Crib Chatter

There isn’t space for much new construction in the Lakeview neighborhood so when a new condo building is announced, it’s sure to be popular.

Such should be the case with The Winchester, a new 12 story mid-rise that is planned for the corner of Belmont and Hudson, at 3175 N. Hudson, near Lake Shore Drive.  Currently, there are a few low-rise vintage buildings on the location.  Those will be torn down.

This is an all two and three bedroom building ranging in square footage from 942 square feet to 3572 square feet for the penthouse.

The building itself is pretty non-descript.  It’s your standard mid-rise with a curved wall of glass on one corner.  A few units will have peekaboo views of the Lake.

 Prices and Square Footage 

The smallest, and cheapest units, will be on the first three floors above the parking garage (floors three through six).  The developer is building the larger units on the upper floors.  Hence, the 942 square foot 2 bedroom, 1 bath (the cheapest unit in the building) is already sold out (but there were only three of them to begin with.)

When I was at the sales center a few weeks ago, nothing else except the smallest two bedroom had sold.

The other two bedroom units have the following square footages:

Floorplan B: 1178 square feet, 2 bedroom, 2 bath

• Price range of: $439,900 to $459,900

Floorplan D: 1210 square feet, 2 bedroom, 2 bath

• Price range of: $459,900 to $474,900

Floorplan A: 1278 square feet, 2 bedroom, 2 bath

• Price range of: $479,900 to $499,900

Floorplan F: 1300 square feet, 2 bedroom, 2 bath

• Price range of: $519,00 to $534,900

Floorplan C: 1414 square feet, 2 bedroom, 2 bath

• Price range from: $509,900 to $529,900

There is a two bedroom plus den that is 1667 square feet starting at $729,900.

The three bedroom units start at $749,900.

Yes, parking is extra with all of the units.  It starts at $28,000 for a space on the third floor up to $35,000 for a space on the first floor.  It is indoor and heated.

Retail In the Bottom Floor

The developer envisions retail along the front of the building on Belmont.  Because of the small size of the building and the design, the garage is actually quite roomy and two parking spaces per unit will be available.  Where do you ever get that in Lakeview?

Standard Finishes and Upgrades

The standard finishes are “luxury” finishes with the thicker granite in the kitchen, Viking appliances, and marble in the bathrooms.  The standard wood floors were also the upgraded wood.  The sales agent also told me that if there was something else you wanted that they didn’t offer, they would be “flexible” in finding it for you. 

The sales center has a mock up of a kitchen and two bathrooms (but there is no “model unit” per say.)  But the mock up gives you a pretty good idea of what the kitchen and baths will look like.

The Building Is a Nice Addition to the Neighborhood

Overall, this development, by GJB Development, is a nice product and a great addition to the Lakeview neighborhood.  My only gripe with it is its price points.  It is very expensive for the Lakeview neighborhood.  The traditional buyers of condos in Lakeview have been the 20 and 30-somethings who aren’t yet ready for a house.  How many of them are affording half a million dollars for a smallish two bedroom?

Not too many.

Perhaps that’s why sales haven’t exactly taken off.

The sales agent told me construction would begin in “spring 2008” but it depended, of course, on sales.  He said they could begin with only 40% sold depending on if that included any of the bigger units on the upper floors.

Seems to me they have a long way to go to get to that 40%.

The Winchester Chicago [website]