For a high-rise to be successful, it must have three elements in harmony: location, architecture and layout.
So says Lucien Lagrange, the French-born architect with a range of high-profile Chicago buildings to his credit. For his latest design, Ten East Delaware, he aims to combine Gold Coast cache, neoclassical architecture and floor plans that respond to buyers’ lifestyles.
The 35-story high-rise underway at 10 E. Delaware Place has a sandy-colored French limestone facade with a pre-cast cornice, a style that evokes Chicago architecture of the 1920s. The detailing extends to the exterior of the ground-level garage.
“A building has to touch the ground in a very graceful way, so as you come down to ground, there’s a lot of detail,” he says. “You want to design a building so it doesn’t hit the ground – it sits on the ground.”
Architects often design the exterior of a building first and then move to the interior layout. “We don’t do that,” Lagrange says. The arrangement of rooms within the condos is paramount in his view.
The largest units at Ten East Delaware have three living spaces, 14-by-20-foot living / dining rooms, family rooms and dens. This sprawling set-up responds to “a more sophisticated, elegant lifestyle,” Lagrange says. The condos, which range from 945 to 3,295 square feet, have natural stone countertops, Grohe faucets in the kitchens, Toto sinks in the bathrooms, Sub-Zero refrigerators and custom cabinets.
“When we come home, we want a place that is our own and is comfortable,” Lagrange says. “Some places can be aggressive. That’s exactly what we try not to do.” Ten East Delaware is, he says, “a very restful place. You walk in and there are no funny angles. Symmetry brings comfort and peace of mind.”
The level of service will bring its share of comfort too. The building will offer condo owners housekeeping and food service from the adjacent Talbott Hotel, 20 E. Delaware Place.
“The owner of Talbott Hotel and I sat down and made a deal that’s mutually beneficial,” says Michael Reschke, CEO & chairman of The Prime Group, Inc., the developer. “From his standpoint, it’s a small profit, and for our residents, it’s a wonderful service available on an a-la-carte basis. It’s nice to wake up on a Sunday morning, call and have breakfast brought to you.”
In addition to hotel services, residents will have access to The Ten Club, a facility with a rooftop swimming pool, a 6,000-square-foot fitness center, a sundeck, gardens and a private room for events.
According to Reschke, these features have helped with sales, even in a slumping real estate market. Of the 121 units at Ten East Delaware, 75 had been sold in early July. Sales have proceeded at a steady pace, with one to two contracts signed per week, Reschke says.
Prices range from the $550s for a one-bedroom to $2.4 million for a penthouse unit, with the average price hovering between $1.2 million and $1.3 million, according to Reschke.
Construction on the project started in April, and deliveries are scheduled for fall 2009.