The brutal Chicago winter may be in full howl, but developers selling new homes say the city is sizzling.
“Chicago is very active right now,” said Bob Johnston, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago. “There’s certainly new interest in the city. It’s come into its own over the past several years.”
No doubt: Builders started 4,500 to 5,000 residential buildings in Chicago during 1996, about 2,300 more than in 1995. In 1991, the city had between 500 and 600 starts.
While these new houses, lofts and condominiums still attract mostly city dwellers, a growing number of people from such far-flung regions as Barrington, Palatine and Carol Stream also are buying.
“Probably 20 percent of our buyers are coming from the suburbs,” said Barbara Dudeck, sales manager at River’s Edge at Sauganash. When complete in summer 1998, the development near Foster and Pulaski will consist of 260 condominiums priced between $120,000 and $210,000.
Dudeck’s experience is shared by developers all over the city, from the art-gallery district of River North to revitalizing South Side neighborhoods.
“We’re definitely seeing a tremendous trend of people moving back in from the suburbs,” said B.J. Spathies, president of Bejco Development Corp. Bejco is building 56 townhouses costing between $259,900 and the high $500,000s at Tuxedo Park on Orleans, 700 N. Orleans St. Four of the first eight townhouses sold went to suburbanites.
Chicago always has been able to attract some suburban empty-nesters to ritzier neighborhoods such as the Gold Coast. But over the last five years or so, middle-market suburbanites — people who used to stay in the suburbs — have started eyeing city homes, said Bruce Abrams, president of LR Development.
“It’s still a small minority, maybe less than 10 percent (of buyers), but it’s very unusual based on the prior history,” said Abrams. “In the past you would never imagine (suburbanites) considering a loft development.”
Added Dudeck: “Five years ago they would all have been empty-nesters, but now it’s more of a broad mix — singles, young married couples, middle-aged couples who are still working but want a different lifestyle.”
Spathies agreed. Her customers include dual-income suburban families, where one spouse works in the city and is tired of commuting, and even some with school-age children. “More and more people are saying it’s not a bad thing to raise a child in the city.”
She owned a house in Oak Brook when she was single, but eventually tired of commuting for at least an hour each way. Now a city dweller and mother of sons aged 5 and 8, Spathies said, “The city brings the best out of children. They’re wiser, they have more street smarts, and they see a more diversified community.”
But Abrams believes that group of buyers is likely to remain small for at least the next few years. “There’s still a large movement away from the city once kids reach school age. We haven’t reversed that yet. At the same time, Chicago is making some headway. More families are considering staying instead of moving immediately.”
Suburban interest came as a surprise to marketers of 167 lofts and penthouses at Union Square Lofts, 333 W. Hubbard St. By mid-December, about half had been sold for between $119,000 and $463,000. About a third of those went to a varied group of suburbanites: people in their 40s planning to move downtown after their children are grown, others in their 30s hoping to cut their commute and spend more time with their families, some sick of the maintenance a house demands, and couples in search of a city loft to complement their suburban house.
“We never expected it,” said Whitney Lasky, president of Renaissance Marketing Partners. “We totally underestimated the amount of people who would want to come back to the city.”
What exactly is the attraction? The city’s cultural wealth and growing image as a fun place to live are important ingredients, developers say.
“They can walk to good restaurants, go down to the museums, participate in all the cultural events going on in the city. Some people have been living in the suburbs and still work in the suburbs, but they’ve decided to live downtown anyway,” said Georgia Petropoulos, project manager of the Hermitage on Huron, 70 W. Huron St.
The 239 condominiums there, priced between $116,500 and $198,000, are marketed toward single people and young couples. Suburbanites make up about one-third of the buyers.
That bustling city atmosphere also appeals to the surburban empty-nesters who make up about 20 percent of buyers at the Gold Coast’s Park Newberry at Delaware Place, 55 W. Delaware Place. The 185 condominiums, costing between $279,000 and $541,000, will be complete by the end of 1997.
“They moved to the suburbs to raise kids because at that time, 20 or 30 years ago, the city was seen as dreary and risky,” said Andrew Warner, director of sales and marketing.
By contrast, they now see the city as exciting. “These are people in their 50s and 60s. They’re not ready for retirement. They’re working out at a health club downtown with their personal trainer. There’s a vitality in the city that they enjoy.”
The perception of the suburbs has also changed, added Warner. “The suburbs no longer offer sanctuary. Whatever problems the city has — overcrowding, gangs — you have in the suburbs.”
And, Petropoulous adds, “The suburbs are getting very congested. It’s easier here.”
Dudeck agreed that “it’s a convenience thing.” Some of her suburban clients work in the city and are sick of commuting. Others are simplifying, getting rid of their cars and relying on public transportation. Still others want to live closer to family and friends in the city.
Even neighborhoods that once would have lured only committed urban pioneers are drawing some interest from suburbanites. In the South Side’s revitalizing neighborhoods of Kenwood, Oakland and Bronzeville, suburbanites make up about 20 percent of real-estate broker Tracey Taylor’s clients.
“They probably left the city at a time when it wasn’t as popular to live here,” said Taylor, who works for Century 21 Enterprise Realty Inc. “Their jobs pulled them from the city, and they’ve experienced the suburban life. Now they’re yearning for that city flavor again.”
Rising property values help by assuring suburbanites they are investing rather than gambling. Taylor pointed to Kenwood, where single-family homes were available for $165,000 in 1994, but cost between $200,000 and $225,000 now.
Taylor credited Mayor Richard M. Daley’s policy of pulling down dilapidated buildings, which cleared land for new housing. “A lot of these properties were dormant for years and took away from the community,” she said. “Now people see these neighborhoods offer the same as — if not more than — the suburbs and are closer to the lake and downtown.”
Abrams attributed the shift in perception to the city’s built-in advantages — such as the lakefront, culture and nightlife — as well as improved infrastructure and more creative housing developments. “The City of Chicago and the communities have done a wonderful job over the last five years to improve and promote the city as an exciting place to live.”
