Mark and I made a quick detour past 5430 Sheridan in Edgewater before returning to the Yo office yesterday afternoon. We'll post a video from our walk through two of the project's unsold units later, but I figured I'd share these pictures of the building and the view from one of those units now.

As Mark wrote last month, Bluewater Companies' 48-unit mid-rise has only a handful of homes left priced from the $340s to the $420s. Bluewater has also started a soft marketing campaign for its new mid-rise to the north, Bluewater 5440. You'll learn a little more about that project in another video, which we'll also have up in the next day or so.

- Rate and review 5430 Sheridan at NewHomeNotebook.com.

Comparing The Lofts at Roosevelt Collection with anything else in the neighborhood is certainly vulnerable to an apples-and-oranges critique because there simply isn't a comparable residential development built around retail in Chicago. However, if you're looking for a new-construction condo in the South Loop between Harrison Street and Dearborn Road, and between Clark Street and the river, two of the primary candidates are going to be Vetro (below, at left) at 161 W Harrison St and The Lofts at Roosevelt Collection (below, at right) on Roosevelt Road near Wells Street.

Between the balconies and the windows, both units appear to be bathed in natural light, and they have similar living / dining rooms and kitchens. The Roosevelt Collection unit has a fireplace, but I think it's just ornamental, and it has Jack and Jill bathroom doors, which the Vetro unit doesn't have. It's hard to say which unit has more closet space, as the Vetro unit has one large closet and the Roosevelt Collection unit has two smaller closets in the bedroom.

The Roosevelt Collection unit is 759 square feet with a 5-8" x 13' balcony, while the Vetro unit is a bit smaller, weighing in at 719 square feet with a 3-10" x 17' balcony.

As far as price per square foot is concerned, the Vetro condo is less expensive, as one-bedrooms in the 09 tier are currently priced from the $240s to the $270s. The "A" tier unit in the Lofts at Roosevelt Collection is a bit larger, but it's also priced from the $300s to the $310s. Monthly assessments for one-bedrooms at the Lofts at Roosevelt Collection will run from $319 to $401, while Vetro assessments should cost between $240 to $270, according to a sales center agent.

One other development that should be included in the conversation is Winthrop Properties' Printers Corner, which is located within the same boundaries at 170 W Polk St. I wasn't able to included Printers Corner in the direct comparison because I don't have some of the necessary pricing data, but a comparable 769 square-foot one-bedroom floor plan in Printers Corner is at right. As Joe mentioned earlier in the week, one-bedrooms start in the low $300s there at Printers Corner.

- Rate and review The Lofts at Roosevelt Collection on NewHomeNotebook.com.
- Rate and review Vetro on NewHomeNotebook.com.
- Rate and review Printers Corner on NewHomeNotebook.com.

We've had an eye fixed on MCL Companies' 47-story tower at 505 N McClurg Ct in Streeterville for quite some time, but most of the discussion about ParkView Condominiums on Yo has had to do with its glassy figure and copper striping. Today I managed to reach Michael Hampton, the sales director for MCL Companies, who spoke with me about sales and floor plans.

Hampton says the building is about 80 percent sold, and there are still one- to three-bedroom units available in all floor plans. He says the most popular floor plans have been those located on the south and east sides that have lake and/or river views.

Prices don't appear to have changed recently, as one-bedrooms are priced from the $380s, two-bedrooms start in the $520s, and three-bedrooms start in the $840s. The two-acre park that will be located on top of the parking garage is scheduled for completion at the end of August. Deeded parking is an additional $60,000 at ParkView.

Hampton says that one of the most impressive units that's currently available is a combination of a one-bedroom / one-bath and a two-bedroom / two-bath that measures about 2,300 square feet. The combination unit is priced at $1.33 million, and Hampton says it has two balconies and features all Viking appliances. I don't have a floor plan for that combination unit, but below are the floor plans for floor plans D and E, which are the ones that Hampton says are used in the combo:

- Rate and review this project at NewHomeNotebook.com.

When Yo last covered Polk Street Station, back in September of 2007, reader The Urban Politician commented that developer Paramount Homes "seems to have all of their projects on hold." I had basically reached the same assumption from regularly passing the Grand Blue Line station on the way to the Yo office and noting the absence of Paramount's proposed Grand Station.

Lauren Schreyer of Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate said today that she's optimistic that Paramount will go ahead with Polk Street Station in Printers Row. Originally, this development had been called the Row Homes of Printers Row, and it was to include five row houses on the vacant parking lot at 777 S Dearborn St.

The current plans for 777 S Dearborn St call for about five three- to four-bedroom duplexes, and they sound pretty similar to those that Kate described last September, but Schreyer says the developer also plans to build seven full-floor units across the street, on the west side of Dearborn. Schreyer says that those full-floor units would be a bit bigger, clocking in at 2,700 to 3,500 square feet.

Schreyer plans to meet with the developer soon to find out if and when this development will get moving, but she hopes ground will break by the end of the year.

The Park Monroe, the peculiar office building conversion at 55 E Monroe St that has evoked some strong emotions from "flabbergasted" Yo commenters, is down to its last four one-bedroom condos, although two-bedrooms are still in abundance. Sales agent Audra Hall says that 38 of the 156 condos in the development are still available, which means that the building is slightly less than 80 percent sold.

All of those one-bedrooms are located on the west side of the building, in the "Citylights Collection," while the two-bedrooms are all located on the building's east side. Prices for the one-bedrooms run from the $450s to $490s for 950 to 1,100 square feet of living space. The two-bedrooms start in the $850s for a 1,450 square-foot condo, ranging up to $1.7 million for a 2,500 square-foot unit.

