The West Loop has a history as a formerly industrial area that spawned luxurious loft developments and townhomes, but right now the West Loop story is one of mid-rise developments.

The district is attracting young buyers. Why? It's close to the Loop, fine dining options abound and major employers like the University of Illinois, Merchandize Mart and the office buildings of Wacker Drive are an easy commute away.

The median price for a new construction condo rose in September 2005 to $340, from $292 in 2003 (MLSNI). But for buyers looking right now, the West Loop doesn't have the abundance of new construction housing nor the variety of product type that other districts do.

That’s partly because neighbors have mobilized effectively in the West Loop to fight the onset of highrises, and developers find it difficult to obtain zoning permission.

But there are other factors as well. Yes, the area is steadily filling in with retail, fine dining and wonderfully organic cultural features like the evolving design and art gallery corridor of Fulton Market on the neighborhood's edges, and the Chicago Antique Market. But developers have turned their attention more to city neighborhoods like the Loop and South Loop, which boast even stronger selling points, such as having Lake Michigan on their doorstep and proximity to Millennium and Grant parks. The West Loop has precious little open green space.

Recent townhome developments such as the Belgravia Realty Group’s higher-end Chelsea Townhomes at W Monroe and S Racine, (from the $550s to the $880s) and Dubin Residential’s Monroe Place, on the 1200 block of Monroe, ($435s to $450s) sold out rapidly and there were no townhome projects on the horizon in November 2005.

Westward bound

These days developers are pushing the boundaries of the West Loop and creating sub-categories. There is the Fulton River District (Chicago River, Kinzie, Halsted and Randolph), so named by developers Jameson Realty and Belgravia Realty Group in the early 1990s. Much of the land here is already in the hands of developers and at varying stages of pre-development, says Charles Huzenis of Jameson Realty, who predicts the area will take off.

Developers are also heading into what was traditionally the Near West Side, (west of Ashland and Damen) and co-opting it into the West Loop for marketing purposes.

It's here that first time buyers will find some cheaper housing options. Westhaven Park is a mixed-income redevelopment of mid-rises and city flats on the site of the former Chicago Housing Authority’s Henry Horner Homes, at Hermitage, Lake, Oakley and Washington. When ground broke in November 2005 it was more 75 percent sold, offering low income, affordable workforce-for-sale housing and market rate homes at pre-construction prices from the $160s to the $348s.

Other West Loop projects in November 2005 included Odyssey Lofts, a 70-loft development at 775 W Jackson in the Greektown area, priced from the $250s to the $550s.

In the mid-rise market there is 740 Fulton, the 132-unit, 14-story glass, steel and concrete structure priced in November 2005 from the mid-$200s for a one-bedroom, one-bath unit, to the $600s for a three-bedroom, 2.5 bath unit. Six penthouses are also being marketed.

Jameson's Jefferson Tower is a good example of the West Loop price creep. The upscale highrise of one-bedrooms targeted at first-time buyers comes complete with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and balconies. It began marketing in 2003, with prices ranging from the low $200s to $370s, and in November 2005 it was 70 percent sold, with occupancy scheduled for January 2006. Jameson's Jody C. Williams says prices have risen steadily, and in September 2005 the prices ranged from $290 to $473, with the bulk of condos selling in the mid- to high $300s.