BUCKTOWN — A fire broke out early Sunday inside an under-construction home in the middle of a row of 24 luxury townhomes aptly named "The Row" along the Wicker Park and Bucktown border.
There were no injuries in the fire, which started at 4:44 a.m. Sunday and included the partial collapse of a wall, according to Larry Langford, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman.
No cause of the fire has been determined yet and the fire — described as a "working fire" not requiring extra alarms — was extinguished by 5:30 a.m., Langford said.
Michael Lerner, The Row's developer, did not return requests for comment on Monday. Lerner told Our Urban Times on Sunday that building materials for the project were stored in the unit.
On Monday, construction workers were assessing the damages, which only impacted a home in the center of the row they were referring to as "Unit 13."
Armando Baco, owner of Baca plumbing, said that he had just completed the plumbing in the home last week.
"I found out about the fire this morning when I got here. It sucks because I already did the whole thing," Baca said, adding that the plumbing has been completed in 15 of the 24 units.
Onsite at The Row, under construction along the 1700 block of North Winnebago [DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser]
Landon Harper, a Realtor who is selling the homes, said he spent most of Monday morning at the site.
"The fire department was pleasantly surprised how well it was built; we used fireproof walls and the fire was contained and did not spread [outside of the unit]," Harper said.
The Row's northern end is within a few feet of the elevated Bloomingdale Trail while the southern end stops at the Leavitt Street and Wabansia intersection. Bisected by the CTA Blue Line "L" tracks, a new Northwestern Medicine center is underway at 1776 N. Milwaukee Ave. on the east side of the lot.
Announced last summer, construction on the project began last fall and could be complete "very soon" with the first resident moving in in November, Harper said.
As of Monday, Harper said that 22 of the 24 homes have found owners and two are still for sale. The homes were all sold at or above asking price of $695,000, he said.
All of the homes are either three or four bedrooms and feature two car garages, gated front yards, balconies and rooftop decks, according to a brochure.
Harper declined to share which of the 24 units are still for sale. Based on Harper's active listings, "Unit 14," a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home remains for sale.
Harper said the size of the homes, luxury finishes and the fact there is "very limited inventory of townhomes" in the Wicker Park and Bucktown neighborhoods were draws for buyers.
Paul Feaser who lives in another row-shaped townhome development directly across the street from "The Row," was tinkering in his garage on Monday and said he is happy to see the long empty field get developed.
"The land was not taken care of and attracted a bad element. My wife and I are glad there will be people here soon," Feaser said.
On the plus side, Feaser said that the new townhomes "shield the L train" since his own townhome no longer faces the CTA tracks.
A fire-damaged townhome in the middle of The Row, a 24-unit project at 1711-99 N. Winnebago Ave. [DNAinfo Hauser]
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