Few architectural forms have evolved so much, in so little time, as the loft. Less than 50 years ago, a high-ceilinged, light-filled, unpartitioned loft with a gritty urbaneness was the dwelling place, sometimes illegal, of struggling artists. Today the loft has been transformed into a chic, sanitized swan whose furnishings are as likely to be antique pine armoires and Oriental carpets as rolling steel carts and gym lockers.
And moving in next to the artists, who may or may not be struggling, are successful physicians, law-yers, bankers, architects, designers and more. They have their pick of city neighborhoods from downtown Los Angeles to Denver, Cleveland, St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and Pittsburgh.
The movement also has spawned what authors Marcus Field and Mark Irving term “a loft aesthetic” in the soon-to-be-published book, “Lofts” (Calmann & King Ltd.). That look has influenced the style and scale of furnishings, the layout of otherwise traditional homes and offices, new construction, and even the sets of movies such as “Fatal Attraction,” “Ghost” and “A Perfect Murder.”
Despite the loft’s evolution and diversity, those who live in these wide-open spaces yearn to reside in a less conventional and sometimes more affordable alternative to other housing choices.
Chicago lofts represent 49 percent of the city’s new construction contracts over the last five years, according to Schaumburg-based market research analyst Tracy Cross. In 1993, there were 238 loft conversions; in 1998 there were 1,574, Cross said.
In fact, Chicago has more lofts coming on the market than any city in the country, he said. Lofts have become a major option in the neighborhoods of Printers Row, River North, River West, South Michigan Avenue, the South and West Loop, Bucktown, East Village, Ravenswood, Fulton River District and South Branch.
Though some trace the loft’s lineage to turn-of-the-century artist ateliers in Paris, the loft is actually an American creation, according to Field and Irving. It emerged in Manhattan’s SoHo, the neighborhood south of Houston Street where large industrial buildings with enormous factory windows lined the streets. Many of these buildings, which had hummed with light manufacturing and printing from the mid-1800s, were abandoned after World War II.
Few businesses were willing to move in after a plan was unveiled in the early 1960s to bulldoze 45 acres of factory buildings and replace them with a 10-lane expressway and apartment towers. Over the course of a decade or longer, citizens defeated the plan, according to Roberta Brandes Gratz, a writer with Norman Mintz of “Cities Back From the Edge: New Life for Downtown” (John Wiley & Sons).
Initially, the situation resulted in a Catch-22. Property owners stopped maintaining buildings and banks stopped lending because of the anticipated condemnation.
“The organic process ceased, blight stepped in and it became a self-fulfilling prophecy that the neighborhood would probably die,” Gratz said.
Yet, in this scenario, the exposed ductwork, rough floors and brick walls that uniformly characterized these buildings appealed to artists and other creative souls with modest budgets. The open interiors that averaged 2,250 square feet and soared at least 13 feet high suited the big paintings and sculptures many worked on as art got larger and more physical. Landlords welcomed the artists clandestinely while they waited for the government to condemn or buy their buildings, Gratz said.
Eventually, other factors domesticated the gritty interiors, according to Mayer Rus, author of the recently published book “Loft” (Monacelli Press). Art galleries moved in. The historic preservation movement of the 1960s and ’70s sent up a rallying cry to save the buildings, and SoHo was designated a historic district. Ordinances were passed to allow residents to occupy the former industrial spaces legally, though residents had to place “Artists in Residence” plaques on doors so firefighters would know where to go in case of a fire, say Field and Irving.
In the early 1980s, changes in tax law gave favorable treatment to restored historic buildings, said Charles Huzenis, president of Jameson Realty in Chicago. Furthermore, the loft captivated a growing number of mainstream city-dwellers who resisted moving to the suburbs in favor of homes and neighborhoods rich with character, a phenomenon Gratz defines as “authentic urbanism.”
Though no person has officially been credited with introducing the loft to Chicago, most who remember the earliest examples think the late architect Harry Weese should be granted that honor.
“He went to New York’s SoHo in the mid-1970s where his daughter was living in a loft and was enthralled,” said architect Larry Booth, who invested with Weese in the Donohue Building at 711-727 S. Dearborn St. in Printers Row in 1976. They converted it to condos in the late ’70s and early ’80s and rented them as unfinished spaces. “There were no partitions, and units came with whatever was there–tin ceilings, toilets, safes,” said George Vrechek, Weese’s colleague at Harry Weese Associates.
Many thought Weese’s early interest in lofts was misguided, but his goal, according to Vrechek, was to save old buildings from the wrecker’s ball and make them affordable places for people to live or work. Weese also snared public funds to plant trees and make other improvements.
With several architects pushing, the city’s building code was changed in the mid-’70s to allow heavy-timber buildings higher than 80 feet to be used for residential purposes.
In the meantime, architects Ken Schroeder, George Hinds and Phil Kupritz converted the Rowe Building at 714 S. Dearborn St. A year later Schroeder and developer Bill Levy converted the Mergenthaler Building at Plymouth Court and Harrison Street. Other pockets of development sprang up. Howard Conant Jr. developed a residential loft condominium in four condemned and abandoned buildings at Illinois and Wells Streets in River North in the late 1970s. Instead of only artists, buyers included a wider circle of professionals.
“It gave us the idea the area had the potential to be quite upscale,” Conant said.
