At 565 Quincy, 7-story loft plus 11 glass floors equals one eclectic building

Topping a vintage seven-story brick warehouse with 11 stories of glass is a bold architectural statement, but Belgravia Group is confident that 565 Quincy, a hybrid of lofts and new-construction condos, will be as funky and forward-looking as the buyers the developer is targeting.

Architectural firm Pappageorge / Haymes is transforming an existing 1920s tan brick and concrete warehouse into an 18-story high-rise. The older building will have 54 one- and two-bedroom lofts, and the vertical glass and metal addition will contain 187 one- and two-bedroom condos.

Pappageorge / Haymes is no novice when it comes to pastiche projects, having layered six stories of new construction atop a 10-story cold storage warehouse in the South Loop to create Dearborn Tower, also a mix of lofts and new condos. There the architect unified the disparate parts of the building by using similar materials and colors and by echoing the older building's square windows in the new floors. (more…)

Chicagoans have always treated architecture as a spectator sport, but for decades frustrated fans have watched as the players repeatedly dropped the ball in a game we once dominated.

However, in 2006, Chicago is staging a comeback in the most exalted of architectural endeavors: high-rise design. The condo boom in new downtown neighborhoods like Lakeshore East, the Loop and Streeterville, continues to yield high-rises of varying quality, but the overall field of contenders is a lot stronger than in years past. (more…)

Latest lofts offer new finishes in new neighborhoods

On one side of West Belmont Avenue just before Pulaski Road stands an old abandoned shoe factory with smashed windows and rusty window frames. Across the street, a stone's throw away, is an old art deco warehouse that also has seen better days. In between lies a small retail hub in the blue-collar neighborhood of Avondale: a Polish American video store, a chicken 'n' ribs takeout, some coin laundries and a smoke-filled tavern. (more…)

Classy converted college is far cry from frat house
Apparently a lot of young homebuyers like the idea of living in a loft that was once an old school gymnasium, minus the sweaty socks, of course. When Generation X buyers browse around PNA Development's The College Lofts, at 152 W. Haddon Ave., in Wicker Park, they are instantly taken with the history of the former St. Stanislaus College, according to Kevin Dembinsky, of Second City Realty, which is marketing the development. The school closed 10 years ago and has been vacant ever since. (more…)

When Tandem Developers opened Union Lofts in Bridgeport, an ethnic working class neighborhood on the Near Southwest Side, the builder was taking a risk. Loft condominiums were all the rage in formerly industrial downtown pockets such as the West Loop and River North, but Bridgeport? (more…)

Since lofts came to dominate Chicago's condo market in the'90s, we've seen all manner of new construction masquerading as "lofts." Lofts, as far as we're concerned, are buildings constructed for commercial purposes – as warehouses, factories, offices – and later converted to residential use. (more…)

When New Homes ran its comprehensive loft living feature in February, we didn't include the Thrush Companies' 14-story new-construction tower at 740 Fulton, scheduled to break ground in June. We actually didn't include any new construction under the heading "loft development" because in our book, a loft is a building originally built for commercial purposes and later converted to residential use. (more…)

After a sellout of Union Lofts, Bridgeport's first luxury loft condo project, Tandem Developers has broken ground on Bridgeport Station Lofts, a new mid-rise in the growing Southwest Side neighborhood. (more…)

After a drought of several years, lofts are back, more stylish than ever.

There was a time, several years ago, when I never wanted to hear about another loft development. During the 1990s lofts grew in popularity and sophistication, appealing to a wider and wider market, until by the fall of 1997, New Homes counted 60 loft conversions totaling around 4,000 units underway in Chicago. (more…)

Buyers driven to find the right loft

Several new loft developments have automotive roots, including one contender for the best-named project – Locomobile Lofts. For those of you not up on your car history, the Locomobile was an actual vehicle and quite a famous one circa 1908. That was the year that a stock Locomobile won the Vanderbilt Cup and made history as the first American car to win an international race. (more…)