When people who’ve lived in long-established neighborhoods hear that their territory is about to be invaded by a builder who’s going to put up a new condo or convert an existing building into a multi-unit condominium, the entrenched residents often go into a tailspin.
Sometimes, their concerns are justified: The new building that shoots up may be totally out of character with the homes around it, or conversions may cause density problems that go far beyond limited parking.
That doesn’t seem to be happening at Renaissance Place, a community being developed by Palatine-based Concord Homes in Hyde Park. The single-family homes (sold out) have a look of belonging; the red-brick town homes with pale stone accenting doors and curved windows are certainly in a traditional mood; and the two buildings being converted to lofts have been part of the area for years as an osteopathic medical center.
In fact, these two buildings are likely to look better as their exteriors continue to be spiffed up and the grounds landscaped.
The North Building, with its elegant wraparound, curved windows, had just a few units left at midweek, but the South Building has one- and two-bedroom units, many with walk-in closets, some with balconies, all with parking.
More contemporary in design than the North conversion, the South structure will have soft lofts–that is, drywall rather than concrete ceilings, though ducts and other construction elements will be exposed.
Because the models for both North and South units are in the North building, it’s important for prospective buyers to ask their sales associate to clearly point out differences. That goes for amenities as well. For example, one of the models has a bay window; until I asked, the salesperson did not point out that there’d be no bays in the South condos. As long as potential buyers closely study floor plans for the specific unit they’re interested in, there should be no problems. As far as amenities: Though the printed literature includes “daytime doorman” as an amenity, only my follow-up phone call to verify prices and other factual information brought a response from a sales manager to “delete” doorman. )
With that said and done, what about the model units?
Avoid looking at No. 214. It’s a two-bedroom, two-bath end unit with a glorious wall of curved windows–but, there’s nothing at all like it in the South building.
The No. 212 model is hot: It has red walls, yellow walls, funky/arty furnishings and an L-shaped kitchen open to a dining/living room. It’s great for a single, but at 786 square feet, probably too cozy even for a devoted couple. Note, however, that it is smaller than the smallest South one-bedroom.
The two-bedroom, two-bath No. 213 inner unit North model, coincidentally, seems to come closest to the South building’s two-bedroom, two-bath No. 213-613 end units, with an island separating a kitchen wall from the living/dining area and a fireplace along a curved partial wall that delineates the living area from the bedroom. A large master bath and connecting walk-through closet are part of the master suite, while the second bath is ideally placed near the foyer, the guest closet and the second bedroom.
The South building’s floor plans show that all units have space allotted for stackable washer/dryer; some kitchens have spacious walk-in pantries; some two-bedroom lofts have but one bathroom, but that bathroom is designed with practicality and convenience. The bathtub and a single- or double-sink vanity portion of the bathroom has a door that opens from the main bedroom, a second door that opens from the bath section to an enclosed sink and toilet, which has a door leading to the foyer, making this portion a convenient powder room.
One of the attractions of Renaissance Place is its accessibility to Lake Shore Drive and the appeal of living in the University of Chicago area.
But, what will be rather pleasantly surprising to those who’ve house-shopped only in downtown Chicago or farther north are the Renaissance Place prices for what is essentially new construction, smart-looking design and proximity to city jobs and entertainment.
