New Home Notebook

Earlier this summer Ted Guarnero and I visited the Park Alexandria at 125 S Jefferson Ave in the West Loop, where Ted is marketing unit #2004, a remodeled two-bedroom / two-bath condo with 1,300 square feet, at a price of $369,900. The home features a split floor plan, hardwood floors throughout; an open kitchen with 42-inch glass-panel cabinets, granite [...]

Going off address alone, Dearborn Park would seem to be wedged inside the heart of an urban jungle, surrounded by the South Loop’s old warehouses, new high-rises, and big box stores. Walk into the community, however, and you’ll find that its landscaped lawns feel miles away from downtown’s hustle and bustle. Following a tour of a duplex [...]

Ted Guarnero is our guide to West Loop lofts , but that’s not his only area of expertise. He certainly knows his way around Dearborn Park in the South Loop — after all, he once lived in the very unit featured in this video. Last month, the two of us took walk through the two-story, two-bedroom condo , which was fully [...]

Last month Ted Guarnero , our Chicago Loft Guide , took me through a duplex loft inside Metropolitan Place , 130 S Canal St, that he had recently listed for $499,000 in June 2010. Unit #9G , a two-bedroom / two-bath with 2,000 square feet, had some signature loft elements like pillars and high ceilings, but was finished much like a new condo. The [...]

With a couple of lightly rolling hills, a full green lawn, and a dog park bigger than some buildings’ entire common outdoor area, the sundeck at Park Alexandria, 125 S Jefferson St , feels like small city park, albeit one located a few stories above ground level. Before touring a condo inside the building last week, Ted Guarnero and [...]

This morning I’m meeting Ted Guarnero of Baird & Warner for another whirlwind tour through some of the most popular loft buildings in the West Loop. We’re starting off at the place you see here, Metropolitan Place at 130 S Canal St , a building that Ted and Joe Zekas visited briefly in April. Here, Ted and Joe talk discuss [...]

Residents of the many loft buildings in the near West Loop don’t lack for green space in their high-density surroundings. On the east side of Desplaines Street, between Monroe and Adams, is one of the Chicago Park District ‘s newest enclaves, Heritage Green Park . Ted Guarnero and Joe Zekas stopped by the park between their visits to Haberdasher Square Lofts [...]

Earlier this year a group of investors bought up the remaining inventory at the converted Pearson on the Park high-rise at 222 E Pearson St in Streeterville and immediately cut prices by as much as 40 percent in some cases. Ted Guarnero of Baird & Warner is our guide to West Loop lofts , but he has worked with homes all over Chicago, [...]

This one-bedroom loft at Haberdasher Square , 728 W Jackson Blvd , plays much larger than its 1,300 square feet because of the variety of spaces it houses. There’s a raised platform dining area, an office, a bistro table nook, and a space that functions much like a small family room. Add 12-foot ceiling heights and lots of exposed timber into [...]

Joe Zekas became a fan of John Robert Wiltgen ‘s work the very first time he toured a Wiltgen-designed model home. So when Ted Guarnero suggested they do a video tour of John’s own West Loop loft, Joe agreed instantly. As John says at the outset of the tour, and as you’ll probably notice yourself, “there’s certainly a lot of [...]

All right, we jumped the gun a little by showing off one of 1000 West Washington ‘s showcase homes — a 4,000 square-foot triplex loft — before giving the development a proper introduction. In this video, “Chicago Loft Guide” Ted Guarnero does just that, focusing on both the lofts themselves and the riches of West Loop living just steps [...]

Remember when lofts were all about large, open spaces and soaring ceilings? This 4,000 square foot loft at 1000 West Washington , in the West Loop, takes you back to the days when loft neighborhoods were less fashionable and loft spaces were more affordable. It offers 3 bedrooms, 2 offices, 3 ½ baths and room sizes that you don’t [...]

It’s a common misconception that you need to live in a high-rise to enjoy views of Chicago’s fabulous skyline and a full range of in-building amenities and services. Not so. In this segment from their tour of Haberdasher Square Lofts in the West Loop , Baird & Warner ‘s Ted Guarnero takes Joe Zekas up to the sundeck for a skyline and western [...]

The 220-unit Haberdasher Square Lofts was one of the early loft conversions in the near West Loop neighborhood in Chicago, and remains one of the few full-amenity loft conversions in the city. In the above video, Baird & Warner’s Ted Guarnero gives us an overview of the building, its history, and the range of unit sizes and prices [...]