Living on the wrong side of the tracks — heck, on any side of the tracks — used to be a no-no, certainly not the preferred place for expensive homes. Times have changed.
Thousands of people are buying “tickets” at new “stations” along rail lines, especially near downtown Chicago, the historic hub of the nation’s railroads.
These new housing developments are cropping up at sites that previously never would have been considered as desirable.
Already more than 1,500 new residences — in both high-rise and mid-rise buildings — have been built in the Fulton River District, located on the west side of the Chicago River near Fulton Street and close to several commuter rail lines.
How about all that noise? The rumble of the trains? The bells and whistles?
One couple living beside the tracks actually likes the ding-ding-ding of the bells on Metra trains, but their dog has not adjusted yet.
“The sound excites the dog, who rushes to our balconies to bark at the bells,” said Subhas Dhodapkar, a professor of marketing at North Central College in Naperville.
He and his wife Saroj moved into three combined units on the 16th floor at Kinzie Station last October. “We hear the expressway noise more than the trains,” he said.
Developers of on-the-tracks residential projects have responded with a variety of noise- and vibration-deadening strategies.
Plus, they point out that most train traffic is at rush hours — not at night or on weekends when most people are at home.
Brian Homans, an acoustical engineer at Chicago-based Shiner & Associates Inc., said the first requirement in reducing sound is to limit the expanse of window area facing the noise source.
The installation of acoustical glass can be about twice as effective as ordinary glass in reducing the perception of noise, he added. The proper installation of acoustical windows is also important because sound can come in around the edges of the windows.
Homans said sound also can enter a building through doors and mechanical openings.
Shiner & Associates has worked on these Chicago residential projects located near railroad tracks: Fulton Station, RiverBend, Kinzie Station, Kinzie Park and St. John’s Park.
“In the last five years, higher quality residential buildings have been built near train tracks and subways in Chicago,” said Brian Howe, principal in HGC Engineering, a Toronto-based firm that specializes in vibration control.
“This is happening because older, industrial uses are giving way to residential uses,” he said. Real estate analyst Tracy Cross said residences are being built close to rail tracks because of the scarcity of available land to build on near downtown.
“Usually there is a price differential, a discount because of the negatives,” said Cross, whose real estate research firm is based in Schaumburg.
That was the case at Fulton Station, a 196-unit development next to two Metra tracks and over a CTA subway tunnel.
“At first we lowered the price of units facing the tracks,” said Michael Lev, executive vice president of Belgravia Group Ltd., the developer.
Now, though, only four units are left and there is little or no difference in resale prices between units on the tracks and others, according to Lev.
“We had some initial hesitation about building on the site, but felt it would work if engineered properly. Our testing showed there would be vibration and people would feel it,” he said.
To control the problem, Howe’s firm suggested that rubber pads, 3 to 4 inches thick, be installed in the concrete foundation to isolate the building from vibrations in the ground.
“We can’t eliminate all vibration, but we can get it below feeling it,” said Howe. He pointed out that the subway trains below Fulton Station could make the structure vibrate and create noise, much as a drum vibrates.
Noise from surface rail tracks at Fulton Station was reduced by the use of better windows and by placing bedroom windows away from the tracks.
Dan Patinkin, a resident at Fulton Station, said watching the trains is a part of urban life that he enjoys. “It’s calming, especially at night, to see the trains moving slowly as they near the end of the line.”
“Most people here would agree that they hear an occasional ding-ding from the trains, but that is not a negative to the living experience,” said Patinkin, who lives on the fifth floor.
A real estate agent, he described the Fulton River District as “prime, really hot.”
The potentially largest new project in the neighborhood is Kinzie Station, which is located both north and south of the tracks between Halsted and Clinton Streets.
Already built and 90 percent sold is a 25-story condominium with 163 units where the Dhodapkars and their dog live. The site also includes 24 units in a four-story mid-rise and five townhouses.
Construction of Phase 2, scheduled to begin in June, will include a 37-story tower with 250 units that are priced from $189,900 to $1.2 million, the latter for a penthouse, according to Susan Tjarksen, vice president of sales for the developer, Chicago-based CMC Heartland Partners. Residences in the high-rise will range from 618 to 3,400 square feet of living area. First occupancies are projected for March 2003.
CMC Heartland, the successor to the Milwaukee Road railroad, has even bigger plans for the 12 acres of vacant land on the north side of the tracks.
