This House Hunter is unlike any other that has run in this space since the first column appeared in January, 1999.
Most often, I describe and critique, from a consumer viewpoint, the models I’ve toured in a new building or development somewhere in metropolitan Chicago. Not this time–but only because there never was a condo model for the Park Tower just off North Michigan Avenue, west of the historic Water Tower. No need for one: Every single unit was sold before condo construction began, even though prices started at $620,000, for a two-bedroom with nearly 2,000 square feet, and went up to $3.5 million for an 8,400-square-foot, full-floor penthouse. Parking spaces sold for $40,000–each.
And, that was back in 1997 when the condos first went on the market, before the housing market really started to heat up. All were sold by early 1999. The first closings begin this month. So, this is a story about perhaps the priciest new residential development within the city of Chicago. With so much talk these days about the stratospheric prices of homes, lofts and upper-bracket mansions in the skies, we thought we’d check out how the so-called other half lives. Only in this case, it’s probably more like how the 1 percent of the other half lives.
Because the building is still under construction and pictures of its innards only show concrete, elevators and the like, we’ll get a vicarious glimpse of what is–rather, what will be–on the 49 floors above the recently opened, 18-story Park Hyatt Hotel, the condo’s foundation that faces Chicago Avenue.
The skyscraper is sleek and tall, the 10th tallest building in Chicago. Ground-level stories are covered in limestone; all others are a yellowish precast concrete. The condo entry and lobby face a born-again Water Tower Park, now lush with flowers, borders and accents of Parisian gardens. In fact, neighboring buildings also seem to be welcoming the new kid on the block: the adjoining Findlay Gallery’s facade has been restored and Loyola University’s downtown campus tower is freshly tuckpointed and spiffed up.
This outsider view is the only one available to the public.
But, on behalf of Hunter readers, I recently had a hard-hat tour up to the very top penthouse with the construction chief and a developer’s representative. Stepping gingerly around equipment, beams, concrete pillars and looking in every direction through then-windowless spaces in the outer walls was awesome, knowing that each of the top eight floors will have a single penthouse. Imagine standing in the middle of 8,400 square feet.
Then, trying to visualize whether owners would choose the north, east, south or west (think sensational sunsets) location for their favorite viewing room was really a tease because views from way up there were pretty spectacular, even on a non-fantastic day. Some of the penthouses will have spacious terraces facing both north and south.
Penthouses (think $3.5 million) will be delivered raw (mechanicals including electricity, plumbing and heating will be in place). Laura Molk, vice president of LR Development Co., said architects’ estimates for finishing and customizing the penthouses have ranged from $2.8 million to $8 million. The latter would be “something special,” says Molk. I hope so.
The two-directional views from the curving balconies can also be quite nice, even from lower floors, as long as the 900 N. Michigan Ave. building and the John Hancock don’t get in the way.
Every unit will have at least one corner exposure. Ceiling heights range from 9 plus to 14 feet (penthouses, of course) but, other than that, the rest is pretty much up to the owners. There are nine floor plans. They include five-bedroom units that cover 75 percent of a floor; three-bedrooms that cover half a floor (east to west or north to south, the latter, definitely my choice if I had a couple million to spare) and darling two-bedroom affairs that get a nice corner balcony.
But, customizing seems to be the mantra for this developer. When they contracted, owners had the option to purchase undeveloped (space and basic mechanicals), unfinished (includes walls) or finished (walls plus customizing by condo architectural team).
This is one of the reasons Donna and Bill Elliott, in their early 50s, were more than willing to sign a contract in January, 1998, for a 4,000-square-foot, three-bedroom unit. They’d relocated from northern New Jersey four years ago when he accepted a banking position here. “We never found anything that satisfied both of us,” said Donna. Their real estate agent told them about Park Tower, they looked at floor plans and that was it. She said a 2 1/2 -year wait “seemed like forever,” but they met with the design team and “lo and behold, they had a very structured time line, they were very exacting. Our design was completed, the furniture ordered, a year before we hope to move (October). We’re ready.”
Who will be their neighbors? People who wanted to invest early on, some who were taken with location or by the amenities of the hotel and the views. Professionals, high-profile types in the dot.com and legal fields, youngish and empty-nester couples. Molk says some buyers bought units as second homes.
The fourth person to sign a contract, back in ’97, was 41-year-old radiologist Dr. Michael Wilczynski, who has lived in a Lincoln Park town home for a dozen years and plans a November move into his two-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath unit with northeast view. He says he “walked into the sales center and was overwhelmed at what they were offering. What an investment!”
And, what do his friends and associates say when they learn he’s moving into such prime property?
“When’s your party?” Wilczynski answered.
