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Buganski bought a
one-bedroom one-bath condo at Catalpa Gardens, an 11-story project planned
for 1122 W. Catalpa St., about a month later and a few weeks after that,
his sister Karen purchased a unit of her own on his advice. The Buganskis are
two of the many buyers who quickly helped push sales at the 126-unit development
to more than 60 percent since it opened sales in September of 2004. Charles
Cornelius, partners with William Lockhart and Reza Toulabi in the development
company, says Catalpa has attracted a wide range of buyers who are drawn
to its value, innovative design and convenience. “We have many
first-time homebuyers, and many moving up from Lincoln Park and the Gold
Coast simply because you can get more square feet for your dollar at Catalpa
Gardens, and in Edgewater in general,” Cornelius says. “It’s
a terrific community for almost any type of buyer profile.” The homes have many
of the comforts buyers expect from high-end developments, Cornelius says,
but at a competitive price point. Features include hardwood floors, granite
countertops, track lighting, pre-wiring for cable TV, balconies or terraces
and gas fireplaces per plan. All units have two bedrooms and one or two
baths with 1,054 to 1,408 square feet. Prices range from the $270s to
the $380s. The building will
have a rooftop dog walk, 184 heated parking spaces, a doorman, a penthouse
fitness center and a “green roof” system. “The finish level
for the price is (Catalpa Gardens’) most attractive feature,”
Cornelius says. “Being able to find that high of a finish level in
that price range for new construction, most will agree, is a very difficult
thing to find.” “The building
doesn’t appear as one large building but is more in keeping with
the scale of surrounding structures by breaking the mass into three separate
towers,” Seglin says. New Homes Magazine
recently named Catalpa Gardens, which utilizes an original design concept
by Thomas J. Greene, of Greene and Proppe Design, Chicago’s best
new mid-rise. While the design brings
human scale to what would otherwise be a hulking building, Catalpa Gardens
will hardly fade into its surroundings. The façade features a rolling
splash of blue on beige; the fourth floor and rooftop gardens promise
more color, with trees shooting upwards and vines creeping down; and the
building is capped with red awnings. “We think that
the color and the design is going to (make Catalpa) a very memorable and
remarkable feature of the skyline in Edgewater,” Cornelius says.
“It’s something that will be a focal point in the community.” Not that Edgewater
is short on color or variety. The neighborhood is home to a growing commercial
base of restaurants, bars and retail. Trendy Andersonville spots such
as Tomboy, Jin Ju, Kopi and Sushi Luxe draw customers from all over Chicago,
but the scene has expanded beyond that core with new restaurants such
as Speakeasy, South and the Indie Café opening throughout Edgewater.
Near the Catalpa Gardens
site, newer restaurants such as Francesca’s Bryn Mawr have complemented
old favorites such as Ethiopian Diamond and Ole St. Andrew’s Inn.
The Bryn Mawr el stop on the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line
is close, and Edgewater probably has a better concentration of el stops
than any neighborhood outside of the Loop. Yet with all of Edgewater
at his fingertips, the hot spot Buganski looks forward to the most is
the one right outside his back door, on a large private patio. “I
can barbeque, have people over, get a little sun,” he said. |
When
fireman Dan Buganski saw an ad for Catalpa Gardens Condominiums last January,
he decided to walk from his Edgewater firehouse to the nearby sales center.
He had been toying with the idea of moving from his Northwest Side house
into a condo, and after his visit, he realized the perfect home had been
sitting under his nose all along.