The mid-rise component of Ranquist Development and JODI Development‘s Urban Sandbox is taking shape at 1615 N Wolcott Ave in Wicker Park. (Or is it Bucktown, as the project’s URL suggests? I guess it depends on whether you draw the line at North Avenue or the Bloomingdale Line.)
I haven’t had any luck tracking down developer-agent Karen Ranquist today, but the last time we talked, she said two of the mid-rise’s eight condos were under contract, and that the rest were selling from the $690s to $1.2 million.
The MLS has a listing for one of those condos, a three-bedroom / two-bath home located on the southwest corner of the mid-rise’s third floor. According to the floor plan at right, the three bedrooms measure 13′ x 16′, 10′ x 11′ and 9′ x 11′. A 20′ x 15′ “great room” and a 10′ x 10′ dining area wrap around the home’s island kitchen. Adjoining the living space is a 24′ x 6′ terrace overlooking Wolcott to the west.
Ranquist has also listed two of Urban Sandbox’s three four-bedroom / 3.5 bath single-family homes on the MLS. One, a 6,433 square-foot home at 1625 N Wolcott Ave, is priced at $2.49 million. The other, a 6,163 square-foot home at 1627 N Wolcott Ave, is priced at $2.34 million.
UPDATE: I just got off the phone with Karen Ranquist, who said that three of Urban Sandbox’s condos (including one of its fourth-floor “penthouses”) were under contract, and that negotiations were already underway on a fourth unit. One single-family home (the one you see in the above left picture) has closed, and the home at 1625 should close in September. Construction on 1627 should begin within the next month, she said.
– Rate and review Urban Sandbox’s condos at NewHomeNotebook.com.
– Rate and review Urban Sandbox’s single-family homes at NewHomeNotebook.com.
I always consider North Ave the street that divides Wicker Park and Bucktown (1600). So I would say that this is indeed in Bucktown.
Sara:
It seems like more and more people consider North as the dividing line, too. I live on Claremont between North and Wabansia, and if I had to guess, I would say that most of the 20- and 30-somethings on my street and around the corner on Wabansia identify the area as Bucktown.
I asked Lino Darchun of Coldwell Banker about it when he was visiting the Yo office this winter, since he’s very interested in Wicker Park’s history, and even he said that the blocks between North and Bloomingdale look and feel different than what he considers Wicker Park.
I want to say that the City of Chicago’s interactive map had the Bloomingdale tracks as WP’s northern boundary as recently as February or March, but I noticed in late spring that it drew the line at North. I could be wrong, though.
While somewhat unique in design I hope folks don’t forget that all of these properties are zoned commercial (C-1-2), this means the first floor of all of these properties must be utilized for commercial purposes-a work live initiative and a great tax incentive for those that can legally use such space.