NORTH CENTER
FROM $254,500
TO $664,500

The curved metal panels undulating through the entry courtyard of the Lofts at 1800 are the first sign that this former cap-and-gown factory has graduated to a more stylish use. Inside the pair of buildings at 1800 West Grace Street, a frosted-glass catwalk crosses overhead in the lobby, and a rooftop deck cantilevers out over the courtyard.

Scheduled to be completed during the summer, the six-story project has 91 units—at presstime, 55 of them had been sold—in a variety of configurations. They range from an 830-square-foot one-bedroom unit for $254,500 to five 1,976-square-foot two-bedroom units that are each on two floors, with a single room suspended in between like a mezzanine. Those are priced from $574,500 to $664,500. The finishes in the standard package include Bosch appliances and Florense cabinetry from Brazil. The indoor parking spaces cost $27,500 each, and most units are ready for move-ins.

Units in the eastern part of the complex have heavy timber beams, while those on the west have exposed concrete pillars. The units’ tall windows provide nice views of the neighborhood—though in some cases those views encompass Metra or CTA tracks. But Nick Kopley, whose Kopley Group developed the lofts, says the units that face the tracks, priced lower than others in the building, were among the project’s fastest sellers.

Send tips about home sales to dennis@rodkin.com.

Photograph: Courtesy of Kopley Group