For Immediate Release
September 8, 2006
Few observers are surprised that suburbanites are energizing the condo boom in downtown Chicago, where sales are zipping along at a healthy pace despite reports of a housing slowdown.
For example, buyers relocating from the suburbs to the city in a reverse migration have accounted for about two-thirds of the 1,100 condos that have been purchased at Lakeshore East, the rapidly-growing mixed-use neighborhood where the Chicago River meets Lake Michigan on the New East Side.
Officials of Magellan Development Group, developer of the 28-acre, $4 billion complex acknowledge that a small number of buyers are maintaining their primary residence in the suburbs and buying second homes for weekends or special events in the city.
But most are just moving back. There are several reasons why, according to Magellan.
Significantly, there is, for the first time, a blending of empty-nesters and baby boomers into a new demographic group that combines a high priority on the quality of life with the means to enjoy it.
“Downtown Chicago has no competition for entertainment, culture, dining and recreation, not to mention convenience for the majority of what we might call ‘boomer nesters’ who are still working,” suggests Joel Carlins, co-chief executive of Magellan. “Commuting to the city from the suburbs, even on weekends, is becoming a nightmare and these people have a better use for their time than commuting.”
Besides its multiple attractions that suburbs can’t match, downtown Chicago has a couple of other advantages.
For one, there is more buildable land in the city than in many suburbs and even though most of the new housing is vertical, there are more new homes and locations to choose from, explains Jim Loewenberg, Magellan co-chief executive. “Not so coincidentally, in many instances where restrictive government regulations restrain suburban growth, this is not what we are experiencing in the city,” he observes.
After suburban migrants, young professionals are the second big chunk of buyers fueling the downtown housing boom.
“People are marrying later than was the case not many years ago and starting families later, so many prefer living in the city – for work and play -- until such time that they decide to migrate to the suburbs the way their parents did to start and rear their families ,” adds Carlins.
Lakeshore East incorporates all the elements of a traditional city neighborhood, a lifestyle center that includes homes, retail, recreational opportunities and community amenities such as a lush, award-winning 6-acre public park and a planned charter elementary school.
The community is across the street from the city’s acclaimed new Millennium Park. Lakeshore East has received several awards, including a National Honor Award for excellence in urban design from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for its master plan. The park, the community’s crown jewel, has been named the Best New Park in the city by Chicago magazine and The Best New Open Space by the influential Friends of Downtown.
Prior to its transformation to the most vibrant new community in Chicago, the Lakeshore East site has served as a transshipment port serving Chicago’s growing economy in the mid 19th century, an Illinois Central railroad freight yard and terminus and, most recently, a par-3, nine-hole urban golf course.
Lakeshore East is viewed as a preview of the future, a mixed-use development where people can live, work, shop, eat and pursue whatever interests them without having to get into a car. The plan that completes the ambitious Illinois Center development allows for the construction of up to 4,950 residences, a magnificent 6-acre public park, 2.2 million gross square feet of commercial space, 1,500 hotel rooms, 770,000 square feet of retail space and a proposed charter elementary school.
Some 40 percent of the site will remain vibrant open space. Among the park’s many attractions is free Wi-Fi or wireless broadband Internet access. Other park amenities include a children’s play park, a gated dog park, a large open meadow, water fountains, ornamental gardens and extensive seating.
Carlins and Loewenberg are maintaining ownership and design influence of all 28 acres to ensure a unified vision as Lakeshore East unfolds.
Residential developments at Lakeshore East currently include three completed and occupied buildings, The 29-story Lancaster, the community’s first condominium building with 209 homes and The Shoreham, a 46-story apartment tower with 548 residences and The Regatta, a just-completed 44-story condominium building completed receiving its first occupants. Under construction are 340 On The Park, a 62-story condominium tower; The Chandler; a 35-story condominium building; and the 51-story The Tides, the community’s second rental property with 607 luxury units. Pre-construction sales are under way for the 82-story Aqua, which will be the tallest and most distinctive building in downtown Chicago. It will be the first high-rise in the city designed uniquely to combine condos, rental, hotel and retail spaces in a single structure. And sales have been started for the Parkhomes at Lakeshore East, an enclave of 24 gracious single-family homes bordering the new award-winning public park.
For additional information, please telephone the Lakeshore East Sales & Marketing Vice President Tricia Van Horn (312) 642-8869, Ext. 354 or visit the web site, www.LakeshoreEast.com.
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