The 5-unit boutique condo conversion known as Richelieu Flats opened its spaces to brokers and media Thursday evening. Curbed was there to see how LG Development Group and architect Pappageorge/Haymes handled the old Karpen Building, one time home to the immensely successful Karpen & Bros. furniture business. But the 1885 building began life as the Hotel Richelieu, capitalizing on a building spree and tourist boom surrounding the World's Columbian Expo. The facade has been rebuilt and tweaked a few times in the intervening century-and-change, and now its interiors are entirely realigned for high-end home sales.
The most exciting prospect, hands down, is the unfinished but under-contract duplex penthouse. Measuring 4,300 square feet with an additional 950 square feet of private roof terrace, the unit is expected to close for around $2.3M. Were it a finished space, that figure would be in the mid-3s. Floorplans exist for the space as a suggested build-out and have the kitchen and dining room on the upper level and, notably, feature a second west-facing terrace. Millie Rosenbloom of Baird & Warner has exclusive listing and marketing rights at the Richelieu, and staged last night's open house. After a spell on the penthouse terrace, sporting end-to-end views of Grant and Millennium parks, we made for the 3rd floor model unit. The full-floor, 2,650-square-foot, 2/3.5 dwelling was well populated by industry folk but we engineered just enough alone time with the space to appreciate its finishes by noted designer Kara Mann, marble kitchen, gigantic east-facing windows, and interaction with the never-ending throb of Michigan Avenue. Three of the four non-penthouse units are still available, for $1.35M to $1.38M. Parking will run you another $45K per space. Time to pony up!
·Richelieu Flats [official]
·Karpen Building [Design Slinger]
·Cornerspotted: Michigan Ave's Former Hotel Richelieu [Curbed Chicago]
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