Not Another Coffee Shop
At the Emerald, developers rethink ground-floor space
The original plans for the Emerald, a recently completed two-tower condo structure at 123 South Green Street, included retail space on part of the ground floor. Then somebody had a better idea. "We realized that what we have here could be something really different," says William Senne, whose Senco Properties is one of the partners developing the project. Now, instead of a dry cleaner or a coffee shop, future residents will share an 8,000-square-foot common area whose design—glass walls and alternating large and small spaces—resembles the bar and clubrooms in a hip hotel.
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Around 40 of the Emerald's 212 condos remain for sale. They start at $297,000, for a 794-square-foot one-bedroom unit, and top off at $526,000 for a two-bedroom unit with 1,297 square feet. Standard finishes include sustainably grown bamboo flooring and stainless-steel appliances that, for an upgrade fee, buyers can complement with Montalco lacquered cabinets. Some of the one-bedroom units have a balcony looking from one tower across to the other, but the balconies in other units provide views of the neighborhood and the Chicago skyline.
Photograph: Chris Barrett
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Reader Comments:
I wouldn't call the lack of ground level retail a "better idea." It sounds like a suburban mentality, creating a closed off building that offers nothing to neighbors, and forces residents of the building to walk or drive further away for the cafe or corner store that could have been in their building. If the condo board it smart and they have ownership of the ground floor, I bet they'd lease the space for something more useful.
Just around the corner though are all those amenities on the East side of the building on the same block, as part of the building. So the lobby just adds another element that other buildings in the area do not have. Because it is in the heart of the city, amenities within steps of Emerald's front door abound.