Inside The New Farcroft

             Michael Brunner met with Chevanston this morning and gave this publication the grand tour. There will be a doorman at the front door once there are enough residents living in the building. At least twenty units are already rented for March first move in.

The famous Farcroft fire place with original woodwork in the foreground

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(ok this is the second draft, update 9:51 pm)

            The loading dock on the side of the building gives residents ample room to move all of their furniture and belongings inside. There is a mail room, storage room for personal items and bicycles, a bicycle repair station and air compressor. There will also be a coffee bar (possibly a Starbucks) in the lobby. So the lobby will function as a great place to hang out and watch tv on the huge flatscreen. Tables,chairs and cookout grills in the back patio back where the bicycle racks are located. So this will also be a great place for residents to mingle and get to know each other. The exercise room will have ellipticals, treadmills and flat screen tvs.

Storage units and air compressor

inside bicycle storage

           






             
               The units are forced air and controlled by thermostat, air conditioning via central air. Each floor has two washers, two dryers and a garbage chute. The doors have handsome knockers that also tell you which unit you are at. The units have sprinklers throughout in case of fire. The building is extremely well insulated and sound proofed. The prices for units get a bit higher above the fifth floor (thats when the really nice view start) then above the ninth floor again.

             At this time you simply cannot get a better deal for an apartment in Chicago. Whoever is lucky enough to land an apartment at the Farcroft is getting the most than anyone could possibly get for their money in the entire city. The building will be completely covered by close circuit camera to provide excellent security and peace of mind (a la Sliver- what an old fashioned movie) Also the forced air unit screens will be automatically exchanged out by management. There is the usual beautiful backsplash, granite counter tops, hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances.

Island in one of the larger units

Nice sink, cherry cabinets and back splash.
They agonized over what color the backsplash
should be, beige was a great choice.

         










               Whatever could be restored in the lobby was restored. There was an elegant black frame gate within the lobby that had to be recessed into the wall for safety reasons. The original floor tile is being restored and only replaced if absolutely necessary. The built in figurines in the lobby were simply wiped with a clean towel. The wooden walls of the lobby were replaced with matching wood as the old wood had warped beyond repair and were stained a beautiful ebony. The amazing fireplace in the lobby will be gas powered, as it would be too dangerous for it work as it did as a wood burning unit in the old days. An old stairway was walled off due to the installation of new plumbing, electrical etcetera and shall be set up as something similar to a monk's study.

Keyless entry! Just use your fob.
The peephole is surrounded by the door knocker.

            Touring the twelfth floor was amazing, the views from that high can't be beat. Taking the elevator up (both are brand new elevators) was a treat, it was being manned by one of construction workers and the front panel was covered in styrofoam, the worker was sitting in his chair and using the styrofoam to rest his phone on it. Sadly there won't be elevator operators once the Farcroft is open. This writer's favorite view was the west view. From up there the CTA Redline looks like a train set, any concerns about proximity to the L should be laid to rest, you can see the Jarvis L stop quite plainly from the Farcroft.

View from 12th floor looking north towards Evanston.

New elevators are stunning.

Heat not included, since it
is thermostat controlled.

         











       




             
         
               

                Chevanston considered this to be a privilege to see behind the scenes what was going on at the Farcroft because this an extremely important building. And for once the top one percent is putting their money where it is sorely needed, instead of wasting it on some extravagant new flashy blah construction (ummm Penny Pritzker's Lincoln Park house?) we see that some people with money have taste and foresight. J. Pritzker is a throw back. He took on an enormous project, at least 13 years had passed since the Farcroft had seen any kind of regular maintenance, a stack of thirty pages of code violations had piled up in the meantime. Each floor was gutted to the walls and the units completely remade. Rogers Park's rebirth as a premier neighborhood is just beginning and it couldn't have happened without a first class restoration and rehab of one of its famous buildings. If this writer could he would have a unit there for himself, if you have any interest at all do not hesitate, you are not likely to see such amazing views, creature comforts or location for this price again.

Bruce Wayne's secret door
to the batcave (nah it leads
to the back patio and bicycle racks)

Tile is painstakingly being pieced back together.
Beautiful iron door way is recessed against the wall.
Future Monk's alcove is off to the right.