Cornering the market
in Printers Row
Winthrop's Printers Corner brings
fresh look to popular South Loop enclave
by Dan Schuyler

Winthrop Properties plans to cut a lot of corners in building its new Printers Row condo tower – one for each unit, to be precise.

“Not only is the building on a corner, but it is designed so that every residence is a corner unit,” says Bob Horner, of Winthrop Properties, the developer behind Printers Corner, a 16-story condo building underway at 171 W. Polk, in Printers Row. “Obviously, this enhances the views from each residence, but it also allows for more than the usual amount of natural light.”

Printers Corner is an unusual project because, as condo shoppers know, the coveted corner units are often the first to go in a new building. Printers Corner, on the other hand, offers nothing but corner units, so there are no second-class condos in the highrise.

The project stands out in another way too. Printers Row, perhaps the most settled, comfortable enclave in the South Loop, is a collection of historic printing houses and other manufacturing buildings that have been converted into loft apartments and increasingly, condominiums. There is almost no room to build here, so a brand new condominium building is a rare event.

Winthrop has made the most of the site, with a façade that steps back, making each of the eight condos per floor into a corner unit. The top 11 floors contain 88 units and a contemporary design of glass and concrete. But Printers Corner also nods to its classic surroundings, especially in the five-story base, which houses 7,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and four stories of parking above that.

“There is quite a palate of materials in the base of the building,” says Mike DeRouin of Fitzgerald Associates, architects for the project. “We borrowed heavily from the surrounding neighborhood and purposely clad the first five floors in a way that would hide the garage and blend in with the neighborhood.”

The most prominent feature of the base of the building is its padded Chicago-red face brick, which has the hint of contemporary construction as it meets the glass and concrete tower above.

“The exposed concrete on the tower is painted gray to tone down the contemporary feel somewhat,” says DeRouin. “And because we created a lot of corners and made the structure asymmetrical, the tower doesn’t have the stark modern appearance of many of the new buildings in the city.”

It’s only natural that Horner would want to take context into account when building in Printers Row. The developer was the force behind Printers Row Lofts, a 138-unit heavy-timber loft conversion that recently completed sales practically next door.

One of the keys to Printers Row’s popularity has been the rough character of the old massively built printing houses later converted to lofts. Another has been the profusion of ground-floor commercial spaces that make Printers Row one of the most convenient corners of the South Loop and create the foot traffic that gives this stretch the feel of a true neighborhood. In his design for Printers Corner, Horner says, he wanted to respect these surroundings.

The building has a secure lobby, storage space, a bicycle room and garage parking, which is included in unit prices.

The condos have one to three bedrooms and one to 3.5 baths, ranging from 740 to 1,900 square feet and priced from the low $200s. Features include 10-foot ceiling heights, floor-to-ceiling glass, hardwood floors in living areas, balconies, GE stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, upgraded Italian cabinetry and ceramic or marble baths per plan.

“The residences have a few unique little touches that you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else,” says Cyndy Salgado, of Garrison Partners, the marketing agent for the building. All of the condos come with a 42-inch plasma TV in the living room, a closet organizer in the master bedroom closet and a “tech center” with a built-in desk, multimedia outlets and an upper cabinet.

“The building doesn’t have the same formula as most buildings, and the interiors just aren’t like most things you’ll see,”says DeRouin. “With each unit being a corner unit, it allows you to create an open airy feeling and a sense of connection to the outside without using artificial light or partial walls.”

The sales center for Printers Corner, www.printerscorner.com, is located at 47 W. Polk, at the south end of Dearborn Station.