Building: Vetro, 611 S. Wells St.
Buyer: Steve Ryan, creative director, VSA Partners
Because: For Steve Ryan, moving to the Loop was largely an aesthetic choice. For the last five years he has lived in a 100-year-old West Loop loft – a great place, he says – but he found himself craving “modern, clean lines.” When Ryan saw a public television feature on Vetro, a 31-story glass tower on the edge of Printers Row, he was hooked. The simplicity seemed inspired by Mies van der Rohe, but to his practiced eye, developer and architect Roszak/ADC had “taken that Miesian aesthetic and contemporized it a bit.” He also likes the building’s “spa-like” amenities, the nearby vegetarian restaurants and the neighborhood’s growth. “It’s a convenient spot, close to bookstores, which I like.”
Building: Printers Corner, 170 W. Polk St.
Buyer: Tim Engel, President, Engel Insurance agency
Because: Tim Engel, who lives in Hinckley, Ill., was seeking “peace and quiet” when he bought a second home in the Loop. Yes, the Loop. He’s well aware that the busy, noisy city will surround him, but he’s hoping his 15th-floor condo will be a haven of calm, where he and his family can look out at the view of the Sears Tower and relax. And when they’re ready for urban fun (a midnight cruise from Navy Pier or a trip to Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. in Lincoln Park), they won’t have to worry about the hour-long car ride home. There’s more and more to do in Chicago these days, he says. “It’s a beautiful city, and clean. You don’t know that until you come downtown.”
Building: One Place, 1 E. 8th St.
Buyer: Stella Stephan, senior teller for LaSalle Bank
Because: For two months after she bought her Loop condo Stella Stephan kept the purchase secret from her father – no mean feat since she lived at home with him, in Skokie. He had warned her away from venturing into the South Loop, territory he remembered as dangerous and dirty. But 24-year-old Stephan made four trips to the Loop at various hours of the day, staying for eight or nine hours each time, to form her own opinion. To her, the Loop seemed perfect – not as “plain” and “dull” as suburbia and not as chaotic as Lincoln Park, where it’s “party, party, party.” The final test came when her father visited her new ‘hood. “This is nice,” he said, over lunch at Panera Bread.
Building: The Legacy at Millennium Park, 60 E. Monroe St.
Buyer: Ted Reese, owner, Cadence Environmental Energy
Because: Ted Reese doesn’t plan on giving up golf or sailing anytime soon – he’s only 64, and he plans to be involved “for evermore” in the corporation he founded. But when he does ease up on physical pursuits, his condo at the 70-story Legacy will put him close to Symphony Center and the cultural attractions he loves. Reese is based in Indiana, with homes in Michigan and Florida. He sold a Chicago condo in the ’90s, figuring he would stay at the University Club when here. But when he learned a “sky-bridge” would connect The Legacy to the U Club’s facilities, he was sold. He also likes the fact that his stretch of Michigan Avenue isn’t too busy. “It doesn’t seem to have the crazy shoppers.”