Tem Horwitz and Curtis Matthews converted a heavy-timber, exposed-brick building at 1872 N. Clybourn Ave. in 1984. Named Clybourn Lofts, the building represented the first development conceived as a whole to include not just living space, but also parking, a garden and a roof deck, Horwitz said.
“The area was an industrial wasteland, but it had great views of the river and downtown,” he said.
The loft momentum mushroomed for multiple reasons after 1993:
– Lofts represented an affordable option for those seeking entry into the Chicago housing market. On average, prices at the time ranged from $90,000 to $200,000 for one- to three-bedroom units, said Huzenis of Jameson.
– More lofts gained the amenities of high-rises. LR Development head Bruce Abrams converted a 325,000-square-foot warehouse at Ontario and Kingsbury Streets into 173 luxurious lofts. The building, named Ontario Street Lofts, included a fitness center, indoor parking, 24-hour doorman service, a dry cleaner and a deck.
“We understood what buyers liked about lofts and apartment products and combined them while eliminating the 8-foot vanilla box,” Abrams said. “The average price was $165,000, comparable to the resale market of high-rise condos. It kicked off a wave.”
– More people wanted to live in the city, including empty-nesters returning from the suburbs as well as single professional women.
“People wanted a more convenient lifestyle,” said Daniel Weil, a lawyer and former building commissioner.
As the loft appealed to a wider audience, as competition among developers intensified and as homeowners sought comfort in their surroundings, the classic or “hard” loft mellowed to what has become known as a “soft” loft. Original wood or concrete floors might be covered. Brick or concrete walls might be drywalled. Ceiling ducts, sprinkler systems and beams might be concealed. More walls and half-walls might partition off not just bathrooms and bedrooms but living and dining rooms as well.
A result of all these changes was quieter, more-energy efficient lofts, though loft developer Lewis Kostiner of Annie Properties said it’s impossible to eliminate all noise and make this type of space totally efficient.
In the last few years, amenities have further been piled on. Balconies and fireplaces have become almost de rigueur. Real estate agent Linda Broznowski of Beliard, Gordon & Partners said, “Potential buyers come with a 10-point wish list.”
As a result of the evolution, furnishings reflect greater diversity, as the lofts on the following pages reveal. No longer do lofts have to be fitted with cutting-edge modern or industrial pieces in monochromatic blacks and beiges. The result is that now, many lofts simply amount to apartments housed within an old industrial building, said Ron Shipka Sr., chairman of Enterprise Development, which has converted lofts.
The loft has also come to influence other residential design by inspiring open interiors. Developer Bill Senne asked designer John Wiltgen to remodel his vintage Bucktown home in a loft style and the first floor rooms flow together.
Not surprisingly, there’s a downside to the heightened popularity of the loft. Prices continue to climb. The median price of a loft at Kostiner’s recently converted 850 W. Adams St. building is $450,000; a top-floor, 2,800-square-foot unit sold for $700,000. In most cases, the costs have scaled back the size of new units. A one-bedroom loft averages a mere 800 square feet; a two-bedroom, 1,100 square feet, said Huzenis.
To compensate, many developers, who are seeing their margins shrink, are converting larger buildings into what are termed megalofts. MCZ’s Randolph Place at 165 N. Canal St. will have 350 units, the firm’s largest loft project to date.
Sundance Homes Inc. in Schaumburg, among the largest builder-developers in Chicago, moved into the loft market three years ago with a downtown division, Chicago Urban Properties. It is finishing Capitol Hill Lofts in the West Loop with 91 units. Its Erie Centre in River North is a two-phase development with 108 lofts and a high-rise tower of 124 units.
The shortage of inventory downtown and the desire for value have expanded the boundaries of an acceptable loft location. Kostiner already has developed 1 million square feet in the West Loop. The Fulton River District has become an established neighborhood in just 21/2 years. And Michael Ler-ner’s MCZ Development Corp. will build a mixed-use project, including lofts, in the old post office building above the Eisenhower Expressway.
The shortage has brought ironic twists: additions atop existing loft buildings and new buildings that mimic lofts, said developer Albert M. Friedman. The Art House, 14 N. Sangamon St., includes a loft conversion with new lofts above and a separate, new loft building with a courtyard in between.
Not everyone is pleased with the new generation. “Many new lofts retain little of the concepts’ original charm,” Horwitz said.
Gratz is more disturbed by how the term “loft” is bandied about so loosely.
“There are certain basic qualities that a loft has to have by its definition–high ceilings, big open spaces, a minimum of 1,500 square feet,” she said. “Developers use the term loft’ to market new projects that don’t resemble lofts at all.”
Others, such as architect George Pappageorge, who has been involved with lofts since their inception in Chicago, believe the upside outweighs any negatives: “It’s wonderful that people are inhabiting our city again and reclaiming buildings for residential use, including class C office buildings.”
Gratz agrees that even if people aren’t moving just into lofts anymore, at least they are returning: “They’re coming for old and new buildings in neighborhoods that are walkable, socially connected and pedestrian-oriented. The trend is likely to continue to the degree the economy can support it.”
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RESOURCES
Pg. 10: Living area: Barcelona chairs, coffee table, stool and sofa by Mies van der Rohe–Knoll, Merchandise Mart, Chicago; Zig-Zag dining chair by Gerrit T. Rietveld–I.C.F., Mart.
