Snitzer Homes has unveiled 10 new single-family home designs that offer classic Chicago architecture and even more space than earlier models at Bridgeport Village, 3300 S. Racine, in the Near Southwest neighborhood of Bridgeport.
The neighborhood, famous both for its connection to the Daley clan and for the gritty blue-collar streets where politics was raised to an art form, has undergone a resurgence of late. Thanks to an influx of new construction – smaller and in-fill developments as well as the larger Bridgeport Village – and the area’s proximity to downtown, a new group of buyers has been snapping up homes in the once insular community.
Snitzer has tried to respect the neighborhood context in terms of design, though when it comes to size, these homes dwarf the surrounding cottages and bungalows that make up most of Bridgeport.
Of the 10 new home styles available, the “premium standard” designs are three-story houses with English basements. They have five bedrooms, 4.5 baths and two-car garages on 25.5-foot lots, priced from the $670s.
The new “platinum” homes are priced from the $840s to $1.165 million. They are built on lots of 32 to 38 feet, many on corners. The three-story houses have five bedrooms, 4.5 baths, three-car garages and – hold onto your White Sox cap – up to 6,503 square feet. Features include select oak flooring, Viking stainless steel appliances, granite counters, 42-inch cabinets, five-foot showers in master baths and large skylights in the third-floor recreation rooms and master baths.
“The idea was to create a community that provides a similar look to the way elegant single-family homes were built 70 or 80 years ago on the city’s North Side and South Side, with varied classic styles so that each residence looks authentic, not cookie cutter,” said Tom Snitzer, president of Snitzer Homes.
Rob Kirk of Group A Architects designed the floor plans, which can be customized, and Scott Sonoc, of Sonoc Architects, designed the 10 new facades. Snitzer has touted the project as the largest development of single-family homes in more than 50 years.
The formerly industrial land along the Chicago River has given Snitzer the opportunity to design a community abundant with green space, including a “midway pleasance.” When complete, the project will feature more than a mile of landscaped river walks and 12 parks in addition to the homes’ private yards.
“Thirty percent of our homes are double-wide corner lots, with great views on three sides and 3-car garages,” Snitzer said. The larger home designs were a response to buyer demand in a market saturated with condos but short on large single-families, according to Snitzer.
“As Bridgeport Village became popular with both North Side and South Side home buyers more and more families were choosing our larger home designs,” Snitzer said. “We felt there was demand in the market for the kind of higher-quality, vintage-style homes built after 1900 in the Lincoln Park and Kenwood neighborhoods. This housing involves a higher degree of architectural detail and craftsmanship, particularly in the masonry exteriors of the homes.”
The 50-unit second phase of Bridgeport Village is scheduled to grand open soon on a seven-acre tract along the river between 30th and 32nd streets, just north of Phase I.