Lyonhart offers 'the Corvette of lofts' in the South Loop

Locomobiles, the equivalent of today’s Corvettes in the early days of the auto industry, have long been extinct, and for a time, it looked like classic lofts might share the same fate in Chicago. But the Lyonhart Group has resurrected both the Locomobile image and the concept of true loft space in the South Loop.

Locomobile Lofts will include 31 loft condos in a former showroom and warehouse for the old-time carmaker, at 2000 S. Michigan. The concrete building offers the kind of stunning, original loft spaces that were common before the best loft structures grew scarce. Ceiling heights soar from 18 feet up to 25 feet, and the dramatic spaces include some lofted mezzanine areas as well as dramatic skylights tilted at 60-degree angles

. “It’s a big plus for the area and will be a different product from what you see out there,” says Tony Torres, of the Lyonhart Group, which is both the developer and sales agent for the project. “It’s a great three-story red brick and terra cotta building with Terrazzo flooring and a brass staircase.”

The units will have one to three bedrooms and one to 2.5 baths, priced from the $170s to the $360s. Lyonhart is building a two-level parking garage adjacent to the building. Heated indoor spots will cost about $25,000.

The lofts feature wide expanses of glass, hardwood floors, gas fireplaces, granite kitchen counters, marble master baths, and washer and dryer hookups. One thing that separates them from many current loft conversions, according to Torres, is open, livable layouts that avoid long hallways.

“A lot of lofts now, you walk in, and it’s a long hallway,” Torres says. “We said, no way to that. It’s a look I just don’t like.”

What sort of look does he like?

The first floor will hold seven residential units with 18- to 20-foot ceilings. The main living level will have a multi-purpose room, a full bath and a “giant 20-by-25-foot living room and kitchen that’s two stories.” A metal staircase, chosen for its lofty aesthetic, will lead up to a mezzanine level with a 15-by-20-foot master bedroom and marble master bath.

The second floor holds wide one-bedroom units starting at about 725 square feet. Third-floor units have ceiling heights reaching up to 25 feet and angled skylights as well as lofted master suites on the mezzanine level. One deluxe three-bedroom unit has a living / kitchen area that’s 32 by 24 feet.

A common roof deck of about 50 by 100 feet will sit atop the new 40-car parking garage. The building also will have an exercise room, business center, storage lockers and secured entry.

Torres is not adding new stories to the top of the Locomobile Lofts partly because the building has landmark status as part of the city’s Motor Row historic district. That special designation has encouraged Lyonhart to remain as true to the building’s original look as possible. It also means that buyers may enjoy an eight-year property tax freeze, if Lyonhart gets approved for this program.

Another advantage to the Motor Row district is the momentum it’s creating in the Near South, pushing potential development south of Cermak.

“When I did 18th Street Lofts a few years ago, I was the farthest guy out,” Torres says of development in the South Loop. “Now I’m somewhere in the middle.”

Fresh developments at Central Station and a number of in-fill loft, condo and townhouse projects have made the South Loop one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the city. The recent designation of Motor Row has created landmark buildings as far south as 24th Place that may be ripe for development.

Lyonhart is part of another growing neighborhood in the West Loop, where it has broken ground on a development of 51 townhouses near the United Center. Adams Place, 2310 W. Adams, will include units with two or three bedrooms and two or three baths, priced from the $220s to the $290s. Those prices for brand new townhouses of up to 2,000 square feet have drawn a quick response from buyers, according to Torres.

“We had a private showing and sold 12 units in one night on our first phase of 30 townhomes,” Torres says. Not bad for a new development at a time when many builders report slowing sales.

“This was a great opportunity,” Torres says. “I was able to buy the whole block. The frontage is nine townhomes and then there’s a courtyard so big, I could put a football team in it.”

Lyonhart has enjoyed brisk sales even without having a sales center, which is not unusual for the company, Torres says. Its earlier, Cosmopolitan Lofts project in the South Loop was 70 percent sold before a model unit was ready.

“We don’t worry about glitzy models and sales centers,” Torres says. “Instead we focus on the quality of construction and show buyers what they’re getting.”