South Loop condos transform hideout to hidden treasure

Interior rendering of Lexington Park Condominiums, 2138 S Indiana Ave, Chicago

The intersection of Cermak Road and Michigan Avenue in the South Loop once was home to the infamous Lexington Hotel, a hideout for Chicago’s most notorious gangster, Al Capone.

If Scarface thought his hotel was the lap of luxury, he would be awe-struck by its eco-friendly, LEED-certified successor. The Chieftain Group’s Lexington Park Condominiums is a unique project that connects a 35-story glass-and-concrete condo tower with a neighboring seven-story, low-rise loft building.

“In a way, Lexington Park is still a hideaway or hidden treasure,” says Britta Rivera, vice president of sales for Chieftain’s U.S. branch. “There are not a lot of high rises in this area, and Lexington Park kind of has the place to itself.”

What’s really nice about that, Rivera says, is that Lexington Park has gorgeous views of the city and the lake.

“Remember, the shoreline bends in this area,” she says. “And that gives our residents a truly natural panoramic view.”

“Lexington Park has a classic contemporary design,” says Jeff Hrubec, vice president of VOA, the project’s architects. “But we added an asymmetrical characteristic through the use of intersecting planes, and we wed the three elements of the project to each other by running a continuous concrete band from the tower through the parking and mid-rise facades.”

Add to that a gentle tint in the glass, a heavily landscaped, park-like rooftop over the parking decks, and flared concrete atop the tower, and Lexington Park becomes almost as much a work of art as an example of fine architecture.

Rendering of Lexington Park Condominiums, 2138 S Indiana Ave, ChicagoThe ground floor houses 18,000 square feet of retail space and a tower lobby made ultra-contemporary and welcoming by a blend of stainless steel, stone and soft-colored millwork.
“The lobby is very inviting,” says Rivera. “And the retail space brings to the building a number of daily conveniences in order to accommodate the residents.”

The tower condos offer traditional designs with a lot of open space, while the mid-rise features classic “soft lofts” with concrete ceilings and partial walls that maximize air flow and natural light. All of the residences feature floor-to-ceiling windows.

The tower condos come with 9-foot ceiling heights, while the ceiling height in the lofts is 10 feet. Both buildings feature bamboo flooring in the living areas and granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances in the kitchens. The tower units have large balconies or terraces with glass guardrails that provide light and sight but block the wind.

The LEED Silver certification is a result of the use of bamboo flooring, rubberized cabinetry, local building materials, and the expansive green roof, where residents can make use of grills, picnic areas and a party room that, together with a fitness center, occupy the parking structure’s top level.

The tower condos consist of one-bedroom/one-bath units (with and without dens), two-bedroom/one-bath units, and two-bedroom/two-bath units (with and without dens). The units range in size from 656 square feet to 1,346 square feet and are priced from the $230s to the $410s. Deeded parking is available for $34,900.

The lofts are available in one-bedroom/one-bath layouts (with and without a bonus room), as well as one two-bedroom/two-bath unit. The lofts range in size from 728 to 1,174 square feet for the one-bedrooms, which are priced from the $250s to the $310s. The one remaining two-bedroom has 1,212 square feet of living space and is priced in the $370s.

One-, two- and three-bedroom penthouses are still available on floors 32 and 33. They range in size from 1,068 to 1,645 square feet and are priced from $480s to the $720s.

The lofts will be ready for delivery in the winter of 2008, while deliveries in the tower condos will begin in the spring of 2009.

The Lexington Park Condominiums sales center and model are located at 2138 S Indiana Ave. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Lexington Park Condominiums
1 – 3 bedrooms
$230s to $720s
www.lexingtonparkcondos.com
312-842-2202

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