Quite a few of The Habitat Company‘s apartment buildings included “plaza” in their name: Newberry Plaza, Asbury Plaza, River Plaza, Elm Street Plaza, Columbus Plaza, Huron Plaza, West Point Plaza, Kenmore Plaza and Kingsbury Plaza.

Habitat’s newest offering, Hubbard Place, departs from that naming scheme but includes a plaza that’s seems destined to become a favorite warm-weather gathering spot for office workers and residents in the immediate River North neighborhood. Shaded public outdoor space with seating is scarce in the area, and precious.

When I visited Hubbard Place two days ago much of the landscaping was already in place. The plaza will include two water features and a large, Habitat-commissioned sculpture. The driveway at left in the above photo, shot from a 12th floor balcony at Hubbard Place, leads to a porte-cochère that shelters visitors from the elements before they enter the lobby.

The plaza is just one of many unusual features that set Hubbard Place apart from the crop of new rental apartment buildings in downtown Chicago. I’ll take you inside for a closer look in coming days, but here’s a teaser: a partial view from the window in the master bath of a two-bedroom east-facing apartment. The window indent is framed in stone and accented by a band of glass tile.

I’ve seen a number of baths with windows in condo buildings, some of them quite dramatic, but can’t recall another in a rental building.