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At this rate, we won’t have many more opportunities to post construction checkups for the mid-rise portion of Ranquist Development’s Urban Sandbox, which continues to take shape at 1615 N Wolcott Ave in Bucktown.
The building’s roof is up, and workers soon will start installing its windows, according to developer Karen Ranquist. Four of the eight homes in the building are under contract, which is one more than Joe reported in August. According to previous Yo posts, prices for the remaining homes in the mid-rise range from the $690s to $1.2 million.
When I took the above photo, it also looked like some foundation work had begun on at least one of the single-family homes to the north of the mid-rise in the 1600 block of North Wolcott. Two more of Urban Sandbox’s single-families are already in place.
Ranquist’s other new project at 2028 W Division St in Wicker Park looks like it’s ready for vertical construction (image below). Ranquist says one of the six homes in that building have been sold so far. The remaining condos will be priced from the $590s to the $790s.
For the architecture buffs out there, the Urban Sandbox mid-rise is designed by the Seattle-based Miller-Hull Partnership, and the singe-families are by Studio Dwell and 2028 Division is designed by Osterhaus McCarthy.
- Rate and review Urban Sandbox at NewHomeNotebook.com.
- Rate and review 2028 West Division at NewHomeNotebook.com
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{ 11 comments }
Two of my favorite architecture firms in the city, one of my favorite developments.
Agree with cgcg. This is good stuff.
good stuff, just overpriced
Miller Hull is Seattle-based. Does anyone recall the last time this trio teamed up for a project? 156 W Superior? Won tons of awards and tons of complaints from residents about the shoddy construction? Looked great from afar and terrible up close and inside? An angry resident even had a website for a while tracking all of their unresolved punchlist items.
I also find it funny the City’s Planning Dept has been trying to shy developer’s away from using CMU block on the exterior but they always seem just fine when Ranquist does it and people praise the design. Double standard fo sure!
I beleive Ranquist uses a different kind of block, which is pretty expensive compared to your run of the mill stuff and brick. The city just doesn’t want splitface or standard CMU, which is probably a good thing.
yes, split face is the nightmare that too many, including myself, have dealt with over the last 7 years. Even though it’s code to waterproof split face buildings, developers paid off inspectors to slip it by, and within a year or two buildings saw water damage.
Tried to go after our developer, but of course he bankrupt his company and started a new one the next day, which the city also turns a blind eye to.
While the designs are top end, unfortunately, Ranquist cuts corners like every other developer. We own one of their properties on Wolcott (the Brownstone) and have had a number of serious water issues resulting in special assessments. I wish I had paid more attention to the criticism I heard regarding their building on Superior. Also, I understand one of the purchasers from the new development on North Wolcott has filed a consumer fraud suit against them, alleging they misrepresented the dimensions of the unit.
Thinking about buying a unit from RD. Can you tell me where I can find more info about this consumer fraud suit.
You can go to the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office and ask for this file, which is the only active case I could find involving the Wolcott property:
2008-CH-43387
The Clerk of Court records are online, but only in skeletal fashion. The plaintiff’s attorney info is in the online records, and you could try contacting that person for further info.
What kind of water issues? Thinking about purchasing a home by Ranquist unit.
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