Here’s a peek inside Prairie District Lofts, 1727 S Prairie Ave, the condo conversion of a South Loop apartment building that was once a Kodak film manufacturing facility. New timber loft projects are rare in the South Loop these days, so this rustic 116-unit building – a hybrid of timber and concrete lofts – is a nice find. And it’s full of quirky surprises, as we discovered.
In an effort to keep prices relatively low, Kargil Development is modernizing the kitchens but leaving the bathrooms “as is”. Kitchens come with 1.25 inch granite countrtops, stainless steel appliances and Grohe fixtures. Bathrooms have white laminate countertops and cabinetry and white tile floors. The units, which have one, two, three or four bedrooms are priced from the $220s to the $490s and an on-site sales center will open in mid-March.Lofty features include exposed brick walls, timber beams and columns, exposed concrete ceilings and columns and 12- to 20-foot ceiling heights.
Huge steel fire doors adorn walls in common areas and some units (see photo). Several lofts still contain old Kodak vaults. The spaces were transformed into closets when the building was converted into apartments.
“I think the safes were about protection of Kodak’s fragile celluloid film – keeping it in a controlled temperature, away from the light,” says sales manager Bill Gutrich of marketing agent Frankel & Giles. Gutrich can think of another use for the vaults: “Actually, they could be pre-constructed Panic Rooms,” he jokes.