Developer Gerald Fogelson built his first home in 1955, while he was still a student at Lehigh College in western Pennsylvania.

"The corporate world did not appeal to me when I was in school. So, my father told me about a man near our hometown who was making a pretty good living building homes. He encouraged me to follow my entrepreneurial inclination," Fogelson said.

Follow it he did. While his first home sold for $9,900, today Fogelson is heading up the $3 billion Central Station mixed-use development - the largest in Chicago.

Central Station Development Corporation, of which Fogelson is co-chairman, is actually a joint venture between two organizations: Fogelson Properties, Inc. and Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises, Inc.

The Central Station plan includes 14 million square feet of new development, with more than 3,500 homes, 2.5 million square feet of offices, 250,000 square feet of retail space, hotels, senior living and 25 acres designated for special commercial and residential uses. The community will also feature several new parks.

However, until recently, the 80-acre Central Station property - which is bounded by Grant Park on the north, McCormick Place on the south, Lake Shore Drive on the east and Michigan Avenue on the west - was a maze of railroad tracks and vacant lots, controlled by the Illinois Central Railroad.

Despite its proximity to the Loop, lakefront, Museum Campus and Grant Park, Chicagoans merely accepted the land as part of the city's gritty face.

All of that began to change in April 1988, when Fogelson received a phone call from a colleague who wanted to show him an "unusual real estate listing" - the Illinois Central property.

As it turns out, Fogelson already had done a successful mixed-use development on a former railroad property, so the IC deal immediately piqued his interest.

"Central Station was incredibly challenging from a deal standpoint," said Fogelson. "There were financing issues, survey and title issues, and the complicated process of zoning and approvals. But I also knew that this was a great opportunity, that if the development could get done, it would not only be the most important undertaking of my career, but also a project that would have a measurable and lasting effect on the city."

A few years after Fogelson received that phone call, the first residents of Central Station were moving into brand new townhomes along Indiana Avenue. One of those new residents even included Mayor Richard Daley.

Today, Central Station is one of the largest urban mixed-use developments in the nation, and the fastest selling residential community in Chicago.

In addition to Fogelson, the Central Station team has grown to include a "who's who" of local and national developers. Joint-venture partner, Forest City Enterprises, is a publicly traded company chaired by Albert B. Ratner, who has been instrumental in the revitalization of urban centers throughout his career.

The homebuilders within the community have been handpicked by Central Station Development Coproration. They include MCL Companies, Enterpise Companies, Bejco Development Corp. and Legacy Development Group.

"These builders will define the next decade of residential real estate development in downtown Chicago," said Fogelson.

A number of residential developments have already been completed or are currently underway at Central Station. According to Fogelson, the community's population will grow to more than 3,000 residents occupying more than 1,000 new townhomes, condominiums and lofts within the next 18 months.

"Central Station has a combination of features that no other neighborhood in Chicago has: cultural amenities, phenomenal views, proximity to the lake and Loop, master planning to limit density, and incredible access to transportation. It took a while for people to recognize that, but once they did, the momentum built quickly."