Think back 35 years. The mild-mannered ’50s had ebbed, and things were finally starting to jump.
In New York City’s warehouse district, artists staked out the upper floors of old industrial buildings where they could live and work. These lofts, as they came to be known, were raw, open and cheap–just the kind of place where a loner living on the cultural cutting edge could dream on canvas by day and on a corner mattress by night.
Loft-livers were rugged guys in rugged neighborhoods. They didn’t mind freight elevators, drafty windows and curls of conduit twisting through the ceiling.
A couch here, a commode there. That didn’t matter. Deserted streets. Questionable neighbors. Who cared? A loft was avant-garde and just dangerous enough to make it all that more enticing.
Now meet Liz Gottainer, 26, a single generation X-er. She’s an up-and-coming professional who wanted to buy a condo. She works in Northbrook but likes living in the city. She doesn’t need space to work at home, but wants room to entertain.
She doesn’t favor dicey neighborhoods. In fact, she considered buying in Lincoln Park where she’d rented an apartment for a few years, but was scared by something more threatening than high prices.
“I didn’t really feel safe in Lincoln Park,” she says, explaining that a well-publicized murder last December in her supposedly nice neighborhood left her feeling frightened.
Surprisingly, Gottainer didn’t opt for a high-rise enclave with a doorman and security cameras. Instead, like a lot of young singles–including a growing number of women–she chose a loft.
“There’s outdoor parking with an electronic gate and a security system in the building,” she said of her Bucktown loft. And she readily admits she’s quite taken with the romantic notion of life in a loft: “It’s kind of funky and artsy.”
Gottainer isn’t alone in her lofty discovery. Lots of urban home seekers are buying lofts these days.
“It’s the hottest thing out there,” says Mike Lamendola, Kahn Realty Group, Chicago, who sells lofts.
Hot, yes. But primarily with a certain kind of buyer.
According to a study by Jameson Realty Group, 90 percent of the buyers in four loft projects were under 35 years of age. And a majority of those were first-time home owners.
Reports from other loft developers agree. For instance, most buyers in the downtown 12-story Haberdasher Square project are in their 30s.
But unlike their eccentric ancestors of the ’60s, today’s loft dwellers don’t see themselves as urban pioneers. The new loft neighborhoods generally are close to the Loop, and relatively safe. And the units themselves have evolved into what developers call “soft” lofts, meaning there are plenty of amenities.
“Lofts today have washers and dryers, two baths and a fully finished kitchen,” says loft developer Michael Lerner, president of MCZ Development Corp., Chicago. “These lofts are like cars. People are looking for the upgrades.”
Lofts really took off here in the early ’80s, real estate agents say. And now they’re a respectable chunk of the condo market.
While it’s hard to get a fix on the exact number of units because more are added daily, agents say there are thousands in the city. The surge has been strong enough that there’s even a publication dedicated to loft buyers, the “Loft Living Guide.” It lists lofts for sale and estimates that last spring alone about 1,000 new units were constructed.
“As much as you can build, you can sell in certain areas,” says Charles Huzenis, president of Jameson Realty. “The market is extremely deep. It could go for years.”
On the coldest weekend in December, Lerner of MCZ says his two new developments opened to waiting lines of loft-lookers. And that was with only one model finished for touring.
Real estate experts think Chicago’s loft market is the country’s most active. That’s because, in part, the city still has a fairly good stock of old warehouses that sit vacant waiting for demolition or recycling.
However, some think the loft’s soaring popularity may eventually be grounded by a scarcity of suitable buildings in desirable locations.
“A better location will make a building more successful,” says Bruce Abrams of LR Development Co., Chicago, who has converted synagogues and churches into lofts because they were located in desirable residential areas.
Despite a dwindling supply of viable buildings, there’s still a ready supply of buyers–that solid army of young professionals who enjoy city life.
And boy, do they enjoy.
Many buyers pick lofts because they like to entertain. Ceiling heights of 16 feet and open living areas easily lend themselves to a steady stream of visitors. Some loft buildings even acquire a fraternity-like reputation.
