Crib Chatter

For those architectural buffs out there, even if you’re not rich, it’s possible to still live in an architecturally significant building in Chicago.  Take 880 N. Lake Shore Drive.  Even if you haven’t been on an architecture tour yourself, this building (and its sister at 900 N. Lake Shore Drive) are hard to miss.  Built […]

  CMK opened up the sales center for its latest building at 235 W Van Buren, in the shadow of the Sears Tower in the Loop, only a mere two or three months ago and already the building is under construction and about 60% sold. How’d they do that? CMK marketed it very wisely.  The […]

  Skybridge, the tallest building in the West Loop at Halsted and Washington, has won architectural awards since its launch in 2003.  You can read about the building’s innovative design at their website. Despite all of the alcolades, the building still is not sold out, four years after closings started in the building. In an […]

It used to be, even ten years ago, that there was no way people wanted to live on the Chicago River.  With that smell and pollution?  Get outta here. Now the river is “hot.”  From the South Branch, to downtown with all of its townhouses and condo towers with their riverwalks, to the North Branch […]

Who doesn’t like a good loft?  Did you ever notice that in the movies and on tv shows the sophisticated characters always live in neat bi-level lofts with spiral staircases?  You can find that in many parts of Chicago.  And you don’t necessarily have to be in Printers Row, the West Loop or Bucktown to find some […]

What incentives have you seen developers giving out to move their product?  It used to be upgraded granite and kitchen cabinets.  But apparently that isn’t enough anymore as granite and nicer cabinets have become “standard” finishes. Here is one agent trying to sell a garden unit in Lincoln Square on Craigslist and giving out a 5 day, […]

Many of the luxury hotels have apartments that are available for weekly or monthly stays (for celebrities and CEOs etc.) The famous Drake Hotel at 140 E. Walton on Lake Shore Drive is no different.  They currently have a 4 bedroom, 4 bath unit available for $20,000 a month.   Here is the listing: Live Graciously […]

  If you take one of the architectural boat tours down the Chicago River, the guides will no doubt comment about the high rise condo building at the bend of the north and south branches of the river at 333 N. Canal.  It’s hard not to miss it. Originally touted as a prestige luxury building […]

  I went to Six North Michigan expecting to see the same ole product that is in many of these office building conversions (such as Metropolitan Tower, 888 S. Michigan etc.).  I especially expected it with this conversion, given its iffy history.  The building was originally marketed back in 2004 and anyone who went to […]

       The pictures above don’t do the units justice.  The Montgomery, at 500 W. Superior in River North, is more than just the building that houses Japonais and now Brassiere Ruhlmann Steakhouse, a french inspired steakhouse.  The old Montgomery Wards headquarters, originally constructed in 1972 by architect Minoru Yamasaki, who designed the World Trade Center, was converted […]