Every year, New Homes takes a step back and surveys the new-construction and rehab landscape to determine which projects represent the cream of the housing crop. We’ve singled out six projects, ranging from a townhouse development on the Northwest Side to a super-luxury high-rise near the Gold Coast, as our favorites from 2008.

This time around, we chose to focus solely on projects where construction has already begun, and where homes are either ready for occupancy or on pace to delivering in 2009.

Read more

No two operatic performances are the same, which is why true followers of the art never pass up the opportunity to see the same show twice.

So perhaps it is more than coincidence that LOACQ’s Opera Lofts, the 93-unit loft conversion at 2545 S Dearborn St on the Near South Side once served as a set design and storage facility for the Lyric Opera.

What’s the connection?

“When I’m asked about Opera Lofts, the first thing I always say is that it is truly unique,” says Kathleen Ryan of Opera Realty, exclusive sales agent for the project. “No two units are even remotely the same. Every residence is a new adventure.”

Opera Lofts consists of one- to three-bedroom units with one or two baths, as well as a number of penthouses. The units range in size from 830 square feet to over 3,000 square feet, and they are priced from the $240s for a one-bedroom with work area to $900,000 for the most luxurious penthouse. Deeded indoor parking is available at $22,500.

Those numbers don’t tell the full story, however. The soul of the development is found instead in its eclectic design and variety of sizes, shapes and materials. Consider, for example, that a two-bedroom unit may all be on one floor, or it may be a duplex with two stairways and a 20-foot ceiling height in the living area.

“Only a madman would undertake this project,” says Mike Jerabek, a partner of Worn Jerabek Architects, the firm that designed the project. “And only an even madder madman would have assembled these structures in the first place,” he continues, explaining that Opera Lofts is really a conglomerate of six buildings constructed over two decades.

Read more

Back in the days when microwaves were just science-fiction jargon, our grandparents were content simply if the oven didn’t burn the roast. Technology extinguished the glitches in yesterday’s kitchen appliances, and today’s homeowner looks for a tasteful mix of cutting-edge functionality and aesthetics in this, the most used room in the house.

No longer the place where mom disappears to make supper, today’s kitchen is the “war-room” of the modern home, and no one is more aware of this than Russ Alexander, president of AyA Kitchens of Illinois, the state’s exclusive distributor for this Toronto-based producer of fine kitchen cabinetry.

With a solid background in the homebuilding industry, Alexander created AyA of Illinois in 2002 after observing several trends in the kitchen industry.

“Function has always been important in our industry, but today’s homebuyers are equally interested in looks, and the trend has been toward the sleek, contemporary, clean Italian design,” Alexander says.

He explains that builders and buyers alike continue to be frustrated by the long delays in shipping and the regulations involved in obtaining the foreign product.

“AyA, on the other hand, being based in Toronto, is just 10 hours away,” he says. “So it makes sense to produce a product that is competitive, even superior, to what can be obtained overseas because the shipping delays don’t exist, and the orders can be filled overnight.”

The result was a rush to his door, particularly by builders who were enjoying the benefits of a housing boom and needed the product in a hurry.

“We began by doing a landslide business with contractors,” says Alexander. “But we quickly realized the fast turnaround was equally beneficial to the homeowner who wanted to install a new kitchen as opposed to buying a new home.”

As a result, Alexander has opened his first showroom at 6400 W. Touhy Ave. in Niles, where a broad spectrum of the AyA products and a knowledgeable sales team literally allow customers to redesign their kitchens on the spot.

Read more

By Robin Snyderman

Wall Street’s volatility – both sparked by and marked by unprecedented lending policies, record-high foreclosures, and the Fed’s takeover of stalwarts such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – has some would-be home buyers running scared. Such a reaction not only is unfortunate, but also may be unnecessary: For those with solid credit ratings, this is a good time to buy, particularly if taking advantage of a growing catalog of local, state and federal home buying incentives.

The City of Chicago and the Partnership for New Communities, for example, recently announced the “Find Your Place in Chicago” campaign, which showcases 200 affordably priced homes for sale in 26 vibrant Chicago communities. All of the featured condos, single-families, two-flats and townhouses range in price from $150,000 to $450,000, are brand new or rehabbed with the latest amenities, and have been created or supported through city investment.

Through this campaign, meaningful financial incentives – including money for down payment and closing costs, free upgrades, and even a special mortgage that provides buyers a federal tax credit – make these homes even more affordable. With the support of the Partnership for New Communities, a coalition of business, civic, and foundation leaders supporting the Chicago Housing Authority Plan for Transformation, the first 100 buyers to purchase a home in one of the newest mixed-income developments will receive a $10,000 grant toward the purchase price.

Read more

Three years ago, RDM Development announced that Trio would change the tenor of the West Loop, particularly in the Fulton River District where the project is located.

