Lake Street Lofts is a 6-story, 89-unit loft apartment building in the West Loop.
Built in 1886, the heavy-timber building was home to the Zimmerman Brush Company store and factory before its 2000 renovation and conversion. FitzGerald Associates, the architecture firm responsible for the conversion, has its offices on the ground floor of the building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The apartments
Lake Street Lofts has a mix of one-bedroom, one-bedroom plus den and two-bedroom, 1-bath apartments in seven different floor plans.
One-bedroom rents as of late December 2013 started at $1,050 a month, one-bedroom plus dens at $1,275 and starting prices for 2-bedrooms ranged from $1,485 to $1,900.
Apartments have a classic loft aesthetic, with 12- to 16-foot ceiling heights, exposed brick and ductwork, timber ceilings and beams, gas fireplaces and large windows. Floors are carpeted. Heat and air-conditioning is via individual units.
Most of the units have a shoe-box layout, with the bedrooms having borrowed light and ventilation rather than windows. One of the two-bedroom plans does have the split-bedroom configuration that’s popular with roommates and home office workers, and that plan has bedrooms with windows.
The long and narrow layouts result in a fair amount of square footage being lost to hallways.
The kitchen appliance package includes a gas range, dishwasher and built-in microwave.
Views. Most of the surrounding development doesn’t rise above 4- or 5-stories in height, so upper-floor units at Lake Street Lofts enjoy good views.
Amenities, services, policies
Amenities are limited to a rooftop sundeck and a laundry room.
Lake Street Lofts does have parking available on-site, both in a gated outdoor area and a lower-level heated garage.
Lake Street Lofts has on-site management and maintenance. The building accepts cats, subject to limits and a fee.
The location
Lake Street Lofts directly overlooks the El tracks along Lake Street.
The building is in an area dominated by low-rise loft buildings, many of which have been converted to a variety of office, residential and restaurant uses. It’s bracketed on the north by Fulton Market, which is in transition from a meat-packing district, and on the south by Randolph Street‘s popular restaurant row. The Fulton Market Cold Storage building, a block to the west, is being renovated and expanded as 1K Fulton, and will house part of Google’s Chicago presence.
Shopping. Residents at Lake Street Lofts have reasonably convenient grocery shopping options.
The recently-opened Mariano’s, four short blocks southeast of the building, has been generating a lot of positive buzz and drawing crowds to a large selection of prepared foods and craft beers. Whole Foods is rumored to be negotiating on the recently-closed Dominick’s north of Mariano’s. Jewel-Osco also has a location nearby.
There’s a new Target eight-tenths of a mile southwest of the building.
Retail options are few in the West Loop. State Street shops, anchored by Macy’s, and the big box cluster in the Clybourn Corridor are readily accessible by public transportation.
Dining, nightlife. The West Loop is an almost indescribably-rich dining and nightlife venue, and 910 W Lake has great proximity to the best of it.
The thriving Randolph Street restaurant corridor is a block south of the building.
Residents at Lake Street Lofts won’t need to venture very far to hang out at neighborhood favorites Perez and Au Cheval.
Greektown is a few blocks southeast of the building.
Parks, recreation. The location has poor proximity to public parks and recreational opportunities.
The nearest public park, Mary Bartelme Park, is four blocks south of the building and a neighborhood favorite for kids and dogs.
Transportation. Public transportation at the location is excellent.
Lake Street Lofts is a block from the new CTA Pink and Green Line stop at Morgan.
A number of CTA bus routes serve the area. The Halsted St bus, 2 short blocks east, connects to the Blue Line stop at Grand Ave for transit to O’Hare Airport.
Lake Street Lofts has good access to the city’s expressway grid. Taxi service is readily available. Zipcar car-sharing locations are nearby.
The competition
Lake Street Lofts’ most direct competitors are likely to be River West Lofts and 13Thirteen. The West Loop apartment market will become very competitive in 2014 as several new high-rises open in the neighborhood.
Rentals are typically available in a number of nearby condo buildings, sometimes at lower rents than in the managed apartment buildings.
You’ll find additional tips and options at our Guide to renting in Chicago’s Near West neighborhoods and our at-a-glance list of downtown Chicago apartments.
Share your take on Lake Street Lofts
If you’ve lived at or visited Lake Street Lofts, and are not a real estate agent, add your thoughts in a comment. Comments are moderated, and commercial messages are not allowed.