Ask any journalist who worked for the Chicago Daily News in its glory days about the location of that venerable newspaper and you’ll immediately hear “West Madison Street.”
Most will remember, too, that later on the paper moved to a low-slung, boxy building (currently the home of the Chicago Sun-Times) on Wabash Avenue, where it remained until the Daily News ceased publishing in 1978.
So, it’s highly unlikely that many of the employees and readers of that wonderful old Daily News will associate the paper with the location of a new residential complex, called Daily News, that’s under construction just south of Adams Street between Throop Street and Racine Avenue on Chicago’s Near West Side.
The red brick warehouse facing Racine and now being converted to lofts and condos was a distribution center for the Daily News. Though the housing development isn’t sitting on a landmark-type site that requires using the name of the paper, calling it that seems to be a tribute to the much respected newspaper. And, it’s far better than one of those silly or convoluted names that might have been chosen, something like Olde Racine Pointe or Rac-oop Place.
The lofts in the original building sold out from blueprints; the condos are down to a precious few. The melding of the style and color of this old, deep red brick building with the new construction town homes makes for some interesting architectural details.
Entry to the town homes is from Throop Street with a center-placed sidewalk dividing the courtyard and leading to the loft building at the far east end. Most homes have large V-shaped bays jutting over the homes’ front yards.
Exteriors are faced in a sandy-toned brick and a red brick matching the color of the original building. Two bridges span the courtyard. Each holds the second-floor master suite of two town homes directly across the courtyard from each other. A central wall, of course, separates these almost-airborne bedrooms.
Although walls throughout the building are 8-inch precast concrete, the bridges won’t support a masonry wall to separate the bedrooms, said sales associate Thad Wong. “Special soundproofing materials” have been used in the walls separating them, he said.
The choice town home would have to be an “A” end-unit, with five space-enhancing bays along with the extra square footage gained by having a bedroom extending into one of those bridges. The second floor has a 27-by-17-foot great room (with two bays) and a good-sized kitchen (18 by 10 feet) with its bay ideally situated for breakfast or casual eating. With 2,571 square feet, it is base-priced at $474,900 and is the most expensive town home.
The furnished model, a “C” unit with 1,861 square feet and base-priced at $359,900, would seem ideal for singles or couples who enjoy living in an on-the-edge industrial neighborhood, who need only one garage and want space for themselves as well as an occasional guest or perhaps that child who will join them somewhere down the line.
Though it’s officially described as a three-bedroom, three-bath unit, the first-floor bedroom is more aptly named a media room on the floor plan and, in the model, it’s decorated as a small home office.
There are a number of pluses.
Those V-shaped, full-height bays at first glimpse look quite sharp — literally, as in pointy. But then they really take on the meaning of sharp in the more contemporary sense, as in smart, modern, more future than past. And, they certainly do invite daylight into a room, no matter which direction they’re facing.
The model sports far more standards than upgrades, including recessed fixtures and some light tracks; all kitchen appliances, including a double-door refrigerator; maple flooring and cabinetry. A personal favorite of the features is zoned heating and air conditioning — meaning the temperatures of the top and the main living areas can be regulated individually, so that the person in the upstairs bedroom isn’t burning up while the one in the downstairs office or media room is literally chilling out.
Then there’s the bonus: Homes by developer Smithfield Properties make good use of space; design is clean and simple; and to highlight these themes, the models are always dressed appropriately.
Bonnie Smith, who designed the interior decor for Smithfield’s Fulton Court town homes, again combines her contemporary mode with furnishings and accessories that have a period, ethnic or whimsical bent. It’s worth a visit to see how she handles textured or subtly patterned walls; minimal as well as dramatic colors and accents, and, finally, no overdone window treatments (there are none at all!). What’s appealing about her decor is that it works with the architecture, doesn’t interfere with the traffic flow and makes no attempt to hide the design of the home.
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Contact Genevieve Buck at the Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611; e-mail gbuck@tribune.com.
