Ground finally breaks on 1349 South Wabash

1349 South Wabash Private Residences“We’d be amazed if every project scheduled to break ground in the South Loop during the next year actually does.”

That was Barry Pearce’s response to the announcement of imminent groundbreaking at 1349 South Wabash back in October 2007. Barry had reason to sound skeptical, as the project had already missed one target date already.

Well, it’s taken a little longer than developer See Y. Wong may have liked, but the 1349 South Wabash Private Residences finally did break ground this month, and the 15-story building is now on its way for a late 2008 or early 2009 topping-off.

Wong’s project at 1349 S Wabash Ave comprises 78 studios and one- to three-bedroom condominiums. Units range from 520 to 1,458 square feet, at an average cost of $330 per square foot.

As a way of celebrating the groundbreaking, Wong is offering $5,000 in free upgrades on two-bedroom layouts to buyers that sign contracts this spring. (This is essentially the same incentive that has been in place for more than a year – it was supposed to expire in March 2007 but was still on the table as of last fall.) Two-bedroom units start in the $330s.

Buyers who intend to live at 1349 South Wabash might want to know up front that Wong is using incentives to attract investors, as well. Any investor who makes a 25-percent down payment on a unit can take part in Wong’s guaranteed rental program, in which his company will lease the home at market-rate rents for two years “at break even or a positive cash flow.”

Deliveries at 1349 South Wabash will begin in late 2009. Units are still available from the low $200s to the low $300s at Wong’s Canal Crossing development at 2318 – 2328 S Canal St. The developer has also launched pre-construction sales on the $80 million Grand Imperial Hotel, a 15-story hotel/condominium project in Chinatown.

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