This is going to be a hard one.
Views, location and surroundings all mean so much to me. I’ve got to be able to see some sky from my windows, to look out at trees, maybe catch a glimpse of the lake or a setting sun.
And, I have a thing about noise. I want to be as far away as possible from ordinary sound pollutants–trains, trucks, traffic.
So as I parked across from Chicago Avenue Place in Evanston and looked at the four-story condominium sitting right up next to one of this suburb’s busier thoroughfares and then saw its sister condo building under construction directly behind it and backing smack up to the elevated CTA/Metra tracks–I knew this house hunt was going to be a personal challenge, and then some.
Owners of these one- to three-bedroom units base-priced from $168,000 on up to about $816,000 or so are going to look at a Blockbuster across the street, a Jewel-Osco directly to the south and an assortment of commercial establishments up and down Chicago Avenue. And, they don’t have to see a train to know those tracks are there.
Not for me.
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Even though I divorce myself from my personal preferences when I’m the House Hunter, this one was almost in the same no-no category as a house with a three-car garage sticking out in front.
In a stroke of serendipitous coincidence, I met Marsha Weiss as she was moving into her condo, surrounded by boxes, her new purple sofa and, among many other things, her college freshman son’s marimba.
As happy as a lark. And, in yet another House Hunter case of that tired-but-true “diff’rentstrokes for diff’rentfolks,” I saw Chicago Place as the ideal place to live–for some folks.
For Weiss, just barely a Baby Boomer and a recent widow, her customized condo reflects her new life. The Weiss family had lived for years in Skokie in their `50s brick ranch with picture windows.
Weiss, director of the student financial aid office at the University of Illinois at Chicago, knew she wanted to sell her house someday, but a persuasive sister took her to the Chicago Avenue condos and in no time, a deposit was made.
In some of those leap-of-faith pre-construction decisions, Weiss decided on a street-facing two-bedroom unit and eliminated the hanging cabinets above a huge island open to the living-dining areas for an even greater feeling of openness.
She opted for chopping off a few feet in the kitchen/living area to make her son’s adjacent bedroom larger.
Weiss has a home unlike any she’s lived in and says she believes she’ll thrive being in the heart of activity.
Chicago Avenue Place has no formal models but prospective buyers can tour condos that are approaching closings.
As my good luck had it, I was able to check out several unfinished units with both standard and highly customized floor plans and was bold enough to ask if I could see the new move-in’s unit as well.
There are almost too many floor plans to study–but made necessary in a development with four buildings that will vary in height and size.
Coldwell Banker’s Patricia DeNoyersays the plan with separated bedrooms–one on either side of the living/kitchen space–has been the most popular; so, future buildings will have more units with that plan.
This No. 4 plan, with 1,215 square feet, has a balcony off the main room, good-sized bathrooms and a well-planned galley kitchen that’s open to the living area; like most of the kitchens, hanging cabinets open both to the kitchen and the living area side, ideal for storage of lesser-used items like barware. One-bedroom units are pretty typical: Living/dining/open kitchen on one side; bedroom, walk-in closet, bath, guest closet, laundry and mechanicals spaces on the other. At 11 by nearly 13 feet, the bedroom’s on the smallish side and feels smaller when it looks out at the building behind it.
The differences possible in some units are well illustrated when DeNoyer pulls out two three-bedroom floor plans.
A standard plan (1,890 square feet, $477,000) has two balconies, a 21- by nearly 22-foot living room, a dining area and kitchen flanked by a master suite at one end and two little bedrooms and their bath at the other end.
Then there’s the customized unit (2,616 square feet, $816,000) with a combined living/dining room of about 670 square feet adjacent to a large master bedroom (all with floor-to-ceiling windows and doors opening to a wraparound terrace), kitchen, two more bedrooms and one bath. Though customizing is widely available in condos, the options here seem almost seem boundless.
DeNoyer is quick to say, “You can do whatever you want,” adding that the builder is willing and ready to “make the unit the way the buyer wants it.” Pause. “It costs money, of course.”
She noted that quite a few of the first 19 units sold–generally smaller ones–have gone to youngish singles and couples, often professionals and businessmen.
And what do these buyers say about their reaction to the proximity of the trains, the views, the nearby stores?
“When they come in, they already know about the trains,” DeNoyer answered, indicating that visitors have obviously seen the surroundings.
Some do ask about the sound, DeNoyer added, but she pulls out the construction sketch showing the insulation and other materials and “they’re OK with it.” Often, a train will pass and prospects realize the sound is “muted.”
Sometimes, DeNoyer added, they simply dismiss the sound. “They’re just so happy that the Dempster Street station is only a half block away.”
Chicago Avenue Place
Address: 1210-1236 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Developer: Roszak/ADC, Evanston
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Phone: (847) 563-1415
Description: A four-building condominium development planned for 157 one- to three-bedroom units. Development slated for completion in 2003.
Amenities: Masonry exteriors; storage spaces; exercise and party rooms; indoor pool, separate whirlpool; balcony or terrace. Eight foot, 8-inch ceilings; carpeting; ceramic tile floors in kitchens and bathrooms; kitchen appliances and disposal; washer/dryer hookups. Heated, indoor parking.
Prices: Base-priced from $168,000 to $277,000 for one bedroom and one bedroom with study, 1 bath with 794 to 1,076 square feet; $237,000 to $381,000 for two bedroom, 2 baths with 1,079 to 1,486 square feet; $343,000 to $816,000 for three bedroom, 2 or 2 1/2 bath units with 1,625 to 2,616 square feet. Estimated monthly assessment fees, $156.47 to $515.52. All prices as of Feb. 4.
Neighborhood: South of downtown Evanston; backs up to elevated and Metra tracks. About five blocks to Lake Michigan beaches. Near supermarket, restaurants, varied shopping.