Ten Modern Masterpieces
Call them the best of the 21st century if you’d like. These innovative new buildings illustrate Chicago’s enduring power to attract great design.
Ad Categories: Real Estate
New on the Market—North Kenwood, Chicago
List Price: $1.199 million
The Property: The elaborately carved façade of this 104-year-old, 8,500-square-foot Drexel Boulevard graystone only hints at the impressive workmanship inside—and provides evens less information about the amount of work that will be required to update some parts of the house. First, a look at the place’s strong points, beginning in the entry hall, which, with its walnut wainscoting, beams, newel posts, and benches, resembles a chapel. The living and dining rooms are similarly impressive, while the library is a jaw-dropping composition of…
Housing Bulletin—Landmark Evanston Mansion Returns to Glory
In an era of proliferating McMansions, it’s nice to see the real thing grab the attention of homebuyers. In Evanston, two developers have reclaimed a Georgian mansion perched on a ridgetop, transforming it from a rundown school-district outpost into four condominiums. “This really was the grandest house in Evanston,” says Mike Niazmand, a longtime Evanston … Read more
High Hopes for HighGrove
Wary of suburban sprawl, a Kendall County clan designs an innovative housing development to replace the farm it has nurtured for generations.
Sale of the Week—Lake View, Chicago
List Price: $1,755,000 Sale Price: $1,755,341 The Property: Thanks to its extra-wide lot—31 feet, compared to the city norm of 25—the second floor of this brick and limestone house accommodates four bedrooms, not just three. “People find it advantageous to have all the family bedrooms on the one floor,” says John McNaughton, the real-estate agent … Read more
Over the Store
Developers add residences atop onetime retail shops
Making An Entrance
Two new buildings provide a West Side neighborhood with a dramatic new portal
Aria Area
Curtain goes up on condos in Lyric Opera’s former warehouse
New on the Market—Going the Extra Yard in Lincoln Park
List Price: $3,977,000 The Property: Filling its slender lot nearly to the perimeter leaves this new Lincoln Park mansion with only a few slivers of open ground. No problem: there is still a yard—only it’s upstairs and spread across several levels. Two of the levels are directly off the family room, right where you might … Read more
Housing Bulletin—Going for the Green
You might expect the guy who built and sold one of the more expensive “green” houses in Chicago to be a lifelong environmentalist whose crusade is finally paying off. But no: Paul Ahlrich initially jumped onto the green housing bandwagon for the potential payoff. “I did these [houses] to learn how to build green so I could keep making money in a bad market,” Ahlrich says of the houses at 2652, 2656, and 2658 West Walton Street; the westernmost house (2658) sold on July 27th for $923,000…