List Price: (See individual condos, below)
The Property: Today we’re looking at five different condos for sale in the Buckingham. That just happens to be the same number of musicians that were in the Buckinghams, the Chicago-based band behind the 1967 tune “Kind of a Drag.”
And just as those five guys all had shaggy sixties haircuts, these five condos have things in common by dint of their location, which has changed considerably since the 44-story building went up in 1982 at 360 East Randolph Street. At that time, part of the old Lake Shore Drive S-curve skirted the Buckingham’s east side. Since the drive was moved east, the neighborhood has both quieted down and picked up, with the coming of new or improved parks to the north and southwest. In the works now is an upgrade of the 20 acres of Grant Park immediately south of the building.
Each of the five condos has two bedrooms and two baths. Four of them have enclosed projecting bays on the south and east sides; according to Robert John Anderson, the agent representing all five condos, the architects at Fujikawa Johnson envisioned them as the urban equivalent of porches. The east-projecting bay also offers views to the north, into Lakeshore East and beyond to the Chicago River at about the Centennial Fountain.
In today’s video, I point out the differences among four of the units (we were not able to shoot the fifth). Here’s how it breaks down:
• Unit 701, priced at $795,000, has wide-plank maple floors and a built-out kitchen designed by Beverly Hammel in a soft-contemporary look that fits the building well. There are cabinets on the wall separating the kitchen from the living room; on the other (living room) side, the wall is fitted out to look like a very large armoire.
• Unit 1401, priced at $850,000, emphasizes the view in ways the others don’t. Thanks to glass doors on the second bedroom, visitors catch sight of the eastern view out toward the lake as soon as they enter the front hall, and the kitchen design includes a large opening that allows someone who’s cooking to enjoy the southern view.
• Unit 2101, priced at $745,000, has the most formal finishes—including crown moldings and floor inlays that set apart the dining area as if it were a separate room—and a kitchen that on one end is closed off with a door, instead of an open passageway.
• Unit 2801 is the lowest-priced, at $675,000. It is not shown in the video. Anderson says it needs updating but shares the great views and surroundings that the other condos enjoy.
• Unit 2902, priced at $775,000, has recently updated baths and kitchen, with stylish tile work. The floor plan differs from the others in that it’s not on the corner but on the building’s south side. Though it doesn’t have the projecting bay, its southward view, because of the expanse of parkland and lake, also takes in much of the east. The pivot means the kitchen, as well as the living and bedroom spaces, enjoys the view.
Price Points: A three-bedroom condo in the southwest corner of the Buckingham sold earlier this month for $1.025 million.
Listing Agent: Robert John Anderson of Baird & Warner; 312-980-1580 or Robert@robertjohnanderson.com