List Price: $574,900
The Property: In a downtown condo, a kitchen that puts everything close at hand is the kind of place where you can really cook. But if you want to know what sizzles, check out the nighttime views from this condo on the 12th floor of an old printing warehouse in the South Loop near Printers Row.
From here, you look at all of downtown from its south. The view stretches west-to-east from the South Branch of the Chicago River, all the way across the Loop to the backs of the buildings along Michigan Avenue. Through the broad windows in the kitchen, the living-dining area and the two bedrooms, the nighttime lights of the city surround you.
But you’re not just going to look at all of that, you’re going to get out in it. “You can walk to Millennium Park, the Art Institute, Target, the Blue Line, the Brown Line, the Red Line, the Orange Line,” says Marielena Kenny, who with Joe Kenny bought the space raw 16 years ago when the building was going condo.
The condo is two blocks from all the historical splendor of Printers Row, which these days is a wonderful place to be. It used to be sort of an island surrounded by parking lots and decay, but as the South Loop has developed, it’s gotten bigger and better schools; more neighbors in the neighborhood’s colleges and new homes; and shopping all around, especially along Roosevelt Road. This has really become a city neighborhood where a family can live.
And the condo works for a family as well. As you can see in today’s video, the second bedroom, set up for two children with built-in beds and bookcases, features north-facing windows that showcase all those great Loop buildings and—remember, this is the kids’ room—El trains rolling by a few blocks north. I’d like to be one of the kids growing up in this room.
The room has storage for toys and other items, but maybe somebody moves in here who doesn’t have kids or doesn’t want this room to be the kids’ bedroom. No problem: the built-in beds are easily removed, leaving a substantial wall of built-in shelves for an office or media room. You could also make it a second master bedroom because it has its own connected bath.
On the other side of the home is the other bedroom, now used as the master, with a larger and more fabulous bathroom. Unlike all the other spaces, this one looks primarily east. At a distance, you see the highrises of Michigan Avenue, closer up are the historical buildings on Printers Row, and then immediately east of the building is Metra’s LaSalle Street station. It’s down ten stories from the condo, so you’re not looking at trains or hearing much of them. What you’re looking at is all the tall buildings—and you won’t really feel dwarfed by them, because like all the other rooms in the space, the ceilings in the master bedroom go up 15 feet.
But there’s a space where the ceiling goes up even higher: the rooftop deck, where at the moment there’s nothing above but sky. You come up one flight from the living space, along the way passing a small mezzanine with an office, and out onto a 600-square-foot terrace, about one-third the size of the indoor space.
It’s all outdoor space now, but a new owner can make all of it indoor space as well. The unit comes with the right to build on this portion of roof. You can enclose the entire space and put a terrace on top, or build just part of it and have a terrace out front, soaking up the views of the skyline. You can do all kinds of things—a new master suite, a study, or media room—and with all the wonderful architecture all around, you’re sure to cook up something sweet.
Price Points: The asking price includes two indoor parking spaces.
Listing Agent: Nancy Thomas of Koenig & Strey Real Living, 312-671-1191 and nthomas@koenigstrey.com