The Loft Craze
Proximity to transportation corridors, urban centers, and local
attractions draw land-loving young professionals to high-density
loft-style condominiums. If your looking for a Condo with a
twist, a loft may be just the home to You.
Lofts vary in price depending on what city you are in, units in
the Chicago area start around A $200, 800 square feet and top $1
million for 2,500 square feet.
A true loft for is a conversion of a vintage factory or
warehouse, having a harder edge of either concrete construction,
or "mill" construction of exposed brick and original wood posts,
beams and floors. Ceilings should be over ten feet high at
least. This is increasingly very important for loft purchasers,
as developers are now building condos with slightly higher
ceilings than in the past. It is the height that helps give a
loft the feeling of air and space. Larger windows and open
concept layouts also help. Ceilings are unfinished and pipes and
heating ducts are exposed. Do not expect to find a 1,000 square
foot loft divided up into two bedrooms and a den. It will much
more likely have a kitchen and a bathroom with the rest of the
space left as one large open room, which you can work with and
use according to your own functions and needs. Some people think
a loft means you have a second mezzanine level overlooking the
floor below, but this is simply one style of loft. Beware of
another type of loft -- the newly constructed loft (or "soft
lofts"), which are for the most part "Condos With High
Ceilings", and are examples of Chicago condo developers trying
to cash in on the popularity of lofts. They are still great
units, just not "true" lofts.
Less traditional lofts have a kitchen and living room on the
lower floor and an open second floor for bedrooms.
Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Tampa have strong
loft markets. The public cannot get enough of them. "Atlanta's
loft supply and demand has increased so much that there's a
separate listing for lofts in the newspaper."