Timing is everything when buying a home. It can affect the size of your mortgage, how much selection you have in lot or unit location and the amenities the builder is willing to include.
Back in a past so distant that most of today’s young home buyers were still toddlers, a friend of mine and her husband were transferred to Chicago from New York by his company. They shopped for a home when the interest rates were in the mid- to high-teens. That’s right, mortgage rates climbed that high and people really did pay them.
Two years after arriving, my friends were transferred back to New York so the residence went back on the market in an interest-rate environment that was only somewhat better for buyers, but not for them.
I recall my friend lamenting, “We haven’t had very good luck with real estate.”
Recent home buyers have had much better luck with interest rates, but they also face myriad decisions, not always easy. Buy into a development early to get the pick of locations or wait for a while to see what incentives the developer will offer?
There is no “right” answer to those questions and the responses differ from buyer to buyer.
For those who have opted to wait, to be able to see, touch and walk the unit before buying, the 32-story Park Alexandria development in Chicago’s West Loop may provide just the answer.
It is a development that is about 70 percent sold. The building has 244 units and about 70 remain. Construction on the building is slated to be completed in March.
At least three of the original 10 floor plans are sold out and several other floor plans have only a handful of units remaining.
For shoppers, the good news is that the exterior of the building, the lobby and furnished models are available to visit. A visitor can get a sense of the look and feel of the place from the doorman, the speed of the elevators and the look of the hallways.
The builder is finishing out some units with popular options such as granite countertops and hardwood flooring so buyers know that what they see is what they will get.
House hunting this late in a new development’s life likely means a buyer can check out what the view will really look like and, possibly, learn the names of future neighbors and meet some of them.
The bad news is that many of the smaller units as well as a number of the most affordably priced units are gone.
In November, newspaper ads for the development listed units from the $180,000s. By the time I visited the building in mid-January, the opening price point was $220,000 for a 780-square-foot, one-bedroom condo.
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The building’s signature floor plan, Residence 2, is featured in its advertising. A 1,326-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath with den, the condo has a curved wall of floor to ceiling windows in the living room and is priced from $396,806.
The windows face west-northwest for a dramatic view of the city and expressway, just blocks away.
Visitors enter the apartment through a foyer and hallway that diagonally divides the apartment. With a good-sized walk-in closet next to the front door, the foyer leads visitors to the kitchen and the living room straight ahead. It accesses a bedroom and private bath on the left and the master bedroom suite on the right.
The heart of the plan is a small kitchen in the center of the unit. The kitchen is enclosed and has a pass-through, to what is labeled a “den” on the floor plan.
Wisely, the builders are showing this small area as a dining L, which seems to be a natural use of the space. The area also allows the living room with a curved wall of windows to be more open and uncluttered.
A space that is roughly 16 1/2-by-18 feet, the living room opens onto a balcony that faces north and northwest. While dramatic to enter with the urban backdrop bursting into view, the living room may require some tough decorating decisions. There are only two walls on which to put furnishings such as a home entertainment center to hide the cords to the shades. And if the TV or bookcases are positioned against the walls, the seating that faces them could end up with its back to the view.
The secondary bedroom, while not large at about 11 1/2 feet square, could double as a home office, den or TV room. It has a nice-sized walk-in closet and is adjacent to a comfortable bathroom and the washer and dryer closet.
The master bedroom is about 14-by-12-feet and has a generous master bath with an L-shaped configuration and a counter with double sinks just inside the door.
The commode is in a niche at the other end of the bathroom, a nice solution for partial privacy. A sizable walk-in closet and a small closet, suitable for linens, are entered from the bedroom.
At 1,370 square feet, the Residence 7 floor plan is another variation of the two bedroom, two bath plus den arrangement. It is priced from $364,225 and overlooks the roof deck garden and other buildings.
In this plan, visitors enter the unit and go directly into the master suite or turn left to walk past a washer-dryer closet, a hall closet, a second bathroom and into the living room on the southeast corner of the building.
This is a residence for those who like a light-filled space; the living room and 12-by-7-foot den wrap around the east and southern corner of the building between the galley kitchen and balcony facing south.
In contrast, the master bedroom suite which features a walk-in in closet and bath seems somewhat light-deprived. And placing a washer and dryer closet in the front hallway next to the front door seems just plain awkward.
At the southwest corner of the building, Residence 9 is a furnished model with one bedroom, 1 1/2 baths plus den in 1,051 square feet. A diagonal hall leads from the foyer into the residence.
There is a small coat closet to the left of the front door and a powder room immediately inside the front door on the right. The short hall leads to the small galley kitchen on the left and a door into the bedroom suite, including a private bath and good-sized walk-in closet, on the right.
A few steps more and a visitor enters the side-by-side living room and den area. The den, between the galley kitchen and the balcony, is a likely dining spot, but on some floors it has a poor view because of a neighboring building.
The 20-by-14 foot living room overlooks the city to the west, a view that is shared by the master bedroom, and has good light from the west and southwest.
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Park Alexandria
Address: 125 S. Jefferson St., Chicago
Developer: Magellan Development Group and Fifield Realty Corp.
Phone: 312-879-1111 or www.magellandevelopment.com
Description: A 32-story condominium with 244 units ranging from one bedroom, one bathroom with 780 square feet to two penthouses with three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths in 2,900 square feet plus terrace. Base prices: From $220,000 to $985,000. Prices as of Jan. 28. Deeded parking $30,000 a space. Monthly assessments from $221 to $1,106.
Amenities: All units have balconies, washer and dryer hook-up. Many with granite or marble countertops and hardwood floors. Doorman, fitness center, visitor guest suites, dog walking area.
Neighborhood: In the West Loop, close to expressways, train stations. Near university, restaurants, shopping.
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Past House Hunter columns: CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM/HOMES