Like viewers of the TV series “Where In the World is Carmen Sandiego” and the “Where in the World is Matt Lauer?” segments on the “Today Show,” buyers looking for 565 Quincy might want to bone up on their Chicago geography.
The vintage building that is in plain sight at the busy intersection of Jackson Boulevard and South Jefferson Street forms the lower floors of a loft and condo development.
But instead of a Jackson or Jefferson address, officials of Belgravia Group chose to name the project for the new front entrance at what had been the building’s back door.
Why would anyone switch an entrance from a primary street to the loading dock–on a short stretch of Quincy Street that could be mistaken for an alley?
“It is a quieter street and more private,” said sales representative Demetrius Simpson. The busier streets had so many buildings that a Quincy address makes “the name stand out a bit,” he added.
Not only is the front door of the building being reoriented, but when this adaptive reuse project is completed, it will blend new construction with old.
Eleven floors of new condominiums will be built on top of the existing seven-story brick and concrete structure, which started life as a textile factory.
Recently, offices for businesses such as UPS were in this vintage building, part of a densely packed, once-gritty area west of Union Station, where the open space is mostly street-level parking lots.
The existing structure will be reconfigured for retail stores on the ground floor with parking and 54 lofts on the floors above in a design by Pappageorge/Haymes Ltd. On the roof, a new-construction glass, steel and concrete addition will be built with 187 condominiums.
The addition’s L-shaped towers will rise above a deck for residents on the roof of the existing building. The deck will provide not only a recreation space for homeowners but will allow natural light into many of the new condos.
Those yearning for a home with a great view will probably skip this complex, unless a busy streetscape and Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant across West Jackson Boulevard count as a good view.
Buyers of lower-floor units will not be able to move in until late 2008, since renovation is just beginning. Move-ins will continue through 2010 as the new construction upper floors are finished.
Sales representative Erin Mandel makes it clear she is not promising prospective buyers even the existing sightlines, despite a cluster of sold stickers on condos on the top floors on a sales office chart.
“I can’t guarantee that something will not be built” to block those views,” she said.
In the same vein, those who want to buy only on discount or with a sales incentive should not waste their time.
“We don’t do incentives,” Mandel said.
What she is selling, she added, is location. This development is five blocks from the West Loop and 11 blocks from Michigan Avenue. It is one block from Union Station and within blocks of two major expressways.
Those who would find this a good location most likely will have an urban attitude and an affinity for walking, public transportation or hailing a cab. There will be only 188 parking spots for the 241 residences.
First buyers–45 contracts have been signed–are all ages, says Mandel, but the location, size and marketing for the condos, except for the largest units, seems aimed at first-time buyers or those looking for an in-town place.
Among the planned amenities for this doorman building is the Q Room, a recreational area with a two-lane bowling alley, pool tables, movie-screening room and fitness center in 11,000 square feet in the basement.
The development has 35 floor plans and, in a twist from the norm, some of the smaller units and base prices are in the higher new-construction towers. Meanwhile, the lower-level lofts on the top floors of the existing building are some of the biggest and most expensive residences.
The furnished model in the sales center is a 795-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath tower unit priced in the $260,000s as shown. This is about the middle of the new-construction price and size range.
The front door opens to a large open space, with the kitchen on the left and the living room straight ahead. On the right is a wall of closets. The ceilings are 9 feet high. To the left is a corner kitchen, 10 by 11 feet, with 42-inch upper cabinets and granite countertops and appliances along two walls.
A supporting square pillar in this plan, a Unit 4 on the north side of the building, is the only obstruction in the open kitchen/living area. It serves as sort of a demarcation between the kitchen and living room.
The model is displayed with a small counter that wraps around two sides of the pillar to serve as a scaled-down dining bar. As an interior design element, the counter is cute–but as a practical matter, it is barely big enough for a quick bowl of breakfast cereal.
Most likely it will become the catch-all shelf for keys and mail. The wrap-around surface area has only enough room for two place settings, each facing a different side of the pillar.
Any serious sit-down dining is probably best served in the adjacent living room, roughly 13 1/2 by 17 feet.
One wall of the room is all glass, with a door to the 10-by-5-foot balcony, big enough for a cafe table and a compact grill.
To the right of the living room is a standard-issue condo bedroom, 12 by 12 1/2 feet, with one wall of windows opposite a full wall of closets. The bathroom next to the bedroom is more impressive. It has both shower and tub, a two-sink vanity and marble tile flooring.
Mandel boasts it is the same bath as buyers are getting in Belgravia’s high profile 600 N. Lake Shore Drive development. A laundry closet, just big enough for a full-size stackable washer and dryer is next to the bathroom.
Buyers interested in a loft can visit an open, but as yet unrenovated, floor of the building. The massive raw space punctuated by the rows of fat pillars is an impressive sight, even with the scuffed and chipped floor tiles and remnants of a dropped acoustic tile ceiling.
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The false ceiling will come down to restore the space to its original 11-foot height. The pillars can be used as rough markers of where loft walls will be erected so potential buyers can gauge the size of a unit.
Judging from the floor plans, these, like most Chicago lofts, will be long, rectangular affairs with one or two bedrooms, some with a den. The lofts do have two distinctive and appealing features: All will have a sizable recessed balcony, 5 by 17 to 20 feet, depending up the size of the condo. There will be a separate 100-square-foot bonus room for one bedroom with den or two bedroom units.
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565 Quincy
Base price ranges: $199,000 to $450,000
FACTS AND FIGURES
One to two-bedroom condominiums, one to two baths. Indoor parking space, $36,000 to $52,000. Tandem space, $60,000 to $64,000.
Floor area: 547 to 1,335 square feet.
Monthly assessments: $190 to $464.
Developer: Belgravia Group
Web site: www.belgraviagroup.com
AMENITIES
Nine- or 11-foot ceilings, wood flooring in entry, kitchen, living/dining room.
Individually controlled electric heat and air conditioning.
42-inch upper kitchen cabinets, granite countertops.
Marble tile floor base and tub surround in master bath.
Building has doorman, a recreation room with bowling alley, movie screening room.
GETTING THERE
Sales center is at 231 S. Jefferson St.
Phone: 312-207-0007
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