Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Renovated Sheridan Plaza Apartments Impress

A reader out searching for a new apartment in Uptown writes in:
"I have been following the progress of the Sheridan Plaza on your site, through the foreclosure and so on. I am in the market for a new rental and was wanting something decent, which is hard to find in Uptown. I have found that apartments are either on the run-down side, or a condo with not much in between. You can imagine my surprise when I toured the Sheridan Plaza Apartments at Sheridan and Wilson. The second I stepped in, I could tell the entire lobby and entry way had been renovated. My jaw dropped. I was greeted by very friendly salespeople that took me all over the building. They mentioned there are 140 units total and around 130 have already rented out! I saw one and two bedroom units (there are duplexes in the building that have already rented), totally renovated with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, brand new hardwood floors and cable & internet included! I was only able to get a pic of the lobby but the website has 3 pages of photos and info. The gym was amazing too. The salesperson also mentioned that a new coffeeshop called "Michelangelo's" will be opening to the right of the Sheridan side entrance. The convenience store in the building will also be connected to the building so residents can enter from the inside. I also asked about the scaffolding that has been up forever and they mentioned it will be down this summer as long as the weather permits more repairs to be done. Overall, I was very impressed. Prices ranged from around $900 to $1200 for the one bedrooms if I remember right which is a bit steep, but for what you get it is worth it. Hopefully I will call this place "home" soon. Hope you can share this with your readers. I encourage everyone to take a tour of this building, at least the lobby!"

17 comments:

  1. Horizon is the company that filed a lawsuit against a tenant who tweeted about mold in her apartment. That corner is just a mess but it nice to know that the building has been renovated. I bet the views are beautiful if you are on a higher floor.

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  2. Sweet! I live real close to there and can't wait for that scaffolding to come down.

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  3. In reading the website, it's interesting to note that the architect of the Sheridan Plaza was also the architect of the Palmer House. So much for "Uptown's always been poor and always will be."

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  4. Very impressive indeed! Glad to see that Uptown has decent MARKET rate rentals available.

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  5. WOW! The pictures look incredible!
    Would love to see the Somerset, the Lawrence House, and other run down properties experience the same fate.
    I hope they are able to attract high quality, hard working tenants who will treat this property and the neighborhood with some respect. Further, I hope they protect their investment by holding tenants responsible for their conduct.

    Good luck!

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  6. Uptown wasn't always poor!!! It was a premiere neighborhood in it's day!!! Uptown was built very quickly with a whole lot of money! It didn't go downhill until the 50's when everyone started having TV's in their home and didn't use the entertainment area like they used to.

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  7. I know, Larry. But that's the standard Shillerista retort to "gentrification" -- that Uptown's always been poor, always will be, and God forbid it ever changes, as all neighborhoods do.

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  8. where is sheridan plaza? i hope its near lawrence & sheridan. we need some foot traffic over there to stop those taking bets and selling drugs.

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  9. I'm assuming the building also has a Section 8 permit as well because of the area. Either way, this building will be great for all tenants. Money or no-money. Its good to see it in great shape. It proves that low-income people as well deserve to live in decent housing that is modern and not infested by slime.

    Congrats to those who worked hard to restore it.

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  10. just for the sake of accuracy:

    the architect of the Sheridan Plaza - Walter Ahlschlager - didn't design the Palmer House... that was the firm of Holabird and Roche. He Did, however, design the Medinah Athletic Club which is now the Hotel Intercontinental... as well as the newly restored Uptown Broadway building at B'way and Leland...and the Sovereign at Granville and Kenmore


    Here's a link to a neat downloadable booklet about his work: http://www.compassrose.org/books/available.html#Ahlschlager1921


    He also designed a number of theaters in Chicago but aside from the Davis they're all gone. Here's a link to a list of his designs:
    http://cinematreasures.org/architect/3/

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  11. Neat building. We're kind of looking around, too. But, I would not rent from Horizon after the incident where they filed suit against the person who tweeted about them.

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  12. Per the Horizon lawsuit:

    Yeah, it was a pseudo-crappy thing to do, but I heard an interview with a Horizon rep and he wasn't taking it too seriously; and, if memory serves, the whole thing was eventually dropped.

    It sounded as though it were a knee-jerk, lawyerly reaction to the misunderstanding of the reality of social media.

    I'm not defending them, per se - since I think that suing a critic (or, for that matter trying to subpoena information about your critics) is akin to throwing an infantile tantrum; but, hey ... we all have done things we wished we hadn't, right?

    If Horizon wants to inject some $$ into the neighborhood and help prevent the grander of historic Uptown from fading into the stew of government funded lethargy ..., fine by me.

    I mean, seriously, who else in this ward might be able to boast about having statue in their lobby?

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  13. did they resolve the issue over the facade work yet?

    the owners want to demolish the historic 2-story facade of the current parking structure (formerly the hotel ballroom).

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  14. I kind of resent the statement that there isn't anything worth renting in Uptown. We've been trying to rent our condo for a month, and after pouring work and money into it have gotten nearly zero interest. If you people were true Uptown residents you wouldn't be so quick to slander your own real estate.

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  15. Florestan, how big is your apartment and what are you trying to rent it for?

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