Today's New Homes, January 25-26, 2006

Metropolitan Tower: front and center for city living

Homeowners at Metropolitan Tower on the Park who crave a hot urban neighborhood need venture no farther than their front yard. Overlooking Grant and Millennium parks, Buckingham Fountain and the lakefront, Metropolitan Tower's views are protected in perpetuity. None other than Montgomery Ward himself pushed for a guarantee, granted by an early 20th-century Illinois Supreme Court mandate, to keep Chicago's Grant Park lakefront "forever open, clear and free" - and so it remains.

"Millennium Park is becoming Chicago's version of New York's Central Park," said Louis D'Angelo, Chairman of the Chicago Loop Alliance. "Clearly, the area has been revitalized into a 24/7 neighborhood, making the East Loop much more vibrant and inviting than it was 10 years ago.

According to the 2005 economic impact study commissioned by the city's Department of Planning and Development, the estimated value of residential development attributable to Millennium Park over the next 10 years will total $1.4 billion.

East Loop residents can experience the neighborhood's world-class shopping, trendy restaurants, summer festivals, and celebrated cultural attractions including Chicago's Art Institute, the Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium within steps to their homes.

At the center of the East Loop, recognizable by it's distinctive blue crown light, Metropolitan Properties of Chicago LLC is redeveloping the 80-year old structure. The 30-story tower has 243 luxury condominiums, townhomes and penthouses. The residences, designed by Pappageorge/Haymes Ltd., include one-, two-, three-bedroom Avenue and Burnham condominiums of up to 1,932 square feet; two-, three- and four-bedroom Buckingham Townhomes up to 4,171 square feet; and full-floor Millennium Penthouses up to 4,000 square feet with private elevators and 360-degree views. Prices start in the low $300,000s and reach the upper bracket.

Metropolitan Tower, a one-of-a-kind residence in the East Loop, combines solid construction and vintage architecture with modern features and amenities. The lobby preserves original building details including cream-colored moldings, marble floors, and brass elevator doors depicting scenes of arts and sciences. Residences are equipped with electronic pass key entry, high-speed Internet access, and on-demand heating and cooling, as well as new plumbing, electrical and sprinkler systems. Exceptional finishes - such as Grohe bathroom and kitchen fixtures, premium General Electric appliances and Brookhaven by Woodmode cabinetry - are standard. Amenities include a 24-hour uniformed doorman, professionally equipped fitness center, roof deck, furnished guest suites and an event room for private parties or meetings. Private, enclosed parking is available on site.

Metropolitan Properties of Chicago LLC, founded in 1991, has a strong record of transforming vintage properties such as the award-winning adaptive reuse of the McCormick Building, 332 S. Michigan. 310 South Michigan Avenue - designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, successor to Daniel Burnham's architectural practice is the neo-classical structure featuring a terraced pyramid crown topped by a glass "beehive" housing a blue light instantly recognizable on the historic Michigan Avenue streetwall. The first Chicago building to top 30 stories, the tower originally served as corporate headquarters of The Straus Company and later was renamed Britannica Centre in 1980.

The sales center for Metropolitan Tower on the Park is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 312.922.1310, or visit www.themetropolitantower.com