When this real estate developer and repeat Collective Office client found this property in the Chicago neighborhood of Ukrainian Village, It was an opportunity that was too good to pass up. The building had fallen into a state of disrepair but he had the vision to see its potential. He reached out to Collective Office to help breathe new life into this diamond-in-the-rough property, and deliver a stunning personal residence with two additional income generating rental units.
The building as purchased was a time capsule from a bygone era, as it was full of beautiful original detailing. However, years of neglect had left the building in poor condition. The objective of this project was to fully modernize the building while retaining those irreplaceable historic details.
Because there was a strong desire to maintain a lot of the building's original qualities, the interventions proposed by Collective Office were fairly surgical in nature. Behind the scenes, the utilities throughout the building were modernized with great care not to impact the character of the space. In addition, subtle plan changes were made throughout to resolve awkward conditions and make the floor plans reflect modern living patterns.
The existing wood work throughout was revitalized by meticulously removing, refurbishing and reinstalling all the elaborate trim in the project. In areas where changes were made, trim reclaimed from elsewhere in the project was reused to maintain continuity throughout. In some cases pieces were recreated entirely in new material to make our interventions blend in seamlessly with the existing millwork.
The interior design of the project was a labor of love for the clients. With their keen design sensibilities, they took this newly refurbished gem of a building and elevated it to another level. Their sophisticated Scandinavian modern design style also extends to the garden unit below which has been transformed into a very successful short-term-rental, providing great cashflow for the clients. When combined with the long-term-rental income from the upper unit, the end result is a beautiful family home which also delivers strong financial returns to the clients.
