In recent years, residential restoration and rehab have become routine for Chicago`s trendy Lincoln Park-DePaul neighborhoods, where prices and projects seem immune to limits.
Those limits were pushed even higher this week, however, with announcement of Dickens Place, the largest and most costly residential rehab project yet undertaken in the North Side area.
At a cost of $7 million, Merit Management Corp. will gut and convert a Victorian industrial complex at Racine and Dickens Avenues into 25 all-new luxury condominiums and three custom single-family homes.
”This is the biggest project I`ve done so far, and I`ve never been as excited or enthused about anything,” said Sheldon Paul, 42, a 17-year real estate veteran and president of Merit Management.
In addition to owning and managing 250 rental apartments, Paul has built single-family homes and been involved in three successful Lincoln Park-DePaul restorations–the Victorian, Clifton and Belden landmark condominiums.
The new project consists of a four-story, 75,000-square-foot building originally designed for a piano factory and built in three stages from 1882 to 1902, as well as three newer, adjacent buildings totalling 20,000 square feet. Paul learned about the availability of the property last June from a commercial broker who told him the current owner, General Exhibit Co., manufacturers of trade show displays, had outgrown the space and was planning to move.
”I took a look at the building and was immediately excited by its potential for upscale residential,” he recalled. ”Here was a chance to create something that`s been missing from this market–condominiums that have the spaciousness of a townhouse or single-family home but in an ideal in-town setting.”
Simultaneously, Paul submitted a bid for the property and contacted architect Roy Kruse for preliminary conversion plans.
Acquisition was not easy, however.
”I had to wait until General Exhibit found another plant site, and during that period, increased interest was shown in the property,” Paul said. ”By the end of the summer, there was intense competition for this building, including some of the city`s bigger developers. This wasn`t surprising, however, because we`re dealing with a premier location in the heart of one of the city`s most desirable and active residential areas, a pretty walking neighborhood that`s not congested. The building`s Victorian architecture also made it appealing.”
Paul prevailed. His bid was accepted when General Exhibit purchased a building from TRW at Lawrence Avenue and Edens Expressway. The deal was closed Dec. 3 and he will begin reconstruction on March 1 when General Exhibit moves out. Completion is scheduled for October, 1986.
During the months of negotiation, Paul and Kruse had been revising or discarding a number of ideas for the residences.
”Initially, I gave Roy some specific design requirements but also told him I wanted something totally new and different,” he said. ”The final product is unlike anything he`s designed. One of the things we did was to reduce the number of units from the original 42 to 25 because we didn`t want to compromise on spatial quality.”
Kruse`s designs enable extraordinary condominium room dimensions, such as 31-by-18-foot living rooms, 18-by-18-foot master bedrooms and even some master bathrooms that are 12 by 18 feet.
”These units are geared to the upper bracket buyer who wants both space and amenities but without the upkeep or costly restoration of a single-family home,” Paul said. ”I wanted to offer a single-level style of living in the city without sacrificing the spaciousness or graciousness of a single-family home.”
He said such a concept has special appeal for the Lincoln Park-De Paul area because it offers an alternative to the townhouse with stacked living levels, limited room sizes and minimal security as well as the ultimate price of costly single-family homes which also require major investments to put in first class order.
Paul said the main building will be redeveloped for condominiums with 1,600 to 2,700 square feet of floor space to be priced from $168,000 to $270,000.
”In no way is this a loft development,” he emphasized. ”This building has been totally redesigned for luxury condominium homes that are fully-insulated and fully-finished. The old interior is being completely gutted and redone. In addition, pre-construction buyers will be able to determine interior finishing of their units.”
The single-story buildings to the north will be razed and replaced by a new entrance to the main structure, off-street guest parking and three new single-family detached houses. Priced at $375,000, the new homes each will have 3,100 square feet, a backyard and garage.
The building`s common brick exterior will be painted a buff color, and each condominium will have an exterior Juliet balcony with iron railings and contemporary glass French doors.
A total 528 windows will be replaced by larger ones with new wood thermal-type frames painted in an accent color of blue.
The current entrance at 2100 N. Racine will be relocated on the building`s north side off Dickens Avenue. Brick and wrought iron gates will lead to a new four-story curved atrium lobby area with new elevators.
In addition to new windows and a new roof, Paul said he is replacing all sewers, plumbing, wiring, and insulation. The building will have new gas forced air heat and central air conditioning.
Interior public areas have been designed in a high-tech motiff with indirect lighting and varied ceiling heights.
Each condominium residence will have separate entry and foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen with dining counter and frost-free refrigerator with icemaker, gas oven and range, microwave oven, disposal and dishwasher;
utility room with laundry tub, washer and dryer; master bedroom and private bath with whirlpool tub and separate shower stalls; guest bedroom and second full bath. A third bedroom is available as an option.
Standard for each unit will be Italian marble floors in the entry, quarry tile in kitchens, ceramic tile in baths, carpeted bedrooms and oak hardwood floors in the living room, dining room and hallways.
Living rooms will have woodburning fireplaces and wet bars. Most master bedrooms also will have woodburning fireplaces.
Recessed sculpted double entrance doors will open to the 7-by-7-foot entry area and 11-by-8-foot foyer.
”These areas have lower ceiling heights which graduate upward from 9 to 10 feet as you move from the entry to foyer to living room,” Paul said.
”This creates architectural interest for the units as well as a single-family feeling of space and size that flows into the main rooms.”
The original 11 1/2-foot ceilings were lowered to accommodate mechanicals and enable clear sight lines without soffits.
The original building has a unique architectural feature–a 6,000-square- foot rectangular inner courtyard–that Paul will develop as ”a true natural atrium, an open private park for residents within the heart of the building.” He plans extensive plantings, walkways, benches and outdoor sculpture for the park, which can be viewed from the building through over-sized windows lining interior hallways.
The building will have a rooftop sun deck and a private health club with steam room, sauna, and exercise room with mirrored walls and sound system for aerobics.
The indoor parking garage for residents will have separate stalls for motorcycles, a separate area for bicycles and a fully-equipped car wash facility. Off-street guest parking will be provided near the atrium entrance. The residences come in eight different floorplans, including two duplex units with 1,500 and 1,750 square feet. The first floor accommodates the entry, foyer, open two-story living room, dining room, kitchen and bath. Two bedrooms and a bath are on the second floor.
Merit Management, with financing provided by Pathway Financial Corp., is responsible for the entire project, including general contracting, sales and marketing.