SOUTH LOOP — A developer who wants to build town homes where a pair of South Loop condominium towers failed gave neighbors a sneak peek at his project Monday.
Site prep for the 60 town homes at Prairie Avenue and 18th Street could begin within "the next couple weeks," David Goldman of Chicago-based Sandz Development said Monday. Construction would last between 1½ and 2 years.
Designed by Chicago-based Sullivan, Goulette & Wilson Architects, the town homes are inspired by the 19th century mansions of Prairie Avenue with varying brick colors, wood doors and stone ornaments, Goldman said. Homes would range in size from 2,800 to 5,400 square feet.
Goldman's plan is much smaller and less risky than the site's prior proposed development, a pair of glass condominium towers called X/O.
Proposed at the height of the real estate market in 2006, X/O consisted of 479 units, but its developer never got the zoning change he needed amid community opposition to the project. Unable to build anything, he was then hit with a $20.2 million foreclosure suit and ended up handing the development site to Goldman's development venture in 2011.
Goldman did not disclose asking prices for the town homes, but said they would start at around $300 per square foot. That would be between $840,000 and $1.62 million using proposed unit sizes.
Goldman presented his plans at a Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance meeting held at Second Presbyterian Church, 1936 S. Michigan Ave.
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