The city's booming new home market proves once again that Chicago has appeal not only as a place to work, but also as a place to live. Neighborhoods such as the South Loop, Bucktown and Wicker Park have emerged as trendy spots for new home buyers.
Favorable mortgage rates have kept home buyers - and developers - on the prowl for other new neighborhoods, or old ones that might make a good place for new homes. Here are three upstart city neighborhoods where people are moving.
CENTRAL STATION
Home buyers seem to appreciate the location of Central Station, an 80-acre master planned community under way on land previously owned by a railroad just south of Grant Park and adjacent to Lake Michigan. Mayor Richard Daley lives at Central Station, where new home construction will continue for about the next eight years until development is complete.
Close to the city's business district, Central Station has unobstructed views of both Lake Michigan and Grant Park. Mark Kieras, along with his wife Kim, plans to move from a highrise condominium on the Near North Side to a new townhome at Central Station. He says: "We wanted a neighborhood that wasn't so congested."
About 600 new homes at Central Station were sold in 2001, says Gerald W. Fogelson, chief executive at Central Station Development Corp. "We sold more units at Central Station last year than any other development in Chicago," Fogelson notes.
Besides location, Mr. Fogelson attributes the neighborhood's popularity to the availability of different types of homes at various price points. Three different builders at Central Station are currently constructing homes, which include lofts, townhomes and condominiums. One-bedroom lofts start at about $225,000. A luxury 3,500-square-foot townhome overlooking the lake costs about $1.7 million.
Mr. Kieras bought a three-bedroom townhome at Prairie District Homes, a new development under way at the south end of Central Station. The 49 townhomes are located at 18th St. and Prairie Ave., near Chicago's historic Prairie Avenue District, once the city's toniest neighborhood. "We are enthralled with the whole Prairie District," says Mr. Kieras, who likes the character of the area with its old mansions.
The new homes mirror the neighborhood's old ones. New homes have stone and limestone exteriors, wrought iron fencing, gabled roofs, turrets and vintage street lamps. "We have recreated the old look," says Warren Barr, co-principal at Legacy Development Group, LLC, the Chicago-based developer of the Prairie District Homes. Mr. Barr expects to break ground in April on a new 23-story condominium building, which will have architecture similar to that of the townhomes. He says about 60 of the condominium's 176 units have already been sold.
Mr. Barr also plans to add a small retail square to his development, hoping to correct a big drawback of the neighborhood: few places to shop or dine. "We are trying to develop this like Lincoln Park," says Mr. Barr.
Other new stores have opened and more are planned for Central Station, Mr. Fogelson says. A new Jewel food store opened at the corner of Roosevelt Rd. and Wabash Ave. Mr. Fogelson adds that Target will also open a new store on Roosevelt Rd. "The retail issue is being solved," he says.
MILLENIUM PARK
Plagued by delays and cost overruns, Millennium Park along Chicago's lakefront has received its share of criticism. But residential developers have stayed pretty much above the fray and quietly gone about their business, planning new highrise homes to ring the 24.6-acre park slowly taking shape at Michigan Ave. and Randolph St.
"The city is getting bashed about all the problems with the park," says Richard A. Hanson, managing director at Chicago-based Mesa Development, LLC, lead developer of the Heritage, a 57-story condominium building planned for the southeast corner of Randolph St. and Wabash Ave. "But two years from now, the park will be great."
Estimates now put the park's cost at $380 million, nearly twice the original pricetag. Even so, city planners say the park will create a kind of oasis near Chicago's Loop, just as Central Park in New York City serves as a natural retreat for its residents.
Famed architect Frank Gehry has designed the park's music pavilion. The park will include a stainless steel sculpture, described as resembling a giant jelly bean, along with flower gardens, a reflecting pool and theater. An ice-skating rink is already open.
Construction of the Heritage at Millennium Park should begin this spring with completion expected some time in 2004. The project will have 356 condominiums, ranging in price from $250,000 to $2.5 million. The top three floors include eight penthouses from 3,500 to 4,400 square feet. The building will be connected to the city's underground pedway system.
About 60 percent of the units at the Heritage have been sold, according to Mr. Hanson. "We still have 40 units under $400,000," he adds.
The Heritage project will have about 100,000 square feet of new retail space, replacing a handful of old stores. But, Mr. Hanson adds, the facades of four existing buildings on Wabash Ave. will be preserved. The buildings are not historic landmarks, but by salvaging the exteriors, he hopes to maintain the character of the neighborhood.
Other residences are being built near Millennium Park. Construction has started at Six North Michigan Avenue, a 21-story building with 103 condominiums. About 60% of the units have been sold, according to a marketing agent. Prices range from $260,000 to $2.5 million. The project by Global Real Estate Investors, LLC, Chicago, should be complete in 2003.
Also, an old building at 5 N. Wabash Ave. will be converted into lofts by Chicago-based Smithfield Properties, LLC. The building will have retail stores on the first and second levels. The upper floors will have 90 lofts ranging in size from 820 to 1616 square feet. About half the units are sold. The building should be complete about a year from now.
UPTOWN
When David Perry decided to move from the Wrigleyville neighborhood, he looked at all the hot neighborhoods in Chicago. He didn't care for the South Loop because it didn't have a lot of stores and it didn't have a neighborhood feel. Lakeview and Wrigleyville were just too expensive for the size place he wanted to buy.
He finally settled on a new condominium in a building in Uptown, a neighborhood on Chicago's North Side with a questionable reputation that has traditionally been known more for its half-way houses than nice new homes. "Uptown is a very eclectic community," says Mr. Perry, who has now lived there about seven months. "It's a wonderful place to be."
Other new home buyers are heading to Uptown, which runs north along the lake from Irving Park Rd. to Foster Ave. Home buyers are coming to Uptown because the prices are lower than other nearby communities. There is also a growing stock of new homes in Uptown, the last North Side neighborhood along the lake to attract the attention of developers.
Ten residential buildings with about 650 units have recently been completed or proposed in the Uptown neighborhood, according to officials at Chicago's 48th Ward, which includes most of Uptown.
Real estate agent Scott Kruger has already sold 40% of the 96 units at Buena Pointe, an 11-story condominium building that broke ground in February at Broadway St. and Montrose Ave. "People are moving here from Lakeview and Lincoln Park," says Mr. Kruger who lives in Uptown and specializes in properties there, though he works from the Lincoln Park office of Koenig & Strey GMAC. "People want to be part of a new neighborhood."
New residents also like the prices. For instance, a one bedroom unit, with den, at Buena Pointe costs about $260,000. A similar place in Lakeview, about three blocks south, will cost an additional $75,000, Mr. Kruger figures.
But property prices in Uptown are rising. Mr. Kruger says average condominium prices have increased about 40% in the last two years. "It's been a natural progression," he says.
Gentrification hasn't been well received by some existing residents who worry about being forced out of the area's affordable housing. Mr. Perry, who recently moved to Uptown, has become active in the community which now has a few Starbucks Coffee shops, a sure sign that the neighborhood is taking off. "The downside is the neighborhood is changing," he says.
A big change is the conversion of three old vacant buildings formerly occupied by a Goldblatt's Department Store at Broadway St. just south of Lawrence Ave. Developer Joseph Freed and Associates, LLC, Wheeling, has a contract to buy the buildings, one of which will be demolished and replaced with a new building. The $22 million project will include 37 condominiums as well as new retail stores. Borders Books & Music has agreed to occupy much of the shop space. Says Dennis A. Harder, development manager at Joseph Freed, "Uptown is a pioneering community."
