Our post on Chicago’s $1 million-plus new townhouses prompted some oohing and ahhing over their amenities and finishes: the Viking appliances at 2055 N Orleans, the front and back yards at Hartland Park II. The size of these townhouses is another, probably more important, way to gauge their value. The 45 townhomes at Hartland Park II, priced beginning in the $800s, range from 2,700 to 4,700 square feet, while the rowhouses at 2055 N Orleans, priced from $1.675 million, range from 4,100 to 5,000 square feet. The comparably priced Parkhomes at Lakeshore East will range from 2,921 to 3,956 square feet, according to a press release from the developer.
The Parkhomes offer less square footage for the price, but they also boast a prime location in the Loop directly north of Millennium Park (both 2055 N Orleans and Hartland Park are in Lincoln Park). Living in a townhouse downtown (especially at Lakeshore East, which will be dominated by high-rises) raises the question of whether residents will feel as if they’re “nestled among the monolith monstrosities,” as commenter Calumetman put it.
This is the yin and yang of high-density living: to find a livable space with privacy but in the center of the action. In a recent conversation with Yo, Jim Loewenberg of Magellan Development Group, developer of Lakeshore East, said that placing the low-rise Parkhomes among high-rises will give Lakeshore East the feel of parts of the Gold Coast.
Some of Chicago’s finest townhouses, or “rowhomes” if you want to sound classy, are located in the Gold Coast and throughout the Near North Side, and many have high-rises for neighbors. Land costs in such prime locations will keep their numbers low and their prices comparatively high. But if the homes are well built, the appeal of townhouse space and privacy in a high-density neighborhood should continue to make them good long-term investments.