On a blustery Monday, Curbed returned to the majestic Shoreland in Hyde Park for a long-awaited update on its gut-renovation. The great and worn 1926 hotel building, which spent decades in service of U of C students until MAC Properties / Antheus Capital's acquisition in 2009, is only few months away from occupancy as another large lakefront apartment building. Our guide, Silliman Group's Director of Community Development Peter Cassel, estimated 8,000 lakefront rentals in Hyde Park. The Shoreland will make a small but not insignificant contribution to the total stock. A year of interior demolition ended last summer where a rapid rebuild, following designs by architect Jeanne Gang, took its place. Entering through the north wing, we careened through active construction zones from a grand hall to the former Louis XVI Ballroom (just as over-the-top as you'd expect), neither of which saw much play during the previous administration.
The old floor plans have receded (hotel rooms make for fine dorms, but not market rentals). The lower apartment floors have seen the most progress, and our photo gallery tracks the differences from the top (13th) down. The 13th floor was used for back-of-the-house operations, but will now boast penthouse-level apartments. The 330 units will be comprised of studios, one- and two-beds, and a smattering of three-beds. If the lower-floor hallways are broader than you'd expect from new construction, that's because the National Register of Historic Places, with which the developer is cooperating, stipulates the old hotel hallway dimensions be preserved. More than half of the building's units will have some manner of lake view. Those east-facing spaces on the inside of the building's horseshoe footprint will also get close-ups of the fine terra cotta detailing that runs the roofline. Speaking of the exterior, Cassel and his gang were fortunate that U of C invested in tuck pointing and exterior rehab a decade ago— very little has required attention.
Our tour concluded with a visit to the parking garage— a cavernous space for 130+ cars being laid out beneath the building. Tax credits from the National Register have enabled MAC to pursue the parking excavation as opposed to pressing the Shoreland's first four floors into service (Imagine, a historic renovation with a parking podium... eek!). And the provision of spaces isn't ridiculously overboard, like it is with many new construction towers downtown.
The building may look lightyears away from occupancy, but crews are working speedily toward an expected August delivery. Rents will start at $1,150 and end around $2,000— similar to the range at sister building the Del Prado, parked around the corner on 53rd.
·Inside The Shoreland: From Hotel to Dorm to Apartments [Curbed Chicago]
·Work on Shoreland Apartment Conversion to Begin Next Month [Curbed Chicago]
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