The option to combine units is gaining popularity, Hall says. Two combos have already been sold and another is currently in the works. However, she warns that there are only a limited number of adjacent units remaining with which it would be possible to combine. Time is also limited, because structural alterations to the building will finish in the fall.

Hall says that a two-bedroom model unit will be opening on the 42nd floor around Labor Day. Deliveries at The Park Monroe are expected to begin in November, proceeding with one floor per month through the spring. Hall expects construction to be completed by May 2009.

- Rate and review The Park Monroe at NewHomeNotebook.com

Park Boulevard is another South Side development that's long overdue for some new construction photos. It's been more than a year since a Yo writer went down to Bronzeville to snap some shots of Stateway Associates' mixed-income development, and although the picture above probably is representative of the kind of construction still going on at the project, it sounds like a lot has changed around the intersection of 35th and State streets over the past 12 months.

Almost 150 of the 211 homes planned for Park Boulevard's first phase are up and either occupied or ready for delivery, says sales manager Norma Baskin. People started moving into their homes last May, and several stores and restaurants including Starbucks Coffee, Jimmy Johns, National City Bank and FedEx Kinko's have moved into the available retail spaces.

Something I didn't notice until after I talked to Baskin was that a significant number of sales appear to have fallen through in the past year. Last April we reported that Park Boulevard's first phase was 50 percent sold. Baskin said yesterday that about one-third of the first-phase homes had sold or were under contract. We're no strangers to seeing sales estimates drop, but a reduction in the double digits is a little surprising.

Baskin did say that Park Boulevard had yet to see a single foreclosure. Whether that has any relation to the drop in sales number is anyone's guess - perhaps at-risk buyers thought twice about finalizing their purchases and moved on, resulting in some lower reported figures.

Either way, if Baskin is right, there should be approximately 140 homes available at Park Boulevard right now, ranging in price from the $140s for a one-bedroom condo to the $500s for a four-bedroom / 3.5-bath single-family home with a two-car garage.

Our April 2007 post suggested the second phase of construction would begin sometime in the third quarter of this year. Baskin was a little more vague about the project's timetable, saying only that Phase II "was on the horizon."

Below are a couple of undated photos from the Park Boulevard Web site.

Speaking of Lake Park Crescent (ahem), the first phase of market-rate homes at the neighborhood-sized project in North Kenwood-Oakland is about half sold, according to sales associate Robbi Davis. Construction recently wrapped on some of the project's single-family townhouses (seen above), and those homes will start delivering this month. Some are still available starting in the $690s, she says.

Lake Park Crescent's stock of "CityHomes" - three-bedroom duplexes and one-bedroom, single-floor condos - start in the $190s and are ready for occupancy. Several two-bedroom / 2.5-bath duplexes in the development's six-flats are also available for the $520s or higher and will start delivering in August.

Since most of the unsold homes are already built out or are nearing completion, buyers won't have much control over the look of their kitchens and bathrooms. Davis believes that won't be a problem for most people, as the package of finishes developer Draper and Kramer put together for the homes is already "fully loaded" with things like granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.

Draper and Kramer is also offering to take $10,000 to $20,000 off of closing costs depending on the type of home purchased, according to the Lake Park Crescent Web site.

Buyers started moving into their Lake Park Crescent homes about 90 days ago, Davis says. The project's master plan calls for even more market-rate construction, although Draper and Kramer will not be building those homes, Davis says.

There are still two available units in this new elevator building at 742 N Ada St in West Town. Rubloff sales agent Susan Kanter says that both units are second-floor three-bedroom / two-bath condos that come with an attached parking space in a garage. Because these units are located on the second floor, they benefit from outdoor, garage-top decks that Rubloff lists at 10' X 15'.

The unit listed by Rubloff is being offered for $489,000. Kanter says that both units are similar, and since both are located on the building's second floor, I think it's fair to assume that the other one is priced comparably.

As far as neighborhood amenities are concerned, Eckart Park and the Ida Crown Natatorium are located just a few doors down, as Joe noted in his April update. A school is located across the street.

Here's a tale of two Woodlawn developments that seem to be heading in opposite directions.

The first, the 25-unit Living Green Lofts at 1501 E 65th St, is being shelved for the foreseeable future, according to Pamela Holt of @properties.

The other, a new six-flat development just south of the University of Chicago Law School, is already under construction at 6105 - 6107 S University Ave. (That's a rendering of the project posted above.)

Holt says that plans are in place for the construction of several more six-flats, but this first building will lead the way. None of the units have sold yet, and construction has just begun, but Holt expects work to be completed and deliveries to begin this fall.

The duplexes range from two- to four-bedrooms with two to three baths, and they run from 1,200 to 2,400 square feet. Prices range from the $270s to the $420s. I'll try to get my hands on some floor plans and post them soon.

ADDED: Soon after posting this, Pamela Holt emailed some floor plans. The below floor plans are for the three units in one building. As I understand it, the duplex down comprises the basement and first floor, the duplex up is the third and fourth floors, while the middle unit is just a single floor, on the second story.

During a recent pass through Bridgeport, I came across Mega Development's Bridgeport Condominiums, a large 67-unit development prominently located at the corner of 35th and Halsted streets. It sticks out, like a little slice of Lake View in the middle of the South Side.

Camilla Protto says that about 30 percent of the condos in the building are sold, which is considerably less than the 50 percent of sales we had reported in March 2007.

"Permits were delayed, and many buyers couldn’t wait. It’s very common in this area," she says.

Six one-bedroom and about 30 two-bedroom condos are still available in floor plans that range from 767 to 1351 square feet, according to Protto. Prices run from the $190s to the $330s, and garage parking is offered for an extra $25,000. Protto says that retail tenants currently include a bank, a chiropractor, and a Buffalo Wings & Rings restaurant that will open soon.