Atland bridges the city
New firm offers Bridgeport single-families, chic N. Side condos
by Dan Schuyler

Atland Realty may be a new kid on the block as real estate brokerages go, but principals Mike Hulett and Lisa Baehme have worked together as a sales team for years and the energetic duo already are marketing several developments as noteworthy for their variety and breadth as for their success.

On the North Side, Atland is selling Greenview Point, www.GreenviewPoint.com, a chic modern building of glass and steel accents that as the name implies, comes to a dramatic point at the triangle formed by Greenview and Lincoln. Among the galleries of River North, Atland is selling 400 N. Orleans, www.400NOrleans.com, a boutique building with just seven condos featuring green-tinted floor-to-ceiling glass and an elevator that opens privately into each home.

The largest development currently underway, however, is focused on more traditional homes in a traditional neighborhood, addressing the largely unmet need in Chicago for new single-families that non-millionaires can afford.

The Armour Park Homes, www.ArmourParkHomes.com, includes 40 single-family homes of around 3,000 square feet priced from the $470s in the Near Southwest Bridgeport area.

“Bridgeport is the fastest appreciating neighborhood in the entire city,” Hulett says. “Prices for single-family houses rose 82 percent in a one-year period beginning in 2003. A big reason for this is the huge multi-phase eight-year Bridgeport Village project along the river.”

Located on the west side of South Stewart, between 31st and 33rd, the Armour Park Homes sit on 25-by-100-foot lots and have three bedrooms, 3.5 baths and two-car attached garages. Not much land is available for development in the area, and this site previously was used by the developers, Billy Barbaro and Michael Difoggio, as a parking lot for large trucks as well as for fans attending Sox games.

While all of the homes have three stories and are identical in size, four different styles are available, each with a unique floor plan. Two of the styles have a more traditional look, with pitched roofs, and two have a more contemporary flat-roof design. All are flush to the Stewart Street lot line, and the styles alternate, with every two houses sharing a gated side entrance.

The development will inject new blood and a new look into a very traditional Chicago neighborhood, but the project also is steeped in Bridgeport history.

“I have to confess the concept of the Armour Park Homes is not new,” says Ron Vari, architect for the project. “But the good news is that it was I who came up with this idea back in the 1970s. I was born and raised in Bridgeport, and back then I did a project that was quite similar. Now, 30 years later I’m following up, thanks in large part to my son, Jim, who works with me and who had a great deal to do with getting the developers to accept my architectural statement.”

The first level of each home contains the garage abutting the street with a ground-level basement and a 30-foot backyard. The second-level living area features a large terrace above the garage. Level three houses the bedrooms.

The exteriors of the Armour Park Homes are all masonry with accents of stainless steel and purplish or chocolate iron-spot brick as well as variations in texture.

“The neighborhood is a very eclectic mixture of residential and commercial,” Hulett says. “There is very little context from a color or materials standpoint, and these homes will be the star of the show.”

Standard interior finishes include oak floors in living areas, stainless steel appliances, granite kitchen countertops, stainless sinks, ceramic title baths, pre-wired multimedia and security systems, oak interior doors and oak trim. Buyers receive allowances for lighting fixtures and carpeting.

Phase I comprises 20 homes between 31st and 32nd, priced at $479,900, with deliveries beginning early next year. Phase two includes the remaining 20 homes, between 32nd and 33rd streets, with delivery scheduled for late next year.
“The secret to this recipe is the side entries,” Vari says. “Circulation is much better, wear and tear is lessened, and side entries give you much more usable space.”

Hulett points out that from a pricing standpoint, the Armour Park Homes are a real bargain. “You couldn’t touch this much space on the North Side for twice the price,” he says. “And the commute from downtown is an absolute breeze.”

At press time, Atland was nearing sellouts at both Greenview Point, in Lakeview, and at 400 N. Orleans, in River North.
Only one two-bedroom, two-bath unit remained for sale at Greenview Point, 3110 N. Greenview. The unit was priced at $377,500 and scheduled for delivery next spring.

At 400 N. Orleans, Atland is marketing two-bedroom, two-bath condominiums. Two of seven remained for sale at press time, priced at $449,000 and $469,000, with delivery scheduled for next fall.

And in Northbrook the company is marketing a unique commercial condominium project for delivery next fall, consisting of 1,500-square-foot units with 16-foot overhead doors and partitioned offices in back priced at $299,900 and scheduled for delivery in late ‘05.