and light. The floor plans have angled and curved walls that create interesting spaces, while open living / dining / kitchen layouts maintain functionality and openness. The tower’s V-shape and narrow floor plate guarantee terrific light and layouts for all of the units.

A 7th floor terrace level includes a pool and Jacuzzi, a health club and spacious private terraces. The building also will have a 24-hour doorman, dry cleaners, day care, individual storage areas and access to boat taxis. In addition to being on the incipient Chicago river walk, Park Place will sit on the southern edge of a 90,000-square-foot park.

Chicago’s Best New Low-rise

Project: 2300 St. Paul Condominiums
Address: 2300 W. St. Paul
Developer: Turnberry Properties
Architect: Hartshorne & Plunkard
Prices: $200s - $250s
Occupancy: Fall 2000

The design of 2300 St. Paul Condominiums ensures that every buyer gets a good unit. All of the 80 condos are two-bedroom corner units with balconies. That guarantees more light and better views in these four mid-rises than comparably priced units in many larger buildings. Each building has four units of around 1,200 square feet per floor, all with two baths. The “great rooms” are large, some more than 28-by-16, and kitchens are open.

The exteriors are fairly traditional – red brick accented with lighter brick and a stone base. A strong corner element with vertical bands of this lighter brick and an ornamental cap in each building provides some visual interest and nicely integrates the four structures.

The six-story buildings will be quiet and intimate, but with the amenities buyers in this price range expect – elevators, indoor parking, storage lockers, central heat and air conditioning. The finishes, from Moen bathroom fixtures and marble vanities to oak flooring and granite kitchen counters, are also high-end.

Chicago’s Best Condo Conversion

Project: Concord City Centre
Address: 208 W. Washington
Developer: Concord Homes
Architect: Hartshorne & Plunkard
Prices: $130s - $770s
Occupancy: 2001

Concord City Centre, the original Morton Building, designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, doesn’t fit neatly into the condo conversion category because it is being converted from office space, not apartments. Technically, it is by our definition, a loft building, but the field of conversions has gotten so sparse that we were willing to stretch.

These units could only be considered lofts in the strictest sense anyway, having been formerly used for commercial purposes. The walls and ceilings are drywalled, ductwork is concealed, bedrooms are separated and most ceiling heights are 10 feet. They look, smell and feel like conventional luxury condominiums. Curved wrought-iron balconies are being added to the stately old red brick and terra cotta building in the heart of the Loop as it makes the final transition from office tower to residential.

The project, along with the adjacent City Center Club, has proven that buyers are willing to live not just downtown, but in the heart of the financial district. Standard features at Concord City Centre include oak floors in living areas, gas fireplaces, ceramic tile baths, individually controlled heating and air conditioning, new windows, new plumbing and electrical systems, and wiring for high-speed Internet access. Building amenities include a 24-hour doorman, state-of-the-art exercise facility, business center, individual storage lockers and separate bicycle storage.

Chicago’s Best Single-Family

Project: Wellington Park
Address: 1701 W. Wellington
Developer: Orion Development Group, Enterprise Development
Architect: Berger Architects
Prices: From $750s
Occupancy: 2001

Brand new single-family houses are hard to find in the city market, new houses that don’t look like they were designed in 19th century France or England, near impossible. Jack Berger, who has referred to his style as “a poor boy’s Richard Meier,” has built notable exceptions on the local scene. Berger’s homes, with their white facades, clean lines and rectilinear patterns, have made tiny River West an island of modernism.

The design of Wellington Park, a 114-unit development of townhouses on the seven-acre former site of Appleton Electric, in Lakeview, reflects his penchant for modern design. The facades feature flat white panels and face brick, with strong vertical lines. The interiors display the same simple elegance. The ground floor includes attached two-car parking and a family room over a sizable basement. The first floor is split between a large “great room” open to the kitchen, and a living / dining room with a balcony. The third floor contains a massive master bedroom and two smaller bedrooms, and the fourth floor penthouse opens onto a spacious, wrap-around roof deck.

Buyers can tailor the homes to suit their needs and tastes, but four bedrooms, 3.5 baths and large roof decks are standard. The development is landscaped throughout and built around a central private park.

Chicago’s Best New Townhome

Project: St. John’s Park
Address: 850 N. Ogden
Developer: Rezmar Development
Architect: Pappageorge Haymes
Prices: $360s - $500s
Occupancy: 2001

The proliferation of townhouses in neighborhoods throughout Chicago inspired the city to impose tougher standards for green space and design on these projects. St. John’s Park, an 82-unit townhouse development on the Near Northwest Side, shows how effective the new rules can be. The community is designed around a park with more 12,300 square feet of grass in the center of the development. The homes also have private yards and there is landscaping throughout the project.

The homes have two or three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, balconies, private front yards, roof decks and one- or two-car garages. With prices starting in the $360s, they are not the cheap alternative townhouses used to be. But with square footage ranging from 2,193 to more than 2,800 square feet, they show that townhouses still offer the best value on price-per-square-foot of any housing type.

The larger townhouse model on site is the Asbury, a three-bedroom, 2.5-bath unit with more than 2,500 square feet. The house has a two-car garage, fireplace, kitchen island, master bath with separate shower and double vanity. The finishes are high-end, including angled hardwood floors, granite counters, ceramic bathroom flooring and recessed lighting.