While it’s hard to imagine today, Chicago’s wealthy Lincoln Park neighborhood was once a manufacturing hub with a number of plants and mills situated along the riverfront. Immigrants and the working class resided nearby in small workers cottages and crammed houses. In the mid-20th century, as businesses moved their production overseas, many historic industrial buildings were left empty. The buildings that didn’t meet the wrecking ball were converted for residential use with large, open interiors of exposed brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows as pipes and timber beams crisscrossed overhead. Not only are lofts a great way to bring new life to an older structure, but owners have a flexible live/work space. Now full of new multi-million dollar mansions, there are still remnants of Lincoln Park’s industrial past that survive.
2100 N Racine Ave APT 3H, $615,000
What was once a piano and organ supply company built in the 1880s is now a 25-unit condo building. Dickens Place was one of the first and most successful loft conversions when the Victorian industrial complex was converted by architect Roy Kruse and developer Sheldon Paul in 1986. The “townhouse alternative” listed at $615,000 comes with two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. The $615 monthly HOA fees include amenities like an exercise room and sundeck. But the highlight of this particular property is a 6,000-square-foot interior courtyard that serves as a common area for the building’s residents.
1760 W Wrightwood Ave APT 207, $325,000
Directly east of Clybourn near Wrightwood is the former site of the Northwestern Terra Cotta Company, a factory complex that once employed 1,000 workers and sprawled across 24 acres. Now known as Terra Cotta Commons, this historic brick building was converted into 40 residential units in the early 1990s. All condos come with central air, an in-unit washer/dryer, and a common roof deck. The monthly $401 HOA fees cover cable and internet and other amenities. No surprise this bright and airy 1,000-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bathroom loft is already contingent only a month after hitting the market.
1872 N Clybourn Ave APT 110, $469,900
Although this next property is technically a townhouse, it has all the design elements of a loft with its open, multi-level interior that includes exposed brick walls, high ceilings, ductwork, and lots of natural light. In the 1980s, developer Horwitz Matthews had the vision of turning the former Smith, Barnes, and Strohber Company piano factory into 57 units on what was then the “gritty industrial district” of Clybourn Avenue. As a resident of the seven-story historic building, the $702 monthly assessments covers a bike room/storage, internet, and a common rooftop sundeck that provides 360-degree views of the city.
2000 N Clifton Ave #A, $599,000
At the corner of Clifton and Armitage is one of the contributing properties to the historic Armitage-Halsted District, originally designed by architect Theodore Lewandowski in 1893 for owners Mueller and Scholer. With its ornamental brick facade and striking turret, the historic building currently has a 3,000-square-foot condo available for sale with an asking price of $599,000. It’s a perfect opportunity to reimagine this multi-level open concept live/work space by turning the basement storage area into three or four bedrooms. The $470 monthly HOA fees cover water, insurance, and garbage/snow removal, while the unit comes with two parking spaces.
2533 N Ashland Ave Unit 2D, $390,000
This corner two-bedroom, two-bathroom loft has a great asking price and views of the nearly five-acre Wrightwood Park right next door. From searching the address in Google Books, it looks like the historic multi-unit brick elevator building once housed manufacturing companies that made such products as x-ray shanks and paint-striping tools. The listed condo comes with an in-unit washer and dryer, plenty of storage, and a two-car tandem parking space.