Is a seven-story condominium building tall enough to have penthouses?
I was intrigued enough to drive down Lake Shore Drive to 47th Street and then west to Drexel Boulevard to find out.
The 59-unit Drexel Parc Lofts are all on the top floor of a 1920s-era building that once housed apartments, then a nursing home. It recently was gutted and converted to condominiums.
The structure is one of the larger buildings on this stretch of the North Kenwood neighborhood, which is enjoying a housing renaissance. It harkens back to an earlier, more decorative era and is a courtyard building with a graceful exterior.
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A decorative wrought-iron fence surrounds the broad front lawn. A wide sidewalk leads to the front door.
The exterior of the building has been updated with metal balconies for each of the upper floor units. Ground-floor residences have patios and small yards.
The conversion was a complete gut job, according to real estate agent Charmor Roller-Brown of First Chicago Realty, who is working with Sutherland Pearsall Development Corp.
Closings in the building began in late 2005. Roller-Brown said the two-bedroom, two-bath units sold like “hot cakes.”
Buyers tend to be young singles and couples from the surrounding neighborhood and from the South Loop and North Side. A number of buyers are from the suburbs and from out of town, Roller-Brown said.
With unit prices less than $250 a square foot, the development no doubt is appealing to those weary of rising costs further north. The neighborhood is close to the lake with quick access to major thoroughfares and good public transportation, though the dining and shopping scene is still in a fledgling state.
Only four three-bedroom, two-bath units–all on the top floor– remain.
Calling them penthouses seems a bit of a stretch and involves some creative marketing. These are indeed at the top of the structure, and they are larger than some of the other units, but they have the same amenities.
Billed as soft lofts, these residences are somewhere between the old definition of a loft with open, mostly undifferentiated, space and high ceilings, and a more typical condominium with high ceilings.
Wood flooring in the kitchen, living and dining rooms and one bedroom is standard, as are a fireplace, stainless-steel appliances, granite countertops, washer and dryer, and stone flooring and surrounds in the baths. There is a single parking space for each unit in a gated area behind the building.
The units are not the predictable cookie-cutter shapes and floor plans of so many new construction buildings. But, to be fair, buyers also are paying for some awkward or wasted space in each unit because retrofitting new rooms into old spaces is not always easy.
The 1,500-square-foot Ph5 plan at the northeast corner of the building is little different than a regular condo. It has standard floor-to-ceiling walls, well-defined rooms and a traditional floor plan.
The front door opens to a foyer, about 4 by 11 feet, with a large coat closet on the right. On the left is a hall to the kitchen and the living/dining room, about 15 by 24 feet.
The living/dining room has sliding glass doors to a 4-by-10-foot balcony.
The three bedrooms and two baths are to the right of the foyer in a wing away from the entertaining space. The three side-by-side bedrooms open onto the hallway to the right of the foyer. The secondary bath is across the hall and the master bath can be accessed only from the master bedroom.
This plan makes sense in some ways, separating the living spaces from the sleeping quarters.
The corner kitchen in this unit is cramped, with limited storage space. banging into the fridge.
The closet holding the furnace, washer and dryer is opposite the kitchen.
The slightly larger 1,600-square-foot Ph2 plan at the front of the building has more of an open loft feel, with a 20-by-16-foot living/dining room and kitchen, 12 1/2 by 8 feet, next to a 12-by-11-foot room with a wall that divides it from the kitchen/living/dining space but does not go to the ceiling.
This room could be a bedroom, but also could be used as a home office or television room.
The kitchen is tucked into the corner of the living/dining area and is immediately to the left as you enter. A granite-topped peninsula counter for food preparation and casual dining separates the kitchen from the main living and dining area. On the wall opposite the galley kitchen is a closet with a stacked washer and dryer unit.
The living/dining area has excellent light and windows to the west and the north. Sliding doors open to the balcony over the courtyard.
The sight lines are excellent. The view west is over the burgeoning neighborhood with Sears Tower and skyscrapers of downtown Chicago visible.
The space and sight lines, coupled with the exposed ductwork, give this portion of the unit an old-style loft feel.
Turn right after entering the unit, go down a short hall and you will find a bedroom, about 11 by 10 feet, across the hall from the secondary bath. The master bedroom with bath is at the end of the hall.
These rooms are fully enclosed with walls and are similar to those in condominiums. Here the exposed ductwork looks out of place and odd.
The bedrooms, especially the master bedroom which is 13 1/2 by 12 feet, are adequate, but not spacious. The master closet, an L-shaped walk-in, is roughly 6 by 7 feet.
The closet shape might not be to every homeowner’s taste. The odd corner nook in the corner of the master bedroom might not make a hit, either.
It is there to accommodate a large window that lets in plenty of light, but it also is wasted space and will strike some as a dust collector. Yet others may find it charming.
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Drexel Parc Lofts, Chicago
Base price range: $334,900 to $344,900
FACTS AND FIGURES
Three-bedroom, two-bath condominiums in converted elevator building. Single space off-street parking included.
Floor area: 1,500 to 1,600 square feet
Monthly assessment: $350
Developer: Sutherland Pearsall Development Corp.
Web site: www.drexelparclofts.com
AMENITIES
– 10 1/2-foot ceilings with oak flooring in kitchen, one bedroom, living and dining rooms.
– Fireplace, balcony, granite countertops in kitchen.
– Master bath with marble surround and double-bowl vanity.
GETTING THERE
Sales center: 4537 S. Drexel Blvd.
Phone: 312-719-0710
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