That seemed to be a given at the time, since Trio introduced an ultra-contemporary 209-unit condo complex into the heart of a former industrial area where new residential developments including many loft conversions were popping up on quiet streets between Halsted Street and the Chicago River.

“I think of Trio as a small Millennium Park," says Jim Plunkard, whose architectural firm, Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, designed the project. “I mean that in the sense that it repairs the site and the neighborhood both structurally and functionally, and I would hope that others will continue this trend."

Read more

The Chieftain Group’s Lexington Park Condominiums at Cermak Road and Michigan Avenue in the South Loop bespeaks a lifestyle that is a far cry from the misdeeds of Al Capone and his cohorts, who claimed the site’s predecessor, the infamous Lexington Hotel, as their hideout during the Roaring Twenties.

Chieftain has taken great care to offer a balanced yet diverse panoply of features in this eco-friendly, LEED-certified residential complex. The diversity begins with the design, which consists of a 35-story glass-and-concrete condo tower connected by a parking structure to a neighboring seven-story low-rise loft building.

The two buildings are wed by a 15,000 square-foot park atop the parking decks. The park is heavily landscaped and features grilling and picnic areas and a dog run. Inside the tower are a number of amenities, such as a kitchenette with dining area, a well-appointed party room with a fireplace, and a fully-equipped fitness center.

The ground floor of the tower houses 18,000 square feet of retail space and an ultra-contemporary tower lobby made welcoming by a blend of stainless steel, stone and soft-colored millwork.

“The lobby is very inviting,” says Britta Rivera, vice president of sales for Chieftain’s U.S. branch. “And the retail space brings to the building a number of daily conveniences in order to accommodate the residents.”

Read more

The residential development trends in downtown Chicago are undergoing a transformation, as record numbers of new condominium units are completing construction and few new buildings are breaking ground.

Downtown Chicago is nearing the end of a four-year construction boom period, which has resulted in the completion of 18,500 new condominium units, a record number of condominium deliveries for the downtown Chicago market.

Starting in 2006 with 4,200 units completed, an additional 4,800 units were completed in 2007, along with 4,900 units in 2008, and another 4,600 units which will be completed during 2009. Currently, 75 percent of the units being completed in 2008 have already been sold, and 60 percent of the 2009 deliveries are also reported to be under contract.

However, the construction pipeline for new condominium buildings in now suddenly empty after 2009. Only three new downtown buildings totaling less than 500 units have obtained construction loans in 2008 and started construction this year. Thus, there will be little new inventory of condominium units delivered to the market in 2010 and 2011, and likely into 2012.

Because of the weakness in the housing market, developers are postponing or cancelling their plans for potential new projects. During 2008, 11 proposed condominium projects were cancelled, with developers closing their sales centers and refunding deposits to the buyers. With the problems in the housing market along with the financial markets, these projects were not gaining adequate pre-sales in order to obtain construction loans. In addition, developers are finding that construction financing is extremely difficult to obtain with lenders also requiring substantial equity, another hurdle in an already near-impossible scenario.

What does this mean? Certainly, the lack of new condominium product will help the unsold inventory situation, allowing the market to absorb what is currently delivered or delivering within the year. With little new product being developed, buyers will find that their choices will start to thin out.

Currently, prospective buyers have a multitude of new construction housing choices. However, as these units sellout and few new buildings start construction, the new construction alternatives in 2010 and 2011 will be extremely limited, consisting of a lesser number of unsold units along with resale properties. Thus, the most desirable units will have already been purchased, leaving the tougher units in the unsold inventory pool.

With so many potential buyers now putting their own decisions to purchase on hold, we expect to see evidence again of pent-up demand again in the market, once the nation’s economic conditions improve. Yes - it will take a time to work through the current unsold inventory, given the sluggish sales pace seen in 2008. However, once there are some positive signs of the market rebounding, both buyers and developers will move off the sidelines and reenter the housing market arena.

The strongest markets are historically affected least by market downturns and do recover first, and downtown Chicago has certainly proven itself to be one of the strongest housing markets in the metropolitan area.

Gail Lissner, CRE, SRA, is co-author of Appraisal Research Counselors’ quarterly Downtown Chicago Residential Benchmark Report. This in-depth analysis of the downtown Chicago housing market tracks development activity and helps people investing in residential real estate make informed decisions.

The North Side: For Chicagoans, the term conjures visions of a sprawling, verdant park hugging harbors and bordered with beaches, or memories of a beloved, bespectacled sportscaster leading a field of lovable losers in song. It was home to immigrants and celery farmers before the birth of Chicago itself, and for more than 170 years has been one of the city's most vibrant and dynamic residential areas.

