The development has a New York name—SoHo—but the 15 condominiums and 17 townhouses at South and Home avenues take advantage of some of Oak Park’s homegrown strengths: mass transit (there is a CTA el station across the street), historic architecture, and lively retail offerings (the development is only one block removed from a village shopping district).

SoHo is also one of Oak Park’s greenest developments, though it didn’t start out that way. "There was nothing green about it, but that’s the direction we think it has to go," says Jonathan Shack, a co-owner of the Berwyn-based Homescape, which took over from the original developers. Now SoHo’s homes will come with extrathick wall and roof insulation, heat-trapping windows, cement-plank wallboard (which reduces the use of harvested wood), and paints, finishes, and glues that are low in volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

The 14 remaining condos range in price from $220,498 for a 650-square-foot one-bedroom unit to $334,498 for a 990-square-foot two-bedroom unit. The 17 townhouses start at $562,572 for a 2,400-square-foot two-bedroom residence, and top out at $599,900 for a 2,770-square-foot three-bedroom unit. The first units should be ready for occupancy in spring 2009, says Monica Dalton, the F. C. Pilgrim Real Estate agent who is handling sales.            

Illustration: © 2008 Malcolm Cunningham