Penthouse Model Opens in Chicago’s West Town

By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer

Chicago—Wicker West 1555, a nine-unit mixed-use condominium development at North and Talman Ave. in Chicago’s West Town, is offering a contemporary, professionally furnished and decorated new duplex penthouse model.

Real estate investment firm Mosaic Development LLC, who is completing the building’s construction and marketing the remaining condominium residences, recently acquired the four-story elevator building.

Priced at $379,000, the expansive penthouse model offers three bedrooms, three baths and 1,621 square feet of living space. Among the high-end features are a living room with corner fireplace and a master bedroom suite with Jacuzzi tub and walk-in shower. The unit’s crowning touch is a private rooftop deck offering views of Chicago’s Loop and near Northwest Side neighborhoods.

“The timing couldn’t have been better,” Sara Benson, president of Chicago’s Benson Stanley Realty, tells MHN. “Wicker West 1555, in the West Town community, borders three of Chicago’s hottest neighborhoods: Wicker Park, Logan Square and Ukrainian Village. Compared to her sister neighborhoods, West Town’s values are excellent, and prices are quickly appreciating.”

The challenge on this project was, Benson adds, “To heal, restore and renew a once-troubled development that was caught in the real estate downturn.”

Considering 75 percent of the units were unsold, the new developer’s hurdle was to create a cutting-edge redesign of the exterior building envelope, while giving the condominiums chic, upper-end finishes, Benson says.

The condominiums are being marketed to upwardly-mobile Generation X and Y buyers who want an address just blocks from 219-acre Humboldt Park, graced by lagoons, walking paths and wildlife preserves, Benson says.

As for the penthouse residence at Wicker West 1555, that unit features an entry gallery that leads into a spacious 20-by-12-foot living/dining room featuring a gas fireplace highlighted by a granite mantle and slate-tile surround.

Open to the living room is an island kitchen offering custom granite countertops with translucent glass backsplashes. Elsewhere on the main floor, a 10-by-10-1/2-foot bedroom with adjoining shower bath can be turned into a home office or den. The main floor living areas are given added character through the use of 5-inch-wide platinum-stained oak plank flooring.

From the gallery, a staircase leads up to two bedrooms and two full baths. From there, another stairway climbs higher to the 350-square-foot private rooftop deck.

The distinctiveness of the penthouse residence is reflected in the other units at Wicker West 1555 Grand.

“Every condominium residence at Wicker West 1555 is unique,” Benson says. “No two are alike. The development showcases avant-garde architecture, innovative floor plans, upscale contemporary finishes and extremely attractive pricing.”

Wicker West 1555 currently offers a number of buyer incentives; among them a free deeded indoor parking space, free washer-dryer hook-up and free Maytag washer and dryer.

The corner building will serve to anchor the community and the businesses around North and Talman Aves., Benson says. “Corner buildings always carry a ‘maker’s mark’ in real estate,” she adds. “As the adage goes, ‘Judge a neighborhood by its corners.’”