6 bright homes in Chicago
Gold Coast
This 1927 building a few minutes' drive from Lincoln Park Zoo and Oak Street Beach is topped by an updated, five-bedroom penthouse. The apartment features a chandeliered formal dining room and a double-height living room with linenfold paneling, decorative plaster barrel ceiling, wall of flattened Gothic arch windows, and glass doors opening to a 61-foot-long private terrace with city views.
Building amenities include a full-time door staff, fitness room, and landscaped garden terrace. $4,350,000. Jennifer Ames, Engel & Völkers Chicago, (312) 440-7525.
Lakeshore East
The Cirrus condominium is near parks, shopping, dining, the Chicago River, and Lake Michigan. This furnished and decorated four-bedroom penthouse has an open layout, floor-to-ceiling windows with water views, a covered terrace facing the river, and a chef's kitchen with a built-in Gaggenau espresso machine.
The Cirrus offers a fitness center with indoor and outdoor pools, spa amenities, and complimentary classes; a wine lounge; a dog run; and a children's club. $4,500,000. Bradley Brondyke, Jameson Sotheby's International Realty, (773) 512-5035.
Lakeview
Architect Larry Booth in 1999 converted a former 1930s chicken-processing plant near the Southport Corridor into this five-bedroom industrial-modern house. The home features high ceilings, concrete beams, heated concrete floors, a steel-clad fireplace, floating stairs, a gourmet kitchen with two islands, a second-floor primary suite opening to a skylit lap pool and hot tub, and an attached two-car garage.
Outside are a deck, a garden courtyard, and a walkable neighborhood with plentiful shopping and dining. $3,500,000. Emily Sachs Wong, @properties/ Christies International Real Estate, (312) 286-0800.
Lincoln Park
This 2017 Beaux Arts–style townhome is minutes from top-end shopping and dining, Oz Park, and Lincoln Park Zoo. The six-bedroom, four-story house features an elevator and roof deck; grand rooms with high coffered ceilings, large windows, and wood floors; and a lower level with wine cellar, bar, and den that opens to a two-car garage.
In front is a landscaped entrance and in back a garden patio with fireplace and kitchen. $4,980,000. Kathrin Cordell, @properties/Christies International Real Estate, (312) 282-5834.
Bucktown
Tucked into a tree-lined residential street, this five-bedroom home is also walking distance to parks, bars, and restaurants. Created by architect Brad Lynch, the three-level home's brick exterior features a Corten steel fence, patterned copper screens, and two green roof terraces; inside are high ceilings, walls of windows, radiant-heated floors, sleek white-oak paneling, and high-end contemporary rooms.
The three lot property includes a landscaped private central courtyard, outdoor kitchen, and five-car garage. $5,695,000. Brad Lippitz, Compass, (773) 230-5100.
West Loop
This 1924 building, formerly a paper warehouse, is in a vibrant neighborhood near Greektown, the Loop, and Union Station. The top-floor unit is a two-bedroom loft featuring an open layout, oversize windows, exposed-brick walls, 12-foot-high timber ceilings, restored hardwood floors, and a balcony with city views; rooms include a chef's kitchen with cherry cabinets and an eat-in granite island.
The building has an exercise room, bike storage, and parking available for an extra fee. $540,000. Kathryn Mastandrea, Coldwell Banker Realty, (312) 953-4753.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
