Chicago Real Estate News & Neighborhood Notes

Luxury Chicago Real Estate

According to a recent release from RE/MAX Northern Illinois, the million dollar real estate market in Metro Chicago is alive and well, with transaction activity for luxury homes ($1 million and over) up 16% in the first quarter of 2015 from a year ago.

Along with a higher sales volume, units are also moving slightly faster as well, averaging just 144 days on the market, compared to 158 days during the first quarter of 2014. For those of us working in the Chicago real estate industry and dealing specifically in the luxury sector of the market, the latest quarterly figures are hardly surprising, and that’s of course not even factoring in the luxury rental market in downtown Chicago, which has been especially active since the post-recession development

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130 N. Franklin, Chicago Office Tower

Big news was announced this week on the front of Chicago’s commercial side of the real estate industry, as the sleek new design for an office tower at 130 North Franklin was finally released at a public meeting held by the project’s developer. Tishman Speyer, who already owns 13.5 million square feet of office space in downtown Chicago, is planning to add nearly 1.4 million more square feet of leasable space to their portfolio in the form of a very impressive 53-story glass tower that, if approved, will be the largest office building to begin construction since the post-recession development boom began, which is still well underway.

The new building is being designed by Krueck+Sexton Architects, and just going off the new renderings that were released

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Spring 2015 Events in ChicagoSpring is here, and the fun and excitement is blooming in Downtown Chicago.  Springtime is one of the best times to visit Chicago, with a large variety of festivals and events to fit your interests.

2015 NFL Draft

The clock is ticking on one of the most anticipated spring events for Downtown Chicago.  From April 30-May 2 football fans converge on Auditorium Theatre, Grant Park and Congress Plaza for the 2015 NFL Draft.  A number of fan-centric activities are planned, including some interactive ones.

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Chicago Farmers Markets

If you’re in search of fresh fruits and veggies, look no further than the Chicago Farmers Markets.  Starting in May, more than 70 venders will set up shop, selling fresh produce, along with…
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NEXT at NoCA Tower in Chicago

Although luxury condo development is starting to make its way back to the downtown Chicago real estate scene, the luxury apartment boom is still far from over. Initially announced early last year, Fifield Companies is set to begin construction on its impressive 310-unit apartment tower over at 347 West Chestnut St. near the old Calbrin-Green site.

Designed by Pappageorge-Haymes, this incredible new project, being dubbed NEXT at NoCA, will stand 28 stories high and also include 6,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. Not to be outdone by other new construction apartment towers around the downtown Chicago area, this sleek new tower will also feature an array of upscale, resort-style amenities like an outdoor pool and spa, an outdoor fire pit,

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The Contemporaine Condos For SaleThe Contemporaine is one of our favorite modern condo buildings in all of Chicago, so when a unit here hits the market there, you can bet it almost always catches our attention right away. If you’re unfamiliar with this award-winning, architectural masterpiece, few will argue it’s home to 52 of the most spectacular condominium residences you’ll find anywhere in town. Sleek modern finishes, a trendy loft-style design, and a location that’s right smack-dab in the middle of one of downtown Chicago’s hottest neighborhoods, there’s just so much to love about the building located at 201 W. Grand, and unit #803 is just the latest example of exactly why.

A 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom unit, 201 W. Grand #803 is as impressive as it gets when it comes to River North real

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Chicago Lofts For Sale

In an area as vast as downtown Chicago, lots of different housing options are available to home buyers, including a wide range of residential lofts that are as fashionable as it gets. Among all the different styles of loft condos in Chicago are concrete lofts, timber lofts, soft lofts, work-live lofts, and any number of other loft options that have a distinct or unique style.

For some home buyers, finding a nice blend between a classic residential loft and a nice, clean, and comfortable living space is ideal, while others specifically want an authentic Chicago loft residence in its truest form.

If you think you may be someone who prefers the latter, there’s an opportunity over at 727 South Dearborn Street that you just don’t see very often, and is

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River North Real Estate

More possible large-scale development could be coming to River North, and this time it involves both commercial and residential real estate. First brought to our attention by our friends from Curbed Chicago, the new plan, which involves an 8-story office building and a 22-story residential tower, will be presented later this month during a public meeting by its would-be developers, Centrum Partners.

If approved, the new project would take the place of a parking lot that currently occupies 215 W. Hubbard, but unlike many new developments going on around downtown Chicago, this one poses some unique challenges.

If you refer to the renderings, you’ll see that elevated L tracks curve directly through the northwest corner of the lot, and as a result, the

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Although the dyeing of the Chicago River green and many of downtown’s annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities took place this past weekend, there's still plenty of celebrating left to do in case you happened to miss out. Here's a list of St. Patrick's Day related events happening all throughout March 17th, or better known as St Patrick's Day 2015!

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at Irish American Heritage Center

Taking place from 12 noon all the way up until 10 PM,  there’s no better way to experience authentic St. Patrick’s Day celebration than to make your way over to the Irish-American Heritage Center for their annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Life music, Irish dancers, and colorful face-painting make this event fun for the whole family.

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The Loop’s last original station house at Washington & Wabash, which first opened all the way back on November 8, 1896, is finally set to close in order to make way for the new Loop Superstation that was first announced in 2013.

According to DNAinfo’s original report, the new station will be expected to serve nearly 13,400 daily entries when completed, making it the 5th busiest CTA station in all of Chicago during the week. The new modern design of the Washington-Wabash station is a pretty sharp contrast to the current station, which has long been outdated to say the least.

The current century-old station, although charming, can simply no longer handle the needs of today’s public transit, and continuing to improve the city’s infrastructure, especially

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Chicago’s 110-story Willis Tower is up for sale and despite early reports saying the purchase price could exceed $1.5 billion, the Chicago Tribune now claims there might already be a buyer.  


The current owners—New York investors Joseph Chetrit and Joseph Moinian and Skokie-based American Landmark Properties—most recently tried to sell the 4.6 million square foot building back in 2011, but failed to get the offer they were seeking, most likely because it was just too early in the overall economic recovery.

Since then however, the marketplace has drastically improved, the demand for commercial property in Chicago has skyrocketed, and new high-profile leases at Willis Tower all combine to make the country’s second tallest skyscraper a unique and

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