North Center garment factories tailor-made for loft conversion

A developer has sewn up a deal to convert a pair of North Center garment-making factories into a 91-unit loft development.

The Kopley Group is transforming two buildings at 1800 W Grace St into The Lofts at 1800, a collection of one- and two-bedroom loft condos, said project manager Steve Karavalos.

The heyday of loft conversions in North Center was in the early 1990s, when developers recycled a number of commercial buildings along heavily industrial Ravenswood Avenue and surrounding streets, said veteran developer and real estate agent Charles Huzenis.

“It’s a real battle to find convertible buildings these days, because many are covered by zoning laws protecting them as manufacturing facilities, he said.

Kopley is converting a six-story concrete building and a three-story timber dwelling previously occupied by a company that manufactured graduation caps and gowns.

The concrete building will house 70 units with exposed ductwork, floor-to-ceiling windows and concrete ceilings and columns. The lofts range from 850 to 2,500 square feet and some have dens or duplex layouts, Karavalos said.

A glass walkway with an atrium will link the concrete dwelling to the timber building, which will contain 21 lofts ranging from 800 to 1,450 square feet. Units feature 10-foot ceiling heights and timber rafters and columns, Karavalos said.

All the lofts will have stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and in-unit washer and dryer hookups, and the elevator buildings will have rooftop decks with views of the lake and Wrigley Field, Karavalos said.

The development is a short walk from a stretch Lincoln Avenue between Addison Street and Irving Park Road that is a little sparse, but over the last few years has filled in with retailers such as Trader Joe’s and CB2, and upscale eateries such as Sola and T Spot Sushi & Tea Bar. The developer hasn’t finalized prices but expects to open an on-site sales center in mid-April and anticipates delivering the units in September 2008.

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