Yesterday was one of the sunniest, clearest days we've seen in a while, and it looked like Chicagoans made the most of it. One of my roommates is moving abroad next month and wants to get in as much "touristy" stuff as he can before he departs, so I tagged along with him to the Shedd Aquarium's first Community Discount Day of 2009.

While we were out, I made sure to get enough snapshots from the Buckingham Fountain, the steps outside of the Shedd Aquarium, and the concrete terrace ringing the Adler Planetarium to be able to stitch together these skyline panoramas.

Click the images to see larger versions through our Flickr photostream.

Remember those few bitterly cold days during the last two weeks? Well, one found me in the South Loop, frantically snapping photos before frostbite claimed my fingertips.

This picture of Motor Row Lofts, a 52-unit conversion of three historic buildings at 2301 S Michigan Ave, proved particularly pleasing (what with the dappled sunlight on the shaded street), and it's a great visual excuse to mention New Homes Magazine's February article on the development.

“We’re not back in the Flashdance era,” says developer Paul Zucker. “But the exposed brick and ductwork, the heavy timber beams, the 13- to 20-foot ceilings, and the 10 to 15-foot windows certainly take these residences out of the overused ‘soft loft’ category.”

An article in Crain's from earlier this week described a new plan by the Chicago Loop Alliance to rework a stretch of Michigan Avenue between Wacker Drive and Randolph Street to "improve the pedestrian experience along this important gateway."

The article referenced the Chicago Loop Alliance's findings (due out today), which will likely call for a special tax for property owners along the strip to fund the $165 million improvement.

In conjunction with the article, Crain's produced this slideshow (narrated by Eddie Baeb) showing the current state of the avenue and how the Alliance's proposal might improve it. The image above is a screenshot from the slideshow.

Dorrie Freiman doesn’t worry about making a sale every time someone steps into the Waterview Tower’s sales room at 121 W Wacker Drive. In fact, she expects potential buyers to spend some time weighing their options.

“Our buyers take longer with their shopping. They look around. They’re an educated crowd,” Freiman says.

Part of the 90-story Waterview Tower’s appeal is the presence of a five-star Shangri-La Hotel on its 12th through 27th floors, Freiman says. Full-time residents, second-home owners and hotel patrons will all have access to amenities like an exercise facility, a lap pool, outdoor garden terraces and pet recreation areas, a business center and a hospitality suite with full kitchen.

Waterview’s Loop location drops buyers into “a pivotal area” of Chicago’s downtown, says Freiman – the Theater District and the Lyric Opera are a short distance away, as are the shops of Michigan Avenue and the scenic attractions of Navy Pier and Millennium Park.

Waterview Tower’s condominiums range in price from the $780s to $8.8 million. More than 65 percent of the project’s 233 condos have sold since 2005, and developers expect deliveries in November 2009.

Buyers with a thing for exposed concrete should take a look at the renderings for 235 Van Buren, a 46-story high-rise planned at 235 W. Van Buren St in the Loop. Upon completion next year, the building's 714 units will be packed with the gray stuff: ceilings, pillars and even walls.

I'll drop by the sales center next week to get an update on this development.

Speaking of 565 Quincy, we couldn't help but notice that buyers have a couple different options for smaller spaces at this West Loop project.

On the project's high-rise floors, the so-called "junior one-bedroom" (shown here; there are four per floor) totals less than 600 square feet. It's a truly micro living space, but that's all part of Belgravia Group's plan to attract funky young buyers.

The lower floors, which house the development's loft units, are home to some sizable one-bedroom - including this 1,300-square-foot, one-bed-plus-den unit (PDF).

We’re still waiting for W Developments LLC to open a model for One, its 64-unit tower planned for the West Loop. In the meantime, we’ll have to settle for some new renderings of its very clean, very white interior spaces.

The word "one," as we’ve learned, can mean a lot of things when it comes to this project. It pops up not once, not twice, but three times in the tower’s address, 111 N Sangamon St. It’s also the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in each of the building’s condominiums. (Most of the units have a den, as well, but including those rooms in the bed count would throw this whole “One” trend right out of whack.)

The loft-like units will have 9.5-foot concrete ceilings, hardwood floors, stainless-steel appliances and Solid Surface countertops.

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Lakeshore East is rising swiftly in the East Loop, and the Illinois Real Estate Journal recently ran a profile on Joel Carlins and Jim Loewenberg, the two principals behind Magellan Development.

“Most developers in the city for many years have never designed rental with condos; they have felt that the condo buyers are a little more particular and wouldn’t want rentals in their building,” [Carlins] says of the forthcoming Aqua tower. “Here we have combined rental with condominiums and separate entrances.”

In addition to cultivating 26 acres of the mixed-used parcel for residential living, the Magellan partners planted a six-acre park in the center, with many of the pathways winding into shapes of sail. The two are also bringing the first major grocery store to the area , with the forthcoming opening of a 100,000 square foot Treasure Island grocery store. Construction was expected to be underway by mid-February.

In May 2007, New Homes Magazine named Lakeshore East the best new planned community. And just last week, we featured a comment from Carlins as our "Quote of the day." Look for more from Magellan in New Homes Magazine's March 2008 issue.

Speaking of incentives, the folks at 200 N Dearborn Private Residences continue to roll out deals for potential buyers.

We've reported more than once about American Invsco's attempts to lure customers to its 47-story condo conversion. Last summer, the company sold 80 units at discounted rates during a one-night-only wine-and-dine event. In August it offered $3,000 off closing costs or as cash back, and in October it dropped the prices of its parking spaces from $45,000 to $5,000 and promised to buy back any purchased spots for $35,000.

Now, American Invsco is targeting theater fans by inviting them to spend a free weekend in the high-rise's "Theatre Suite." The condominium, a one-bed / one-bath unit on the 34th floor, is fully furnished and done up in a theatrical theme, with "an abundance of theater posters hanging throughout the residence," according to a media release.

The theme highlights the fact that the tower is just a short walk away from the Loop's Theatre District, which may be an amenity for second-home buyers looking for a location for their weekend getaways.

Theater lovers will have to tour 200 North Dearborn's on-site models in order to place their names in American Invsco's weekly vacation drawings.

Along with the aforementioned parking incentive, American Invsco is also offering to pay 12 months condominium assessments and real-estate taxes for buyers. The building's units start in the $270s for convertables with 590 square feet and go into the $560s for 1,205-square-foot penthouses.

Blame it on the winter chill, market uncertainty or something else entirely, but sales appear to have slowed at 235 Van Buren over the past five months.

More than 370 of the 714 condominiums in the Loop high-rise had sold prior to the opening of its sales center in September 2007, according to an old Yo post. Last week, 235 Van Buren publicist (and New Homes Magazine columnist) Don DeBat announced that sales at the 46-story had “nearly reached the 400-unit mark,” which isn't much of a difference, if you ask us.

CMK Companies’ condominiums have one to three bedrooms and one to three baths arranged in more than 130 different floor plans. Prices range from the $180s for a 522-square-foot studio to the $430s for a 1,292-square-foot, two-bed / two-bath unit. Penthouses are available at a base price in the $360s.

CMK prez Colin Kihnke told New Homes in February 2007 that 235 Van Buren offered first- and second-home buyers “edgy architecture at affordable price points.” Yo readers seemed split on the project’s location, with some seeing it as a good transition point “linking the Loop to both South Loop developments and planned UIC dorms” and others worrying that the tower was doomed to a life of corporate rental apartments.