Moving to the Loop: Tim Engel hopes for an urban getaway

Jones Prep

Tim Engel, an insurance agent from Hinckley, Ill., was seeking “peace and quiet” when he bought a second home in the Loop. At first, he thought Wisconsin might be a good place to buy vacation property, but eventually decided the drive would prove too arduous. Instead, he chose a condo at Printer’s Corner, currently under construction at 170 W Polk. While he’s well aware that the busy, noisy city will surround him (he’s long visited Chicago to see theater and Bears games), he’s hoping his 15th floor condo will be a haven of calm, where he and his family can look out at the view of the Sears Tower and relax.

Still, he plans to spend plenty of time down in the fray. And instead of having to get in the car and drive an hour to get home, he’ll be able to partake of “spur of the moment fun” – a midnight cruise at Navy Pier, for example, or a trip to Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co. in Lincoln Park. “It’s a zoo in there,” he says. “My wife loves it.” There’s more and more to do in Chicago these days, he’s found. “It’s a beautiful city, and clean,” he says. “You don’t know that until you come downtown.”
His mother was among the doubters. “She remembered Chicago as a place where you’d get gunned down by gangsters,” he said. A nighttime visit to the Loop convinced her otherwise. “She couldn’t believe it,” he says. “She changed her attitude about Chicago.”

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