West Loop addition

565 Quincy

At 565 Quincy, 7-story loft plus 11 glass floors equals one eclectic building

Topping a vintage seven-story brick warehouse with 11 stories of glass is a bold architectural statement, but Belgravia Group is confident that 565 Quincy, a hybrid of lofts and new-construction condos, will be as funky and forward-looking as the buyers the developer is targeting.

Architectural firm Pappageorge / Haymes is transforming an existing 1920s tan brick and concrete warehouse into an 18-story high-rise. The older building will have 54 one- and two-bedroom lofts, and the vertical glass and metal addition will contain 187 one- and two-bedroom condos.

Pappageorge / Haymes is no novice when it comes to pastiche projects, having layered six stories of new construction atop a 10-story cold storage warehouse in the South Loop to create Dearborn Tower, also a mix of lofts and new condos. There the architect unified the disparate parts of the building by using similar materials and colors and by echoing the older building’s square windows in the new floors.

But 565 Quincy is quite a different undertaking, a daring juxtaposition and a greater challenge of proportion and aesthetics. “We’ve come close, but we’ve never designed 11 stories on top of seven,” says David Haymes, a partner in Pappageorge / Haymes.

“The shape of the addition follows the grid of the original building, but shape is about the only similarity,” Haymes says. “The new structure is an aesthetic counterpoint to the original building. The glass and metal-paneled skin create a stark architectural differential. It gives off a playful, perhaps even a bit of a funky appearance.”

Had the architect tried to mimic the original architecture in 11 new stories, the result would have looked and felt artificial. Better to embrace the fact that you’re building something new, and while you’re at it, stagger the balconies to break the pattern established by the first seven floors.

The development fits the fabric of the West Loop, a pastiche neighborhood with its own spirit of innovation and an artsy-industrial flavor. Prospective buyers have been intrigued by the building’s eclectic design as Belgravia takes reservations, according to marketing coordinator, Jaqui Simon.

Belgravia chairman and CEO, David “Buzz” Ruttenberg, says that both the design and location of 565 Quincy, which sits on the edge of Greek Town and minutes from the Loop, will appeal to a younger and a “younger-thinking” audience.

“Here we are creating an aesthetically appealing building located east of Halsted Street, close to the Loop and the expressways with its front door on Quincy, a quiet street,” Ruttenberg says. “It bumps into Union Station, so the train is at your doorstep. And with one-bedroom units starting under $200,000, it is very affordable. It’s architecture, price and location all wrapped into one.”

The project’s amenities also target younger buyers. The bi-level lobby leads to the “Q-Room” on the lower level, which contains – get this – a bowling alley, a putting green, a fitness center, a private lounge with a kitchen and a movie screening room. The building also will have a bicycle room and individual storage lockers.

“The design of the project doesn’t lend itself to lower-level parking,” says Ruttenberg, adding that the garage is located on floors one through four. “So we decided to get a little crazy with building amenities down there – hence the bowling alley.”

The loft condos are situated on floors four through seven, immediately above the garage, and the new-construction units begin on the eighth floor.

Finishes common to the lofts and new-construction units include hardwood floors in living areas, G.E. appliances, granite kitchen countertops, 42-inch kitchen cabinets, Kohler bathroom fixtures, cultured marble countertops in master baths, multimedia prewiring and washer / dryer hookups.

The lofts will have new oversized windows, full-width terraces, exposed concrete ceilings and ductwork, and some partial walls. The one- to two-bedroom lofts range from 855 to 1,335 square feet and are priced from the $270s to the $450s. Some of the one-bedroom lofts include dens or multipurpose rooms and some have 1.5 baths. The two-bedroom lofts include two baths.

The new-construction condos range from 547 square feet for the smallest junior one-bedroom to 1,227 square feet for the largest two-bedroom. These units, which have one to two baths, are priced from the high $190s to the mid-$360s.

Parking ranges from $33,000 to $50,000 per spot, and tandem spaces are available from $58,000 to $62,000.

Delivery is anticipated in spring of 2009, according to Simon. At press time, an on-site sales center for 565 Quincy was scheduled to open in mid-August at 231 S. Jefferson St. (around the corner from the development’s main address), and a Web site for the project was under construction.

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