July 27, 2007 - An August ground breaking is planned for Chicago’s Mandarin Oriental Tower. Palladin Development expects work to begin early in the month and the project is expected to be completed sometime in 2009.

The Mandarin Oriental Tower is one of several luxury hotel condominiums being built in Chicago. The tower will top out at 75 stories and house 260 condo units and 252 hotel units. Studios, one bedroom and two bedroom floor plans are offered. The price range could be called high-rise as well, starting from $600,000 to $700,000 on up to over $18 million for the penthouse suites. Even so, over fifty percent of the available units have already been sold with buyers drawn to the long list of luxury services and amenities offered at the Mandarin.

Residents will be treated to limo service, concierge, room service, maid service and parking just to name a few. The building will have two restaurants with residents receiving preferred seating as well as a state of the art fitness center, swimming pool and spa on floor 18. Personal trainers, yoga classes and massage services will be available. The Mandarin also arranges for the units to be put in hotel rotation if the owner is going to be absent and wishes to do so.

You can find more information about the Mandarin Oriental Tower or other luxury hotel condos by visiting Chicago Downtown Luxury Condos

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July 26, 2007 - Eco18, in its pursuit of LEED Gold certification, has received Tier Three qualification in the Chicago Permit system. It is the very first building to do so and achieving this allows Eco18 developers to be exempt from fees and paperwork associated with the lengthy permit process involved with building projects.

The two towers on 1818 South Wabash will consist of 12 floors and a total of 93 living units. The ground floor will contain retail space and the second and third floors will be reserved for resident parking.

During every phase of construction, Eco18 has worked towards green certification. Materials, building supplies and even water usage were monitored to obtain maximum efficiency and be environmentally friendly. To conserve energy, Eco18 will have a complex series of solar panels on the roof tops that will supply enough power to heat almost 50 percent of the resident’s hot water usage needs. To offset the normally high energy drain of heating and cooling costs, an underground geo-thermal hot water system will be installed and able to provide almost 75 percent of the power.

Other green features include a fourth floor roof top garden that spans 12,000 feet and energy efficient devices such as water saving shower heads and faucets, toilets and washing machines. Eco18 developers are going the extra distance and their dedication to green construction will also translate to green savings for the environment and residents.

You can find more information about other green developments or new condo construction in general by visiting The Best Condos in Chicago

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July 25, 2007 - With the honor of being the very first condominium in Chicago to be given LEED certification for green construction and building features, the final touches were put on 340 On The Park and developers called the project complete this month. With so much recent focus on global warming and environmental issues, 340 On The Park is right in vogue with the concerns of many buyers and satisfies the desire to be a part of something positive.

340 rises up to a towering 64 floors and the condos there have a stunning view of Millennium and Grant Parks and Lake Michigan. All of that fresh green landscape and sky blue water adds to the “green” feel of the building. Developers took the green down to sidewalk level with landscaped planters along Randolph as well as on the roof top. The building also features a beautiful garden on the 25th floor, rain water collection system for the plants installed, and the outside of the building is sheathed in a type of insulated glass to help with temperature control.

340 On The Park shows that developers can successfully combine luxury condo construction with respect to the environment and offer quality homes to buyers in the process. The green building trend is much more popular on the East and West coasts, where trends usually start, but it is gaining momentum here in Chicago as well.

For more information about 340 On The Park or other condo developments, check out Chicago New Construction Condos

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