A Tall Order
Credit: Pappageorge Haymes Partners
Project: 1600 Museum Park; Location: Chicago, South Side; Developer/Builder:Enterprise Cos., Chicago; Rate of sales: 4.85 per month in 2009; Price range: $273,000 to $750,000;?Product type: Condos
In Chicago, where new-home sales in communities of 10 units or more are off by more than 50 percent this year, there’s still some life downtown. 1600 Museum Park, a 53-story condominium in South Side, has a strong pulse. It’s located within walking distance of the Chicago Loop and Lake Michigan.
With half its 274 units sold, the project has seemingly benefited from a flight to quality. “It is doing significantly better than other Chicago condo projects that don’t offer the same prime location and amenities,” says Michael Hart, a regional manager for Hanley Wood Market Intelligence, adding that luxury condo projects in general seem to be outperforming other condos.
The 1600 Museum Park tower is one of four towers in the ambitious Central Station project. Designed by the Chicago-based architecture firm PappageorgeHaymes Partners, it cuts a strong architectural profile, with its floor-to-ceiling glass and innovative shape. It is the second tallest all-residential building in the U.S. Only the Trump World Tower in New York is bigger.
The tower includes all the luxury amenities that buyers in a building of this stature would expect—exercise rooms, indoor and outdoor pools, a sauna and spa, indoor heated parking, and a 24-hour doorman. The units offer killer views of the lake, the city, the monuments, and acres of parkland.
A one-bedroom apartment here, though, goes for as little as $273,000. Two bedrooms, plus a den, start at $365,000, and three bedrooms begin at $640,000. Upgrades on the smaller condos can run prices as high as $750,000.
Even so, these are pretty low starting price points, given the location and amenities, Hart points out, adding that pricing has held pretty firm despite the downturn. In August, there were only three units in the building listed as rentals on the MLS.