Even today, with so much focus placed on the Loop's soaring high-rises and the downtown's luxurious lifestyle options, homebuyers covet few things more than a home with a North Side address.

According to Midwest Real Estate Data, the North Side – the area bounded by Lake Michigan, North and Western avenues and Irving Park Road – had slightly fewer listings between Jan. 1 and June 30 than the Loop/downtown area or the South Side, but it boasted the highest average sale price of any area in Chicago during that time: $521,257. Nevertheless, more than half of the North Side homes listed in the first two quarters of 2008 were priced below $500,000, suggesting the area is still accessible to a buyer on a budget.

The NewHomeNotebook.com database lists more than 130 active new-construction and gut-rehab projects on the North Side, and almost all of those developments are located in one of the area's four major neighborhoods: Lincoln Park, Lake View, Bucktown and Wicker Park.

Read more

RDM Development President Robert Mosky is a delightful guy who loves to go against the grain. A few years ago he began a condo development at Division and Wells streets. He liked it so much that he started another one right next door, in a kind of “Burger King/McDonald’s approach,” as he would undoubtedly say.

Now, despite a shaky economy, RDM is creating Vision, a four-story contemporary glass, steel and concrete boutique condominium building located at 1624 W Division St in Wicker Park, just a stone’s throw from the Polish Triangle.

Slated for completion in late summer of 2009, Vision includes 33 condos, about 9,000 square feet of commercial space and roughly 111 parking spots.

“Vision really attempts to add some new architectural context to the area,” says Mariano Barrigan of Wallin Gomez Architects, who designed the project. “On the one hand, we wanted to pay homage to the colors and materials that surround the building, but the structure really makes its own statement.”

The expansive use of glass and metal adds a much-needed contemporary look to the area, but because Vision is a boutique residential structure, it does not overwhelm its neighbors architecturally. The building’s real flair can be found in the interiors, according to Barrigan, who points to the large windows and the high-end finishes as being as stylish as they are functional.

“The floor plans are traditional in the sense that there is no loft design,” he says, “but the unique window designs and the finishes set this project apart from almost everything else. When you add to that the fact that these are large units – 1,300 to 2,000 square feet – RDM has truly come up with a great value.”

Read more

Steve Schwartz, advertising manager for Comcast’s real-estate division, is a happy man these days. Last year’s launch of Comcast Real Estate On Demand through the Comcast Video On Demand (VOD) service has been a huge success.

Comcast Spotlight, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, has been using the power of cable TV to reach out to local, regional and national advertisers for a while now. More than a year ago, the company made the decision to piggyback the real-estate industry onto this very effective tool.

Hence the creation of Real Estate On Demand, which enables the more than 1.2 million Comcast cable subscribers in the region to simply click the remote and tune to the Comcast home-shopping option on channel 888.

Real Estate On Demand services the 11-county Chicagoland area and Northwest Indiana, allowing Comcast subscribers to browse property listings and videos of local homes, townhouses, lofts and high-rise condominium developments on their televisions, according to Schwartz. Available all day, seven days a week, and at no additional charge, digital cable viewers simply press 888 and select “Real Estate” under the “Searchlight” menu. Viewers can pause, rewind, fast-forward and stop two-minute-long videos at their own convenience.

“On Demand offers a superior viewing experience for video features, showcases and property listings that cannot be misplaced or discarded like print advertising,” Schwartz says. “Also, Video On Demand provides a much more engaging environment for a consumer to learn more about a property.”

All properties and developments are displayed under different geographic zones, including regional zones within the city.

Property listings are mapped under “Home Listings” for general information. The listings also provide contact information for the home’s sales associate or Realtor.

The concept has taken hold in a big way in the development community, with Real Estate On Demand affording developers a more flexible and less costly means of promoting their products. What’s more, they can repurpose the presentations for use on their Web sites or complement the On Demand on-air product with online advertising through Comcast, the top-rated Internet service provider in the greater Chicago area.

More than two dozen new home, townhouse, loft and high-rise condominium builders and developers are promoting their projects on Real Estate On Demand in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana.

Scott Hoskins, president and managing broker of CMK Realty, is pleased with Comcast’s product.

“On Demand from Comcast provided CMK with the unique opportunity to utilize a media format that had previously been too costly to justify within our advertising budget,” he says. “We have realized excellent results from Real Estate On Demand – a measurable increase in qualified prospects and heightened brand awareness.”

As a result of the warm reception, Comcast will be expanding the real-estate product line this fall with the introduction of three new features. One category, “Million Dollar Homes,” will focus solely on homes priced at more than $1 million, with each presentation spotlighting a specific home.

Plans are also in the works to create subcategeories devoted entirely to retirement communities. Despite a weakened economy, Comcast plans to devote an On Demand category exclusively to second homes and vacation homes.