BRINGING YOU HOME
Closing the Last...A Reflection and Nod of Gratitude
Last week, we closed the final [original] unit sale at The Orchard. A special arrangement had been granted to allow the purchaser to lease the home for an extended period before buying. The event marked the end of my eight-year involvement with the development team in this building. An occasion worthy of reflection and deep gratitude.
I lose track, but I believe my first planning meeting on the design of what would become The Orchard Private Residences occurred in February 2017. The general contractor, interior design firm and other key partners had yet to be selected. Those decisions were months away. A couple of colleagues and I gathered in a bustling room filled with owners, executives, project managers, designers and marketers from the developers, Hines and McCaffery Interests, engineers and architects. Big personalities, immense talent and lofty expectations.
Our mission: to design and build the most highly refined new condominium development on the city’s north side, a building that would become the premier address in Lincoln Park and one that would establish a new pricing benchmark in the neighborhood.
Over the next 18 months, we set out on a course to achieve that mission.
So, it began. Every two weeks, various colleagues and I would meet with representatives from the development teams and architectural firm to dissect every aspect of what the building design would become. Marketing data was presented, market trends were studied, the requisite features and amenities of a residential offering of this caliber were scrutinized. We then considered how to improve upon those standards. We were designing a residential experience in Lincoln Park that would elevate the neighborhood’s distinction and enhance the lifestyles of its residents.
Simplicity is the art of elegance in design and in writing. My notes continue for pages. I will address other aspects of this experience in future pieces. For now, I will conclude by expressing my deep gratitude for the opportunity to be a part of this extraordinary development, to learn and engage freely with wonderful minds, to build meaningful, lasting relationships and to achieve what we set out to accomplish eight years ago.
Thank you to all my friends at Hines, McCaffery, Antunovich Associates, Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty, Soucie Horner, Ltd., Christopher Peacock and many others who collaborated with us.
What an experience.
-Cadey
