Yo’s been spending a lot of time in the South Loop lately, getting prepped for our upcoming South Loop week, which begins Oct. 2. Yesterday we took a little stroll up and down South Indiana Avenue and South Michigan Avenue, between 15th Street and 19th Street, admiring some of the classic loft conversions that helped turn this neighborhood from a wasteland of storage buildings and vacant rail yards into one of the most hyped ‘hoods in the whole dang city.
We started our tour at the Penthouse Lofts (above), 1550 S Indiana Ave. This 35-unit building is tall enough to allow residents of upper floors to see the lake or Soldier Field.
As kitschy as it may be, Yo’s a big fan of the Central Station sign adjacent to the property. Something about the sequins and how they reflect the light is a hypnotizing reminder of the neighborhood’s origins, which are slowly being erased as condo buildings pop up on every corner.
Bicycle Station, 1632 S Indiana Ave, is the kind of loft conversion we love to see. Formerly a bike warehouse, the building is now home to 56 loft conds of various sizes and shapes. Tandem Developers, which completed this project in 1999, claims this building helped start the South Loop renaissance.
But what the hell is going on behind Bicycle Station? Tandem Lofts, 1633 S Michigan Ave, just on the other side of the building, could have been an awesome rehab if the builder had stuck to the original structure. Apparently this 1920s warehouse building just wasn’t tall (read profitable) enough, so the developer built three new stories atop the original. The good news is that the residents got a fancy rooftop terrace around the perimeter of the original building, so they would have a place to host wine tastings, 4th of July barbecues, birthday parties for their dogs…The bad news is that this is a freaking hideous addition. It looks pre-fab and generic and does not preserve the original integrity of the building. Sometimes three stories are plenty.