What does it take to lure owners of large suburban homes into a vertical condominium?
Builder Joe DePaulo is betting on large rooms, big windows, low maintenance, heated indoor parking and close proximity to downtown shopping and dining.
These are the ingredients he is using to woo buyers to 520 South Washington, billed as the first luxury condominium in downtown Naperville.
The seven-story red brick and stone mid-rise is one of only two structures other than the church steeples–the other is Naperville’s Millennium Carillon–rising above the suburb’s rooftops.
Not tall by Chicago’s–even Evanston’s–standards, plans for the building were scrutinized carefully by Naperville officials concerned about how the height would fit in this horizontal city of about 150,000 people.
Outsiders, accustomed to a mix of mid- and high-rise buildings, may wonder at all the fuss because the building sits on a north-south thoroughfare amid a mix of commercial and residential structures. But it helps to remember that Naperville’s growth over the last two decades has come mostly from subdivisions of single-family houses sprawling across the fields that once surrounded the town.
Those homes and the high median household income of their owners–$89,000 per household in 2000–have made Naperville a veritable poster town for the best of suburbia.. The oldest community in DuPage County nearly doubled in size during the 1990s and has been a key entry point into the Chicago area for the families of countless corporate transferees.
Despite its outward growth, Naperville has maintained a vibrant downtown of trendy specialty stores, booksellers, professional offices, fine restaurants, a college and the brick Riverwalk along the narrow DuPage River.
With that in mind, DePaulo, who built custom homes for nearly 30 years, began thinking about this vertical project five years ago.
He said he was at the point where, with two of three daughters grown and the third in college, he could see exchanging a big house and yard for condominium living. He thought it might be an impulse hitting a number of other Naperville residents whose families have grown.
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To appeal to those empty-nesters, he has built a building with a serpentine front and back facade. Rounded balconies stick out on several floors. A portion of the front of the sixth-floor wall curves inward to make room for a terrace.
The curves of the building are an architectural element meant to reflect the river, said sales agent Vic Nikkel, but they might be viewed as an architectural affectation in the context of the commercial street. The design works better at the back, where a landscaped garden or lawn slopes to the tree-lined Riverwalk.
The curvy walls allow for some interesting outdoor terraces and balconies while providing a slight variation from the typical boxy shape of most condo interiors.
There are 24 units: 20 one-story condos plus four two-story penthouses. The condos range from 1,341 to 5,211 square feet; about half are sold.
The remaining units are priced from $493,000 to $1.4 million, about $370 to more than $400 per square foot, clearly luxury territory.
Pitched toward people of means, the building has an intimate wood-paneled lobby with a custom-designed rug. Buyers are promised the services of an on-site concierge 40 hours a week.
The first-floor model at the back of the building is well chosen for those who might be hesitant to leave the space of a large suburban home and the greenery of a lawn. The view through floor-to-ceiling windows on one wall of the 43-foot-long main living area is of a landscaped back lawn or garden and the Riverwalk.
The three-bedroom, 2,696-square-foot model with a $950,500 price tag is impressive. It is a short walk from the lobby of the building. The front door of the unit opens to a 13 1/2-by-6 1/2-foot foyer with coat closets along one wall and the door to a powder room on the opposite wall.
The foyer leads to a central hallway that extends roughly through the center of the unit. A few steps to the left is the gallery opening to the main living area.
The kitchen at one end of the 43-foot-long living area is nearly 17 by 9 feet. It is separated from the rest of the room by a large island with double sink and granite countertop. Across the island is a dining area, about 17 by 16 feet, which in turn is open to the living room, about 23 by 18 feet.
There are 9-foot ceilings in the model as in the other units, but its location on the southeast corner of the building means sunlight streams in through the floor-to-ceiling windows on two walls. A 21-by-9-foot balcony on the south side of the building is off the living room.
The master suite to the left of the living area has a bedroom, about 18 1/2 by 18 feet, two closets, one a 9-by-7 1/2-foot walk-in, and a master bath, 13 by 12 feet, with an oversize shower.
At the other end of the central hallway in the model are two secondary bedrooms–one with a good-size walk-in closet, the other more of a den or office with a small closet–plus a full bath and a large but narrow laundry room, about 15 by 4 feet.
The finishing details–solid core doors, oversize base molding and marble flooring in the baths–are first-rate, as they should be for these prices. The radiant heating system is a definite plus.
Each unit is somewhat different, so serious buyers will want to consider what is important to them. I ducked into the finished 2,244-square-foot, two-bedroom, 102 unit across the hall from the model.
Priced at $856,500, the living area has a terrific view of the back lawn and Riverwalk through a large curved floor-to-ceiling bay window. There is a sizable balcony, about 27 by 9 feet–big enough for a garden.
The balcony has a view of the river, but it is closer to and has a better view of the car ramp into the building’s underground garage as well as the funeral home next door.
Not all outdoor areas are as spacious as those on the first floor. Balconies of units on some of the higher floors vary in size. On the day I visited, at least one was covered with standing water, which had not drained away from a recent storm–a detail I would investigate if I were a buyer.
Like all condos in a downtown area, the units at the back of the building are away from the street sights and sounds. They have a direct view of the river but are also in the sight and sound lines of the North Central College football stadium directly across the river.
The larger units have been among the first to be sold, including three of the four duplex penthouses, Nikkel said. In addition, he noted one buyer has bought two condos on one floor to combine into a single large home.
This is a nicely done development, but the units have a hefty price tag. The prices do include one heated indoor parking space and one outside space, which adds as much as $50,000 more in downtown Chicago. Only residents of Naperville and its nearby suburbs can judge whether living near the Riverwalk should approach the cost of living near the lake.
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520 South Washington, Naperville
$493,000 to $1,400,000
FACTS AND FIGURES
Homes: 24 condominiums
Square feet: 1,341 to 3,411
Monthly assessment: $476 to $1,200
Developer: DePaulo Inc.
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Web: www.520south.com
AMENITIES
Main floor: Nine-foot ceiling on main living levels, floor-to-ceiling windows, hardwood flooring, marble flooring in baths, individually controlled radiant heat, large balconies.
Building: Underground heated parking, back-up generator, concierge service.
Community: Downtown Naperville. Landscaped lawn connects to Riverwalk. Across the river from North Central College.
GETTING THERE
Address: 520 S. Washington, Naperville
Phone: 630-926-9336
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