Construction has started at the Montgomery, the 243-unit condo conversion of the former Montgomery Ward & Co. headquarters, at 500 W. Superior, in River North.
The 28-story glass and white travertine marble highrise was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the architect behind the World Trade Center, and built in 1972 as office space. Renovation architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and Pappageorge Haymes have reconfigured the tower for residential space. In one of the more obvious changes, the dark glass is being replaced with new blue-green windows with brushed aluminum frames, according to Jennifer Arons, senior vice president of Centrum Properties.
Three furnished models are being dismantled during the current construction phase and may be reassembled on the sixth floor later, Arons said.
“Prospective buyers still have plenty to view right now at the Montgomery’s ground-level sales center,” Arons said. A video on the development, simulated views from every floor, floor plans and a selection of interior finishes are still on display.
The project has 16 floor plans with one to three bedrooms on floors six through 26. Floors 26 through 28 offer up to 10,000 square feet of raw space buyers can customize into unique penthouses.
One-bedrooms are priced from the $280s, two-bedrooms from the $340s and three-bedrooms from the $740s.
Units feature 10.5- to 13-foot ceilings, recessed lighting, oak floors, granite countertops, KitchenAid stainless-steel appliances, Grohe fixtures and master baths with six-foot soaking tubs and separate showers.
“All residences at the Montgomery are designed for spaciousness, with lofty floor plans that feature dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows,” Arons said. “The unobstructed views are breathtaking, extending as far as Wrigley Field to the north, U.S. Cellular Field to the south and Lake Michigan to the east.”
More than 100 condos have been sold so far at the Montgomery, according to Arons.