A time will come, says Ted Reese, when he’ll have to give up physical pursuits for “mind stimulation.” Those days are a long way down the road – Reese is only 64, and he plans to be involved “for evermore” in the privately held corporation he founded and owns, Cadence Environmental Energy. But when he can no longer sail or play golf, he says his condo at The Legacy at Millennium Park, the 70-story high-rise currently under construction at Michigan and Monroe, will put him a short walk from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the other downtown cultural attractions he loves.
Reese, who is based in Long Beach, Ind. with homes in Fort Myers, Fla. and Bay Harbor, Mich., has a longstanding connection to Chicago. In the ’70s and early ’80s, he owned a condo in Harbor Point, at 155 N. Harbor Dr. He sold it in the ’90s, figuring that he could stay at the University Club, at 76 E Monroe, on his trips to Chicago. When he learned that The Legacy would be connected by a skybridge to the U Club, it seemed to him the best of both worlds: a private condo right next to restaurants, a gym, social and cultural events, and hotel rooms to stash visiting relatives and friends.
He was also drawn to Millennium Park, which in his view has made Michigan Avenue more lively and interesting. But he’s glad his stretch of Michigan Avenue isn’t too busy. “It doesn’t seem to have the crazy shoppers” you find heading north towards the Magnificent Mile, he says. “It’s maintained a certain peacefulness.”