While increasingly luxurious high-end condos crowd the Gold Coast, a new project featuring a big name architect is offering units in a wide price range.

As other developers market projects full of multimillion-dollar penthouses (50 East Chestnut), or luxurious condos atop five-star hotels, like the nearby The Elysian, Prime Group Inc.'s 10 East Delaware is shooting for a different niche in the market.

The idea is to offer a higher number of new construction units in a broader price range, says Henry. In October 2007, prices for one-bedroom units started at the $540s and headed up to the $2.5 million mark.

Four-diamond service

But there's a kicker which he hopes will help 10 East Delaware stand head and shoulders above the competition. 

Prime has struck up a deal with the nearby four-diamond Talbott Hotel (20 E Delaware) to provide concierge, ala carte, room and maid services to its condo buyers on a pay-per-use basis. It's an uncommon move for a development that is solely residential, but it comes at a time when highrise dwellers are becoming more and more accustomed to the good life. Chicago has seen a surge in highrises that are part condo-hotel and part residential (Elysian, Trump), and people buying into these developments also have full access to the services of a five-star hotel. 

The idea of a joint venture with Talbott was proposed by Prime Group employees who have links with people at Talbott, and the novel move can't hurt a fledgling development trying to put its stamp on a competitive turf, Henry says. Furthering the synergy, Talbott is considering opening an oupost of its popular Basil's restaurant in the lower level retail space at 10 East Delaware.

Still, it's the condo prices that will probably be the buyer magnet. As 10 East Delaware sales agent Joe Zimmerman of At Properties points out, new Gold Coast condos these days are frequently fetching $2 million.

“You are going to get a lot of people who want to be part of [the Gold Coast] and can’t afford it, from 30-something professionals to empty nesters,” Zimmerman says.

"Star-chitect" designs classical building

Aside from 10 East Delaware’s affordable prices, another pontetial crowd-puller is the "star-chitect" behind the project, Lucien Lagrange, who is bringing the classical European aesthetic he unveiled at luxury highrises 65 East Goethe and 840 North Lakeshore Drive to bear at 10 East Delaware.

The building will be constructed of French limestone with pre-cast cornice detailing and the unit floor plans will have a pleasing symmetry "and a certain order,” Lagrange says.

“You enter the apartment and there’s a wall in front of you with furniture and flowers and a sequence for entering the apartment," he says. 

"A room with a sense of proportion brings a certain sense of security, it’s a sense of comfort. You feel like you have come home.”

The units' floor plans offer 9.5 feet ceilings, six-feet high windows, while there will be larger, 11-feet ceilings in the six penthouses built over two levels near the top of the building.

The final details of the units’ features have not yet been hammered out, but the package will include Sub-Zero refrigerators and Wolf or Miele kitchen appliances, Henry says. Granite countertops, hardwood floors and Internet pre-wiring are all included, he adds.

"People are not going to need to upgrade much because the standard finishes are excellent,” Henry says, but notes that buyers wanting to add things like a wine cooler or upgrade the stone tiling will be accommodated.

The building’s top floor will feature an open-air swimming pool and whirlpool, as well as a workout room, party room, and men and women’s locker rooms.

The higher floors will boast lake views, and the building offers vistas of the city skyline to the north, south and west, Henry says.

A little piece of Paris

Lagrange says he is particularly impressed with Delaware Place itself, a tidy strip nestled between Rush and State streets.

“There’s something to be said for that little piece of street,” he says. “When you walk that street there’s almost the feel of a Parisian street with cafes, shops and stalls – it’s a good feel and I think that building on the corner will work very well.”

In November 2005 Henry said ground breaking was scheduled for the late second quarter or early third quarter of 2006, with first occupancy set for sometime in the middle of 2008. As of October 2007, first occupancy is slated for 2009.