“It would be great to get the architect’s thoughts on this one, really. I’ve passed it on foot a number of times, and it never fails to reach out and grab me. Forcefully. Violently …
“… I like big balconies and for residents, these will be spectacular during the 90 minutes of nice weather Chicago sees each year. But from the street, this is a two-pound bird with 20-pound wings. Yes, the proportions are a little off.”
– Barry Pearce, on Feb. 23, 2007.
Remember the Provenance Condominiums? Go back to Yo’s only discussion about the homes and you’ll see a lot of mixed reactions. Several readers thought the design out of place for the 5200 block of North Kenmore Avenue. “I am thinking… Atlanta…,” said Devyn. “Looks like Santa Monica on the prairie,” added Joe Zekas.
At the same time, Barry and a few others admired developer Phenix Sun’s ambition: “At least this is something different, and the developer thought both about design and about engaging the street instead of reaching for the standard condo template that’s popped up all over town,” Barry wrote.
Two years have passed since that conversation. Has it been enough time for Edgewater residents to warm to the development? One thing is certain: Buyers haven’t flocked to Provenance. As of today, 17 of its 20 units are still for sale. Maybe that’ll change this spring, now that Phenix Sun and Rubloff agent Liane Pruchnik have unveiled a series of price reductions for those homes.
Using the MLS and Provenance’s old price sheet, you can see $26,000 reductions on the development’s four listed three-bedrooms and one of its listed two-bedrooms, the equivalent of packaging in a single underground parking space at no additional cost. The price of one 1,275 square-foot two-bedroom was cut by $31,000, from the $280s down to the $250s, while a 901 square-foot one-bedroom saw an adjustment of just $15,700, from the $230s to the $210s.
Pruchnik describes the five-story Provenance as an elevator building with radiant heat and spacious terraces, located just a block east of the Berwyn Red Line stop and a couple blocks west of Lincoln Park and the lake. Each of the 17 units was built out with a slightly different finish package — colors of granite countertops differ from unit to unit, for example — and they all can deliver in 30 days or less, she says. (Buyers who use the developer’s preferred lender can close in two weeks.)
The development has received FHA and VA approval for qualifying units, Pruchnik says.
We should get some interior pictures from Pruchnik later today. In the meantime, here are a few thumbnail-sized shots of Provenance’s staged model, courtesy of Rubloff’s Web site.
