Where to start?
I have such mixed feelings and so much to say about a Lake View community called Wellington Park that I’m not sure what to tackle first.
This high-end development is more akin to two separate communities than a cohesive whole: One is starkly contemporary, the other sort of nouveau traditional. It’s these differing styles that are jarring and bothersome to me. So, let’s first get an exterior overview of what’s going on.
Wellington Park, as per the box below, is a big tract of housing, surrounded by a mix of older residential, commercial and industrial areas. The Paulina Street side looks at the loading docks of the Jewel supermarket and adjacent strip mall on Ashland Avenue. This area, including the Diversey Corridor, is seeing a revitalization as industrial is transformed to residential, as factories become lofts and razed buildings give way to single-family and town homes.
Wellington Park went from fenced-in dirt and marketing signs just 18 months ago to today’s 94 nearly complete and practically sold-out (four remain!) town homes.
There were to be 16 single-family homes–eight on Wellington Avenue, eight at the south end of the development. Four of these are up (two are sold); only three (but larger) houses will be built on the four adjacent lots. Incidentally, I have no problem with the single-family homes, except that, even with guidelines to fit in with the other architecture, I think the houses would look better elsewhere.
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The marketing sign out front does the houses a disservice because it heralds “imaginative” single-family homes. That single adjective made me visualize, say, a Cape Cod next to a log house next to a Margaret McCurry corrugated steel–rather than a quartet of limestone-trimmed houses in different brick colors that the builder thinks of as “somewhat Prairie.”
“That’s the beauty of being in the city,” says SR Builders major domo, Jill Jordan, “the unexpected.”
OK. Now, back to the town homes and my dilemma.
The red brick and harshly white, barely textured synthetic stucco and white metal-trimmed balconies and hand rails are very modern. The uninterrupted groups of eight to 14 look-alike town homes have the same boring blandness of row after row after row of cookie-cutter houses in suburban developments that may vary only in color: Some are white, others beige, off-white, light or medium gray.
Personally, I favor contemporary, modern, minimalist. But not these. The impact of so many close-to-identical homes detracts rather than enhances. Corner units with their stucco curves and multiple windows, especially at Wellington and Paulina, look more retail than residential.
There’s going to be a park. But one park situated between two sets of town homes is going to be pretty crowded on weekends, especially if there are families with kids (and there are, indeed).
There are pluses: The buyers/owners already ensconced look to be diverse in many ways, except age (four-story town homes aren’t very appealing to the over-50 set).
And, the interiors of the town homes have open plans and are more than roomy; the largest, with more than 3,000 square feet of living space, has loads of floor-to-ceiling windows, a spacious living/dining area, a kitchen loaded with cabinetry The home’s interior amenities have a look of quality. I wish I could say the same for the stucco. The edges at the tops of some balcony walls are chipped, down to the wire mesh.
I doubt that could happen in the single-family homes. The insides have much custom work done by craftsmen who work solely for SR Builders. There are eight-foot doors, for proper proportion to the 10- and 11-foot ceilings. Even the deck that sits atop the garage (which has a concrete ceiling that could support growing trees!) has a floor finished to look as good as that in the living room.
When a builder puts radiant heating in all the interior rooms as well as in the enclosed breezeway and garage, and outfits the kitchen with a Sub-Zero refrigerator, $1.2 million starts sounding realistic.
When I asked Habitat broker Bob Darrow what it was about Wellington Park that changed prospects into buyers, he said many mentioned they’d have the space one could expect in the suburbs, not the city.
More said, “This doesn’t look like anything else on the market.” True.
And to top that off: “There are three Starbucks within walking distance.” Aha! That’s the attraction.
Entrepreneur Ardath Berliant, who was stocking her new gift shop at the corner of Diversey and Ashland, said the area is a draw because it’s a happening place. She said the city set who once thought Ashland was practically at the city limits now is seeing explosive growth in the kinds of housing they like–condos, lofts, town houses.
“It is so busy around here,” remarked Berliant. She said that her business partner, who’ll be operating the only “hand-wash car valet” in the area, had surveyed several intersections in the neighborhood “and he clocked 280 vehicles an hour at this corner.”
Wellington Park
Address: Wellington and Paulina Streets
Developers: Enterprise Cos., Orion Development Group, Berger Architects
Phones: For town homes: (312) 943-1515; for single-family homes: (733) 388-0444
Description: On 5 1/2 acres in southwest Lake View, a community of 94 red brick and white stucco town homes with indoor garages; 15 Prairie-influenced brick and limestone semi-custom single-family homes by SR Builders Inc.
Prices: $516,500 to $709,500 for remaining four-level town homes with two or three bedrooms, 3 or 3 1/2 bathrooms; from 2,600 to 3,850 square feet (area includes garage space). Estimated monthly assessments, $115 to $151. From $1.25 million to $1.65 million for three-level single-family homes with three to six bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms; from 4,300 to 5,300 square feet (not including enclosed, heated breezeway, 2 1/2-car garage). Estimated monthly assessment, $85. Prices as of 4/30.
Amenities: Town homes: Marble or granite foyer; fireplace; oak flooring in living/dining rooms, kitchens. Granite counters, stainless appliances in kitchens. Private roof deck.
Single-family homes: 11-foot main-floor ceilings; radiant-heated floors (including garage). Custom window casings, stairways, cabinetry. Granite kitchen counters, double-ovens, range, Sub-Zero side-by-side refrigerator, warming drawers; wired for multi-phone, Internet and cable.
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Neighborhood: Between West Belmont and Diversey Avenues; near shopping; adjacent to Ravenswood/Metra tracks.
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