Photos: CTA L Train Car Lifted Onto Deck For New Logan Square Rentals
By Rachel Cromidas in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 7, 2016 8:12PM
Construction crews spent this dreary Thursday morning hoisting a recently retired CTA L train car up to elevated deck of one of Logan Squares latest new luxury rental apartment buildings.
Residents of the new building will be able to hang out inside the L car, which has been stripped of its grimy train seats in favor of new tables and benches on a terrace filled with seating, greenery and places to grill. We sent our photographer out to the Milwaukee Avenue development, located near the California Blue Line stop, to check out the action as a crane lifted the retired car onto the building and crews secured it to the deck, where it will eventually float above a pool of water.
We also toured a model unit in the nearly-completed 120-unit building called L, which is pre-leasing apartments for May, June and July move-ins. Units in the building start at around $1,600 a month for a convertible 1-bedroom, $1,800 a month for a regular 1-bedroom and $2,500 a month for a 2-bedroom, according to Managing Broker Aaron Galvin. (For more of our coverage on Logan Square's ever-escalating rents, start here and here.)
Galvin said the building is big on amenities, like keyless access and community lounge space, and environmentally-conscious elements like LED lights (and, of course, the recycled train car, which they got from the CTA after it was retired last year).
Other special features, that are likely to have would-be residents drooling and old guard Logan Square residents rolling their eyes, including a complimentary frozen yogurt bar with a rotating flavor of the month, a dog run that will allow owners to bring their dogs with them on the communal deck, and a "bike kitchen"—a tricked out bike storage area that gives users access to tools and two free tune-ups a year. The idea, Galvin said, is to build community and make use of the building's status as a Transit-Oriented Development, or TOD, meaning it can take advantage of a city ordinance by providing fewer parking spaces to residents in exchange for proximity to public transit and bike lanes.
"We wanted to really be thoughtful and intentional with creating a sense of community around the TOD and the L itself," he told Chicagoist. The L train car-turned-functional sculpture, for example, "has never been done before."
L is located at 2211 N. Milwaukee Ave.