EAST PILSEN
FROM $535,000
TO $719,900
“Anywhere you live in the city, you’re going to live near some piece of infrastructure,” says Zev Salomon, a vice president of Belgravia Group, which is developing the 35-unit Union Row townhouses at West 16th and South Jefferson streets. “It’s an urban site. There’s no doubt.”
Salomon is acknowledging the Dan Ryan Expressway and the freight line that border the Union Row development. Where possible, the developers have mitigated the setting, a slice of onetime railroad land. The townhouses and their windows are heavily insulated, so outside noise intrudes very little. Some lawns, garages, and fire-exit staircases are set toward the train tracks, leaving the farther-removed spaces for quieter living areas. Some units have views over the tracks to downtown.
Living in an urban setting does have its advantages. The booming University Village area, replete with dining and shopping opportunities, lies nearby, as do Chinatown, the galleries and restaurants of Pilsen, and the big-box stores on Roosevelt Road. The townhouses, all four stories tall, have open-kitchen floor plans, a two-car garage, and either three or four bedrooms. Thirteen units remained for sale at presstime, ranging in price from $535,000 (for a 2,366-square-foot home) to $719,900 (2,901 square feet).
Photograph: Courtesy of Belgravia Group