Stefano Robertson, 22, owner of a North Side loft, says his upstairs neighbor holds summer deck parties every Thursday night. And other residents have annual bashes that he attends.
If one gets the impression the city’s old storage buildings are only warehousing the post-college set, that’s not quite right. Although jungle gyms may never replace workout rooms, today’s lofts attract a fair assortment of empty nesters and married couples.
Michael Smith, 49, and his wife, Tracy, 39, became warehouse converts after living three years in a London loft on the Thames River.
“The lofts here are similar to those in London,” says Smith, who is buying two lofts and combining them. “We like the brick and the wood. And we like the open layout.”
If there’s one thing loft-livers hate, it’s traditional condos with their little rooms and four white walls.
Neil Tesser, 44, host of jazz programs on radio station WBEZ-FM and jazz critic for Playboy magazine, felt constrained by the three-flat he owned for 15 years.
“I got tired of small rooms and I’m not a good housekeeper,” he says.
When Tesser started looking for a new place, his first thought was “loft.” And because he spends a lot of time working at home, the loft also gave him enough wall space to create a vertical library for his collection of 8,000 records and 8,500 CDs.
“In my old place, I had things piled up and no place for visitors to sit,” Tesser says.
Although real estate agents estimate that about 50 percent of all loft buyers are young men, more women are now choosing a lofty life. (The Jameson study says 35 percent of loft buyers are single females.)
“A few years ago, women wanted to buy a condo with security,” notes real estate agent Lamendola. “Now lofts have security. And the bigger developments have more people around.”
One example is the big 95-unit China Club by MCZ development in an old Sears, Roebuck warehouse at Fulton and Des Plaines streets. Developer Lerner says an important feature is that each unit has an individual security alarm, with an ear-piercing siren that takes some know-how to disengage.
“Safety was a concern for me,” says M.J. Burg, a single woman who bought a China Club loft. “When I lived in a garden apartment in the DePaul area, I was burglarized. I wanted a secure building with safety features.”
Burg also likes the fact that while the space is airy, there are definite spots for a bedroom and kitchen in contrast to the amoebic free-form lofts of the past.
“The original loft had industrial features,” says Tim Barry of Appraisal Research Counselors Inc., Chicago, who evaluates loft projects for lenders.
“Today, there are more defined spaces. It’s really become a cross between a high-rise and the old-style loft.”
During a tour of contemporary lofts, one is struck by the lack of exposed ducts and wires. Beams still travel the length of the ceiling and there’s usually at least one wall of exposed brick. But wallboard rules and even a soffit or two hides unsightly pipes.
Today more attention also is being paid to one of the more bothersome aspects of loft living, namely, wooden support and floor beams that, while charming, are notorious transmitters of noise. Some developers are adding sound insulation and concrete to cut the racket.
Another problem being addressed comes from the large warehouse windows that invite not only copious amounts of light but also a bracing dose of cold air.
Tony Bergamino and his wife, Nancy Eisenhauer, bought a 2,500-square-foot loft in a converted paper warehouse that hugs the expressway at Ontario Street.
“Traditionally, lofts weren’t really insulated for the elements. But now with double pane windows and sound insulation, you really minimize that,” said Bergamino, who paid $360,000 for his unit.
That hefty price tag shows how high-end lofts are gaining in popularity. Most lofts sell for $99,000 to $199,000, making them suitable for first-time buyers. But some units can cost $1 million, a tab that would stagger any self-respecting beatnik.
Despite the outlay required for contemporary lofts, buyers seem a happy lot. If they have one cheerless refrain, it’s the dire lack of grocery stores within walking distance.
“Some of the street amenities will come,” said loft buyer Burg, who thinks stores will naturally follow residential development.
Meanwhile, as they wait for that first Starbucks to open, loft people can be content knowing they’re perpetuating not just an old building but a prized way of life.
As Kevin Fortney, a new loft buyer, put it:
“Lofts give you a new frame of mind. It’s free-spirited and open. This is the up and coming way to live.”
