Ride the CTA Red Line–not a car–to the Lawrence Avenue stop and walk the scant couple of blocks to the busy intersection of Lawrence Avenue, Broadway and Racine in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.
In a short stroll, you will see the venerable Aragon Ballroom, a Starbucks coffee shop and, in a building with some of the most elaborate baroque terra cotta you are likely to find in the city, a store with Afro-centric art. The Buddhist Temple of Chicago is just around the corner.
The Phoenix at Uptown Square, a mixed-use retail and residential development, which looks like a ship trapped by streams of car traffic, is smack in the middle of all this diversity, both ethnic and economic.
The complex, developed by Joseph Freed and Associates LLC, is aptly named. A wedge-shaped building, reportedly once a bank, is on the north end of the triangular block.
A five-story building in the middle of the block was a department store. The south end of the block was the site of the now-demolished Plymouth Hotel, a three-story building reputedly the haunt of such silent film stars as Gloria Swanson and Charlie Chaplin.
At one time, most of the block was a Goldblatt’s department store which closed several years ago. The department store and bank buildings, along with a two-story addition on the site of the old hotel, now comprise The Phoenix.
But when plans were announced to redevelop the triangular block, the Phoenix became the centerpiece in a classic gentrification struggle.
Neighborhood activists opposed the complex fearing it would reduce the community’s affordable housing. Supporters said it was needed to inject new life into a stagnant commercial district.
The developer agreed that 29 of the 37 loft condos would be sold at market rate and eight units would be sold to affordable housing buyers.
In addition, Freed helped a not-for-profit developer who was renovating a nearby building for low-income and single-room occupancy tenants.
Today Border’s, the book and music retailer, is preparing to open in the renovated two-story wedge-shaped building. Planet Smoothie and T-Mobile are other tenants signed for ground-level commerical space.
Upstairs, about 70 percent of the 37 Phoenix residences are sold–including all of the affordable units– and the first residents will move in soon.
The remaining lofts are mostly two-bedroom two-bath dwellings with high ceilings, huge commercial-style windows and exposed ductwork and pipes.
A circular column, a reminder of the building’s previous life as a department store, marks some of the remaining units.
Most are on the third, fourth and fifth floor of the taller middle building of the complex. Condos also are on the second floor of the new brick addition facing Leland Avenue, the former hotel site.
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom model is one of the largest units with 1,583 square feet. It is also the most expensive at $419,990 including a tandem parking space for two cars.
A long view
Visitors step into a room-size foyer and can look the entire length of the loft to windows on the east side of the building.
The foyer is shown with a corner desk designated as the tech-center. This area is large enough for a small home office. A full bathroom is to the left of the foyer. A coat closet and a separate closet for heating and water heater, and a third closet with a hook-up for a washer and dryer, make up the right wall of the foyer.
The foyer opens onto the roughly 20-by-15-foot dining/kitchen area and the 18 1/2-by-17-foot living room. Designating the size of these spaces is arbitrary, however, because this is one open space with the kitchen appliances and eating counter tucked in one corner.
The secondary bedroom is to the left of the kitchen. To the left of the living room is the master bedroom which has a comfortable, not huge, master bath with both a shower and tub and a walk-in closet.
Both the living room and the master bedroom overlook busy Broadway, the terra cotta-trimmed shops across the street and the elevated train tracks.
This is a condo for those who enjoy urban streetscapes a la Edward Hopper. The view from the model has its own kind of gritty, mesmerizing beauty. The big operable windows muffle, to a surprising degree, the sound of the passing traffic and trains. But city sounds remain part of this living space.Like many of the remaining units in this complex, the model has stainless steel appliances, granite counters and marble in the bathroom. Except for the bedrooms, it has hardwood flooring adding considerably to it’s charm.
Some, but not all, condos have a balcony. The model has what is billed as a terrace through sliding doors from the living room to the adjacent rooftop. This is an area fenced off from several long metal ducts by a low wrought-iron fence.
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The space is visually unappealing, but it does have good sun possibilities. A smart urban gardener might be able to block the sight of the mechanical neighbors with plants by the end of the summer.
Wisely, the developer selected the less-trafficked west side of the building on Racine Avenue as the residential entrance. A metal awning salvaged from the building’s department store days adds a vintage touch.
This is an elevator building with deeded underground parking, an advantage both in winter and on concert nights at the nearby Riviera Theatre and Aragon Ballroom.
Bob Ghislandi of @properties, which is marketing the condos, believes the location only a few blocks from the lakefront and proximity to the CTA’s Red Line have been key selling points. Thus far, most of the buyers are singles and young married couples from the neighborhood, he says.
Perhaps that is not surprising. This is a neighborhood and complex most likely to appeal to those who want and are comfortable in the rich stew of a real urban experience.
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The Phoenix at Uptown Square
Address: 4715 N. Racine Ave.
Developer: Joseph Freed and Associates LLC
Phone: 773-862-0200 or www.josephfreedhomes.com
Description: A mixed-use development of retail space and 37 lofts from 762 square feet to 1,585 square feet.
Base prices: Remaining one-bedroom plus den to two-bedroom, two-bath lofts are from $251,990 to $419,990. Monthly assessments from $248 to $385. Parking, from $22,500 to $34,500, is included in the price of some units. Monthly parking assessments $20 to $38. Prices as of Feb. 10.
Amenities: Marble tile in master baths, stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. Elevator building, indoor parking.
Neighborhood: Close to live entertainment venues including Riviera Theatre, Aragon Ballroom and Green Mill lounge, shopping and restaurants; easy walking distance to Lake Michigan; next to CTA Red Line trains and bus lines.
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Past House Hunter columns: CHICAGOTRIBUNE.COM/HOMES