CMK's 235 Van Buren high-rise goes up in Financial District

A contemporary-style skyscraper with sleek gray-tinted glass windows and cantilevered balconies will be a new landmark on the Chicago skyline when the 235 Van Buren condominium building is completed in the Financial District on the southern edge of Chicago's Loop.

Developer Colin Kihnke, president of Chicago-based CMK Development Corp., has enlisted renowned architect Ralph Johnson of Perkins & Will to design the high-rise, which will be one of the tallest new buildings planned downtown.

The 46-story high-rise, under construction on the southeast corner of Franklin and Van Buren, will be a modern sculpture of glass, grand atriums and unique balconies geared to revive the heritage of modern architecture in Chicago.

When complete, 235 Van Buren will be a contemporary-style building showcasing a glass exterior with unique atrium residences, a stunningly designed parking structure, a sculptured roofline and commercial space.

"The building sits on a prime site, as a threshold to the city from the Eisenhower Expressway," said Byran Schabel, project architect from Perkins & Will.

"The facade is like a kinetic billboard of active balconies and will be one of the first things people see upon entering the city from the expressway," he said.

Plans for the development call for the construction of 714 condominiums. Buyers may choose from among more than 130 floor plans with one to three bedrooms and one to three baths.

Base prices range from $199,900 for the most affordable studio with 522 square feet to $449,900 for the most expensive two-bedroom, two-bath layout with 1,292 square feet. Twelve penthouses are also available, base priced from $339,900.

The sales center and a vignette model, at 405 S. Wells, are open next to the construction site, according to Scott Hoskins, president and managing broker for CMK Realty, the exclusive sales and marketing agent.

Initial sales at 235 Van Buren have been brisk, with more than 400 units already sold, reported Gail Lissner, vice president of Appraisal Research Counselors Ltd.

"Construction now is under way on the vacant site following the demolition of two small adjacent properties," Hoskins said. "The first units will be available for occupancy in early to mid-2009."

One of the interesting architectural features is "the playful distribution of the cantilevered balconies, which read as shiny boxes hanging from gray-tinted glass," Schabel said.

"It relieves the overall mass of the faí§ade and expresses the individuality of the units. The pattern of the strip windows helps further reduce the scale and enlivens the faí§ade. The floor-to-ceiling windows will be breathtaking," Kihnke said.

Schabel said the windows "will provide a modern facade as well as offer panoramic views from the inside of the residences."

Nearly all of the floor plans will offer balconies and terraces with spectacular views, Sears Tower and the city skyline, parks, the Chicago River and Lake Michigan.

The 235 Van Buren's architecture is best described as Ralph Johnson's signature Normative Modernism, which strongly complements CMK's tradition of modern developments, Kihnke noted.

"Many new downtown Chicago condominium buildings are generic, not personalized," Johnson said. "This building is very different, in many respects, from the current crop of high-rises going up in the city in that it's a sculpture - none of the design is an afterthought."

Johnson took the building's mass and broke it down by addressing the corner's diagonal composition.

"It has a sculptural dynamic with the balconies spinning off of the building's column in a fashion similar to a pinwheel," he said.

Luxury will be standard in every residence at 235 Van Buren, Kihnke said.

"These are unique floor plans that design around the sculptural elements of the building and engage the oversized balconies," he said.

Buyers also will enjoy building luxuries such as a dog run, a 24-hour doorman and six high-speed elevators.

Some of the other standard features include a secured telephone entry intercom system with video monitor, thermal-pane aluminum framed windows and a dramatic lobby with 25-foot-tall ceiling and accented with slate, stainless-steel and imported woods.

"The lobby, with its tall ceilings and full-height glass walls, also provides dramatic views to the surrounding high-rises, including the Sears Tower," Schabel said.

Kihnke noted that with more than 100 floor plans, every buyer will be sure to find something that will fit his or her lifestyles.

There also will be 522 secure indoor parking spaces priced from $31,900 to $36,900 and 50 tandem spaces, priced from $51,900 to $56,900.

Buyers at 235 Van Buren also will not only enjoy the condominium's Loop location, but also the neighborhood's prime location offers instant access to the West Loop's Restaurant Row and Greek Town's restaurant district.

The sales center, which showcases a scale model of the building and available selections and options, is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, contact CMK Realty at (312) 376-0600 or visit www.235vanburen.com. CMK Development Corp.