New timber loft developments are hard to find in Chicago these days. Most of the wonderful old timber industrial buildings were converted into lofts over the last two decades. But we were pleasantly surprised to find eight timber loft developments among the 37 current loft projects we counted. One of the newest timber developments on the market is The Kopley Group‘s The Lofts at 1800, a collection of 91 one- to three-bedroom units at 1800 W Grace St. The units (some of which are concrete) are priced from the $270s to the $650s. Another newbie is Lipe Property Company‘s The Manduro at University Village, 1435 W 15th St, where units have one or two bedrooms (some with dens) and are priced from the $190s to the $450s. The developments do not yet have Web sites.
Three of the 12 new-construction “loft” projects available in 2007 also feature timber. The three developments – Elston Timber Lofts (pictured), University Crossings Lofts and Grand Timber Lofts – are by Blue Slate Properties. Developer Victor Ayala builds with sustainably harvested Douglas fir and red oak from West Coast lumberyards.