Reduced to Go

Smaller parking spaces and free mopeds remedy tight squeeze

By Dennis Rodkin

Because the parking lot at a Bucktown conversion had room for only half as many cars as there would be condos, the projec's architect and developer, Jeff Funke, came up with a novel solution: Give each buyer a free moped as well as a free downsized parking space to go with it.

Bucktown

From: $269,900
To: $559,900

Funke's project, the 16-condo Baer Lofts (at 1927 North Milwaukee Avenue), was formerly a five-story warehouse with few windows. Seamlessly blending the new with the old, the inventive Funke placed large glass windows between the 99-year-old building's decorative terra cotta strips. Inside, he left in place the hefty concrete pillars and replaced the crumbling walls with original-looking bricks—a brawny complement to the condos' sleek kitchens and baths.

Five of the Baer Lofts condos have been sold. The remaining condos run from $269,900 for an 850-square-foot one-bedroom unit to $559,900 for a 1,400-square-foot two-bedroom unit with a second-level loft space that opens onto the green roof. The Mike Vesole Group, which is affiliated with @Properties, is handling sales of the condos; they are available for occupancy now.

Photograph: Courtesy of @Properties

This article appears in the September 2008 issue of Chicago Magazine.

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