Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/89744
HAUTE PROPERTY A bedroom in an Aqua condominium provides a pristine lake view. a lens on lakeshore east THIS CITY-WITHIN-A-CITY, HERALDED BY AQUA, MAY BE A MODEL FOR THE FUTURE. BY LISA SKOLNIK T he maxim "Rome wasn't built in a day" reminds us that all great communities evolve over time. But Lakeshore East, the impressive 28-acre luxury enclave on Chicago's Near East Side anchored by Aqua, the Jeanne Gang–designed skyscraper of undulating bal- cony fame, seemed to go up overnight. "All of a sudden, I turned around and there it was—a miraculous creation out of a dead zone," marvels Chicago realtor Margie Smigel of Luxe Marketing and Sales (312-953-1466). "It happened in pieces, so you didn't really feel the depth and scope of the project until a few years ago." In truth, six huge high-rises with condomini- ums and rental units ranging from 29 to 87 stories each were on the drawing board in 2002 and completed on the site—a former Central Railroad yard bounded by Wacker Drive, Lake Shore Drive, Randolph Street, and Columbus Drive. And Benton Place Parkhomes, a street of 25 townhouses ranging from 3,500 to 4,100 square feet, delivered in 2009, along with Aqua, the mixed-use 87-story tower that really put Lakeshore East on the map. All of Aqua's siblings are solidly designed tow- ers. "We didn't want [Lakeshore East] to look like a sterile subdivision of all identical build- ings. So we worked with a range of acclaimed firms, including Solomon Cordwell Buenz, SOM, DeStefano Partners, BKL Architecture, continued on page 126 125 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM Illinois