Hindsight is a wonderful thing, of course, but does anyone else regret not buying a condo with kick-ass views in the Loop two or three years ago? Or jumping on the very limited opportunities that existed even before then? That’s how Yo’s truly felt last night after listening to developers and city leaders discuss the impact of Millennium Park on downtown real estate at The Gerald Fogelson Forum on Real Estate at Roosevelt University.

Louis D’Angelo, president of Metropolitan Properties of Chicago, says that back in 1996 when he was trying to sell lenders and buyers people on condos at The Residences of 330 South Michigan – a conversion of the upper floors of the McCormick Building (pictured), which was a pioneering Loop high-rise development – he’d have to spend a good 15 minutes directing a buyer around a map of downtown Chicago so that he or she could get used to the idea of buying a home in the traditional business district south of the river.

Back then, D’Angelo was selling east-facing units for about $200 a square foot. “I used to sell the area,” he says. “It was a huge challenge; we couldn’t get the top residential brokers to bring clients across the river.”

D’Angelo credits Mesa Development’s sold-out The Heritage at Millennium Park (and of course, the park itself) with focusing buyers’ attention on the Loop.

In 2006, at D’Angelo’s latest project, Metropolitan Tower, at 310 S Michigan Ave, east-facing condos will set you back around $611 a square foot. We’ll have some video video coverage of last night’s forum for you shortly.