A pair of high-rises nearing completion at 600 North Lake Shore Drive (on the shoreline above at left) appear to have omitted the now-typical pedestal of parking floors. Actually, the parking floors are only hiding: False balconies and windows on the buildings’ bottom six floors give those levels a residential look, even though they are meant for cars.

“We didn’t want it to look like a wedding cake with two candles on top,” says Buzz Ruttenberg, whose Belgravia Group is joined on the project by Sandz Development. Instead, the towers’ design, by Pappageorge/Haymes, connects the building visually to the sidewalk, a rare feat these days for a new condo high-rise. The two towers—the north one is 40 stories; the south, 46—are 60 feet apart, more than the standard width of a street, which means all residents should have good views of Navy Pier and the lake.

Occupancy began in October; at presstime, 100 of the buildings’ 400 units remained for sale. They ranged from an 1,116-square-foot one-bedroom floor plan with prices starting at $408,000 to a 2,547-square-foot three-bedroom condo for $1,772,000.