We missed our chance at last month's full-fledged open house at The Seneca, but struck gold this week with an executive tour of the in-transition apartment house. Waterton Residential, which manages several Chicago apartment buildings, has been working for months to convert the old Seneca extended-stay hotel to a proper apartment building with standard leasing. The direct one-to-one conversion will see 260 hotel rooms become 260 apartments. Mercifully, rather than kick the hotel "tenants" to the curb, Waterton offered short-term leases on the old rooms as they await conversion. They're proceeding systematically from the top floor down (they're just about halfway finished).
Our spin through the building took us by a model one-bed and one of the vacant studios. The building's past life means the accommodations are spare and simple— big city apartments, if you will. But one thing they have going for them, of which our guides were unanimously in favor, is the ample closet space. The building is handsome, and the rents aren't too bad for Streeterville: studios, one-beds, and two-beds range from $1K to $3K/month. For the moment only a handful of studio units are available, but, as the renovations progress floor-by-floor, more new spaces will open up. As for the common areas, a new fitness center is in the works, a spectacular new rooftop is begging to be broken in, and modest changes are expected for the vintage lobby. Anyhow, enjoy the pics!
·Official Site: The Seneca on Chestnut
·Development Update: The Seneca [Curbed Chicago]
Loading comments...