December 26, 2007 - Back in March of this year the Chicago Plan Commission approved Park Ridge developer BJB Partners LLC’s 40 story apartment tower project. BJB owns the land, which is located on the corner of Randolph Street and Michigan Avenue in Millennium Park. Currently the space is occupied by La Strada Ristorante, which has been serving up great Italian meals for 28 years. There is a possibility that the restaurant will relocate in the building when completed in 2010. Another casualty of the new project will be J Randolph’s Bar and Grill which does business next door and will have to be torn down to make room for the new tower.

Solomon Cordwell Buenz is the architectural firm credited for the design of the new apartment building. Plans show a streamlined tower that optimizes the somewhat limited amount of construction space available on that particular spot of real estate.

This future apartment high-rise will contain 80 rental units. Millennium Park Place, which is also owned by BJB, contains 550 apartment units and is located north of the proposed building site. This new tower would be the first rental project that BJB has launched in about ten years. The developer is certainly no stranger to the rental market and owns over 40 apartment buildings and properties in the Chicago area.

Appraisal Research Counselors put the number of third quarter sales of Downtown Chicago Condos down some 65 percent from last year, but the demand for rental units is up, with the number of new apartments planned for the next year estimated at close to 2,000. With increased demand, there may be more apartment high-rises in the works.

Technorati Tags: Millennium Park, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate

December 22, 2007 - With rents on the rise, there has been more developer interest in apartment buildings lately. More than one condo project has been redesigned and converted to apartment units. According to a recent Sun Times article, an empty parking lot in River North is one of the latest sites where plans for an apartment high-rise are in the works. Developer Dan McCaffery wants to build on a site located on the northeast corner of Erie and Franklin Streets, near the three story Flair House. The new development would be called Flair Tower and consist of a 26 story tower plus a low-rise next to Flair House with a total of 201 units.

McCaffery hired architect Joseph Antunovich to work up the design. The historic Flair House originated in the late 1800s and gets its name from the Flair Communications Incorporated advertising agency that has called the building home for years. Flair executive Lee Flaherty also happens to have founded the Chicago Marathon. The development plans are designed to compliment the existing structure and sport a traditional brick facade on the lower levels. Almost 13,000 square feet of space on the bottom floors would be dedicated to retail.

It will prove interesting to see if the tightening condo market continues in 2008 and supports the construction of more Chicago Apartments.

Technorati Tags: Flair Tower, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate

December 21, 2007 - When you think of green this time of year it’s probably in the form of evergreen. But Emerald is offering up some green you can cash in on. If you visit their website, you’ll see a spiffy wrapped package with a big green bow. Click on the Holiday Offer and you’ll get a list of incentives available to buyers until December 31st.

There is one free eco-friendly electric scooter left worth about $2,000. New buyers also get $5,000 in upgrades they can use on flooring, cabinets, plumbing fixtures or a number of other finishes. Another $5,000 can be had if you refer another buyer to the project. Finally, if you use the development’s lender, Providence Funding Group, you can take $1,000 off closing costs on your condo. A low 5% down payment is required.

According to the construction update, the south tower is vertical and the north tower moving up. First occupancy of the 212 units is expected in spring of 2008. Some true green features of the development include recycled construction materials, low VOC paint and recycled interior fabrics. Even the sales brochures were made from recycled paper and printed with soy ink.

The 8,000 foot lobby will showcase a private resident bar dubbed Club Emerald. There will also be a common area off the bar called the Green Room which will feature a flat screen television with surround sound and be fully furnished.

If you don’t want to stuff your stocking with Emerald green and would rather have your own mantle and chimney for the holidays, check out the selection of Townhouses in Chicago with cozy living room fireplaces.

Technorati Tags: Emerald, Chicago Condos, Chicago Real Estate