Grand Regent Park homes bring suburban space to city living
The notion of combining the benefits of city and suburban living is not a new one. Europeans began doing it many years ago, originally in the form of gated communities nestled amongst the urban sprawl of a Paris or a London.
Brownstone Properties, Inc. is bringing the concept to West Rogers Park with The Residences of Regent Park, a luxury community of single-family homes, flats and townhouses. The rare eight-acre tract that made the project possible is located at 6700 N. Kedzie Ave., just east of a wooded sculpture park, a winding jogging trail and acres of public park that run alongside the North Branch of the Chicago River.
The first phase of 36 large single-family homes sits on oversized lots on the 3100 block of West Wallen Avenue. These homes have the sort of specs that demand a grand entrance, and Brownstone accommodates with a private street marked by a stone pillar entranceway.
“These are very high-end, top-shelf Chicago-style residences,” says Jeff Renterghem, a senior associate at architects Pappageorge / Haymes Ltd. “There’s a lot of Lincoln Park influence, with attention paid to traditional detail and to the front entry, the doors and stoops and the like.”
The elegant brick and stone homes, while reminiscent of a gated enclave in historic London, nevertheless reflect the architectural flavor that permeates Chicago.
The six-bedroom 3.5-bath “Estate Series” model home has about 4,500 square feet of living area and a two-car garage. A grand entry stairway leads to a foyer with a guest closet, and the main floor features 10-foot ceilings and red oak flooring.
The home has a living room with a ventless fireplace and a formal dining room, both detailed with wainscoting and cove moldings. A gallery leads past the grand hall stairway and powder room to a “great room” containing the kitchen and a breakfast nook, with steps leading down to the rear entry and a large family room, where a fireplace is optional.
The kitchens have KitchenAid stainless appliances, granite countertops and a butler’s pantry with a second dishwasher and sink.
The grand design continues upstairs, where four bedrooms, two full baths and laundry facilities are located. The large master suite contains a bedroom, a sitting room, a walk-in closet and a master bath featuring a Kohler tub with marble surround, separate marble shower, double-bowl vanity and separate lavatory room with linen closet.
Still not enough space? Well, there’s also the lower level to consider, where a family room with an optional wet bar, a full bath, a storage room, copious closet space and two more bedrooms round out the residence.
The Estate Series homes are being built on 30-foot lots, and Renterghem says that was key in designing these sorts of spaces.
“It definitely helps with the floor plans when we have more room to work with,” Renterghem says. “It means that all the rooms in the living area plus the master bedroom are much larger than normal.”
Six of the homes are under construction, and at press time, a formal grand opening of the professionally decorated model was scheduled for April 2006, according to John J. Keich, a partner in Brownstone Properties.
The “Mansion Series” homes will be built on even larger lots, with up to nine bedrooms, seven-plus baths, and as much as 11,000 square feet of living area.
Prices for all of the single-family homes will start at more than $1 million.
Phase II, the Embassy Club Luxury Flats, features 20 luxury residences built in five Georgian-style brick and stone buildings, again with pillar entries. Each building will house four full-floor units with three bedrooms and 3.5 baths, ranging from 2,995 to 3,649 square feet. The units are as large or larger than many single-family homes, and each features oversized family, living and dining rooms and a large kitchen. Most also will have private decks.
“These residences are everything you ever wanted in a single-family home,” Renterghem says. “The extra-wide floor plans, the ornamental details, it’s all there. These are single-floor ‘mansionesque’ homes.”
Construction of the Luxury Flats is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2006, with delivery slated for late summer 2007. Prices will begin at more than $1 million, and sales will start in the spring of 2006.
A third phase of Regent Park, Park Plaza, calls for 60 new townhomes priced from $200,000, with construction to begin in the summer of 2006.
Brownstone partner James Raymond points out that although Regent Park offers “suburban” perks – a quiet community, award-winning schools, abundant parks and convenient shopping – the benefits of the city are less than 20 minutes away.