Monday, October 19, 2009

My Downtown High-rise Adventure

Ever since I moved out to Chicago and made myself a permanent resident in 2001, I’ve always been a neighborhood kind of guy. I lived in Lincoln Park, Southport Corridor, and most recently Uptown. And in that time I’ve always lived in smaller vintage buildings. I’ve visited high rises before and never really considered myself a high-rise person. A little box in the sky? For me? No. Never.

A few months ago I took a listing in a West Loop high-rise. I enjoyed showing the unit and spent a fair amount of time in the lobby of the building. Every time I arrived I was greeted by the door staff. Each one very polite and remembered who I was and asked how the showings were going. Then I watched as the residents came in and out of the building and how they enjoyed being greeted by said door people are seemed to be happy when they came home. This got me thinking; maybe it was time for a change?

At this point I had lived in my 1bed 1 bath condo in Uptown for 4 years. The commute on the CTA to my office was 45 minutes. I didn’t like the grocery store nearest me. During the winter I felt trapped in my house and it was difficult to motivate to go out of my house to do anything like exercise or grocery shop. So yes, it was time for a change.

I don’t really remember how it all happened, but somehow my attention got turned to the Hancock Building. I booked some appointments to see some available units and immediately fell in love. Everyone in the lobby had smiles on their faces. The doormen were extremely pleasant. The realtor brought me up to the 44th floor and showed me the sky lobby with it’s beautiful view of the lake and Navy Pier, the well stocked workout room, the indoor pool, but what really sold me was the grocery store. A FULL GROCERY STORE at my disposal. This spelled the end of having to trudge through the snow to get my food. I also had direct access to a deli and a Jamba Juice AND the Cheesecake Factory without ever having to go outside. My mind was made up.

I was lucky enough to find a fantastic tenant for my condo – and on June 18th I started my downtown high-rise adventure and I haven’t looked back. My commute to work is now 15 minutes and I spend my evenings looking out my window as the lights of the beautiful city. If you have ever considered making the change – contact me. I can help you!