SOUTH LOOP — Anyone looking to buy a condominium in the South Loop might have some new options soon.
Episteme Luxury Homes plans a new four-story, 39-unit condo building at 18th and State Street. The proposal for 1802 S. State St. is a less ambitious iteration of a seven-story project Episteme proposed last year.
Riskier to build than apartments, new condo projects are still few and far between in post-recession Chicago. And nowhere in Chicago was smacked harder by bubble-era condo overbuilding than the South Loop, where home prices fell 30 percent from 2008 to mid-2012.
Prices have since come back, and some developers have tested the resurgent market with big projects: Related Midwest recently took over and resold nearly 500 units i in three failed South Loop condo towers, and CMK Cos. built a new condo tower at 1345 S. Wabash Ave.
Other post-crash condo projects have been less ambitious, typically including a few dozen units aimed at affluent buyers.
Developer Jeff Offutt of Episteme said asking prices for his proposal at 18th and State have not been determined. The project will be a mix of one- , two-, and three-bedroom homes, he said.
Offutt said he hopes to start construction this summer if the project gets city approval. The building would open about 12 to 18 months after construction starts.