Presented to the city earlier this month was a proposal for several residential towers, with both rental and for-sale units. These buildings would have 24-hour doormen, fitness centers and one would have a swimming pool.
If approved by the city, construction of Phase 3 of Kinzie Station could begin this fall. The plan also would include street-level retail, a national chain food store, a parking structure and green space.
“You can’t avoid the existence of the trains, so we named the condo development Kinzie Station,” explained Tjarksen.
“We used special sound-proofing and nobody has complained about the noise yet,” she said.
Tjarksen noted that the Fulton River District was considered “a frontier neighborhood three years ago, but now is well known.”
“Trains have never been an obstacle in any of my projects in the city,” said Michael Lerner, one of the pioneers in building the Fulton River District.
“This used to be a desolate, industrial area. Now it is a vibrant neighborhood with some 1,500 to 2,000 residential units and more are on the way,” said Lerner, president of MCZ Development Corp. in Chicago.
His first project in the district was the China Club in 1995. His largest was Randolph Place, the 15-story, 270-unit conversion of a former office building.
The Lake Street elevated tracks parallel the north side of Randolph Place. Lerner admits that the “L” squeaks a bit, “but we’ve never had any feedback about the noise. People accept it. After all, it was their conscious choice to live by the train.”
One of the most prominent new projects is RiverBend, the 37-story condo under construction on a narrow wedge of property between the Chicago River and the train tracks.
Totally ignoring the trains, all of RiverBend’s 149 condos and townhouses face the river and the skyscraper skyline of the Loop on the opposite bank.
Though the trains roll by just a few feet from the rear of the building, there are no discounts in the price of units, which range from about $300,000 to $2.5 million.
“Parking is on the lower floors, so residences don’t start until the 13th floor. That’s a lot of space to absorb vibration,” said B.J. Spathies, chief operating officer of Bejco Development Corp., the developer.
“The phenomenal views of the river and Loop mitigate any negatives of being close to the tracks,” she said.
Located at 323 N. Canal St., RiverBend is expected to welcome its first residents in November, according to Spathies.
Another residential development in the Fulton River District is the 300-unit Kinzie Park, located on the west side of the river just north of Kinzie Street.
“We had to build a special, 45-foot-high wall in back of a row of townhouses to shield them from the train tracks,” said Ronald Shipka, chairman of Chicago-based Enterprise Development Corp., which is the developer along with Habitat Co.
Another Enterprise project is Museum Park at Central Station, located beside the Illinois Central Gulf tracks just west of the Museum Campus and Soldier Field. Construction has begun on the first condo tower in the development.
Shipka stressed that the closest high-rise will be some 75 feet above the tracks of the electric line. In addition, he noted that the city plans to build a park over the tracks.
“For buyers, being near tracks is not a plus or a minus,” Shipka concluded.
Farther north, in Old Town, a string of new residential projects is being built on Orleans Street next to the CTA’s Brown and Purple elevated lines.
They include Royalton Towers, a 10-story condo under construction at 1444 N. Orleans. It will have 55 units priced from $214,900 to $1.2 million. Expected to be completed this summer, it is being developed by Senco Development and KBC Development.
East-facing balconies overlook the CTA tracks with the Michigan Avenue and Loop skylines in the distance. The lower floors are occupied by the garage ($30,000 per space), with residences above. Double-pane windows help reduce any noise from the trains.
“Many people who visited the model at Royalton Towers considered the `L’ tracks as just a part of city living, part of the panoramic views,” said Amber Christiansen, a real estate agent with Koenig & Strey.
Other new residential projects up and down the block include the Cheval Club, 1426 N. Orleans; Park Orleans, 1546 N. Orleans; and Old Town Village, an MCL community at Orleans and Division Street.
Buyers of residences on the tracks know what they’re getting into. Jim and Karen Sierra bought a four-story townhouse at St. John’s Park, but not before checking out the potential impact of the tracks along the rear of the property, located north of Chicago Avenue and west of the river.
“After walking along the tracks before signing, I decided the trains would not be a factor. We would get used to any noise, but the layout of our townhouse also will help. Our living space faces the front, and no windows are on the back where the tracks are,” he said.
The Sierras expect to move at the end of this summer to St. John’s Park, an 82-unit project by Rezmar Development.
