R+D659, the eye-catching new condo development currently under construction at the intersection of Randolph and Desplaines streets has quite a bit going for it: namely, its location and a long list of luxury features.
But for casual onlookers passing by on the Kennedy Expressway, it's the building's clean lines and attractive design that make it stick out from the rest.
As the unabashedly modern building takes shape on the eastern edge of the neighborhood, it’s difficult not to marvel at the sleek new development and its contrast to the surrounding Randolph Street market district.
The building design is the handiwork of award-winning Chicago architecture firm Brininstool + Lynch, which is credited with designing some of Chicago’s most ambitious residential developments in recent years. The large, L-shaped building features architectural metal and concrete with clear and translucent glazing on its façade, accented by spacious inset and cantilevered balconies. The balconies will be constructed of metal and opaque glass, which will maximize the natural light inside the condos.
"We'd be amazed if every project scheduled to break ground in the South Loop during the next year actually does."
That was Barry Pearce's response to the announcement of imminent groundbreaking at 1349 South Wabash back in October 2007. Barry had reason to sound skeptical, as the project had already missed one target date already.
Well, it's taken a little longer than developer See Y. Wong may have liked, but the 1349 South Wabash Private Residences finally did break ground this month, and the 15-story building is now on its way for a late 2008 or early 2009 topping-off.
Wong's project at 1349 S Wabash Ave comprises 78 studios and one- to three-bedroom condominiums. Units range from 520 to 1,458 square feet, at an average cost of $330 per square foot.
As a way of celebrating the groundbreaking, Wong is offering $5,000 in free upgrades on two-bedroom layouts to buyers that sign contracts this spring. (This is essentially the same incentive that has been in place for more than a year – it was supposed to expire in March 2007 but was still on the table as of last fall.) Two-bedroom units start in the $330s.
Buyers who intend to live at 1349 South Wabash might want to know up front that Wong is using incentives to attract investors, as well. Any investor who makes a 25-percent down payment on a unit can take part in Wong's guaranteed rental program, in which his company will lease the home at market-rate rents for two years "at break even or a positive cash flow."
Deliveries at 1349 South Wabash will begin in late 2009. Units are still available from the low $200s to the low $300s at Wong's Canal Crossing development at 2318 - 2328 S Canal St. The developer has also launched pre-construction sales on the $80 million Grand Imperial Hotel, a 15-story hotel/condominium project in Chinatown.
Since it was first announced, commenters have raised the issue of how Solstice on the Park will fit in with its surroundings, which is not surprising, considering that it will stand opposite the Museum of Science and Industry, one of the only surviving buildings from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Artist renderings of the development do a good job of showing off the building's angled windows, but they don't put the building into context very well.
Initial reports in 2007 called the tower "Windermere West," probably because it's located across the street from Windermere House, a large limestone hotel from the 1920s that has been converted to rental apartments. (The photo at right is of The Windermere, taken from the future site of Solstice on the Park.)
In this video, Chicago Association of Realtors president-elect David Hanna talks to Joe Zekas about about Chicago's emerging neighborhoods and the city's school system. Hanna, a 20-year resident of Edgewater, has four children who attend public schools.
Late last week we received our invitation to the grand opening of Solstice on the Park's sales center. A 1,900 square-foot, three-bedroom model will be open and ready for touring this weekend, and I'm sure one of us will make it down to Hyde Park to check it out.
As we've reported before, the smallest units in the 26-story tower at 5526 - 5540 S Cornell Ave will be two-bedrooms with 1,500 square feet, and the largest home will top out at around 3,500 square feet. Prices in February ranged from the $500s to almost $2.3 million.
Keep an eye out next week for some photos and maybe a little video from the Solstice grand opening.
According to Kevin Dembinsky from Century 21 Sussex & Reilly, the development is broken into two phases: Phase I is a smaller building on the far west side of the development (see photo above) that includes three residential units with retail on the ground floor. Construction began last week on Phase II, which is larger, with two six-unit buildings that both have retail space as well.
The units in Phase II will have private elevators, and every unit in both phases comes with a balcony. “The second floors are almost as nice if not nicer than the penthouse, because they have huge rooftop decks on top of the garages in back,” Dembinsky says.
Three of the units in Chicagoview II are currently under contract and one more contract is under negotiation. As for the retail, Dembinsky says that two of the three tenants have been found already, one of which is a high-end wine and grocery store.
Price points on the three-bedroom / two-bath units range from the $470s to $520s, and plans are also in place to create one 3,000 square-foot penthouse on the corner of Chicago Avenue and Noble Street that will be listed at $1.2 million. Dembinsky expects deliveries to begin in November.
Builders often consult knowledgeable real estate brokers about what and where they should build, so we asked David Hanna what he's saying to Chicago builders today.
That's how Andy Zajac describes the feel of the great room in the 3-bedroom home at Optima Old Orchard Woods that we toured in this video. The room has three walls of glass overlooking the Harms Woods forest preserve in Skokie, making it as close to the Farnsworth House as most home buyers will ever get.
Zajac, the sales director at Old Orchard Woods, also gives us some brief background on architect / developer David Hovey and the architectural influences on the project.
We sat down with David recently for a wide-ranging discussion on a variety of topics. Topic A, of course, is the state of the real estate market in Chicago. We hope you'll enjoy David's candid and nuanced take on the subject.
Stay tuned for more of our sit-down with David Hanna.
R+D659, the eye-catching new condo development currently under construction at the intersection of Randolph and Desplaines streets has quite a bit going for it: namely, its location and a long list of luxury features. 
