Hasani Steele, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Premier Properties in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, recently completed the successful marketing of the Renaissance on Kimbark, a 32-unit condominium development in Chicago’s Hyde Park/Woodlawn neighborhood.
Hasani Steele, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Premier Properties in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, recently completed the successful marketing of the Renaissance on Kimbark, a 32-unit condominium development in Chicago’s Hyde Park/Woodlawn neighborhood.
For Steele, the close-out of this award-winning development is proof that the right product at the right price can still succeed, even in a market that faced consistent headwinds for several years.
“The most important thing is that we finished it. We closed every unit in each phase of the project,” Steele said. “That is the remarkable and inspiring part of this story. We had a solid business plan, and incorporated pricing integrity. That was the key in successfully closing out this development.”
This isn’t the first time that Renaissance on Kimbark has made headlines. The condominium development won the Bruce Abrams Award from the Chicago Association of REALTORS® in 2011, an honor given to the most innovative housing developments in the city.
Steele started selling units at the Renaissance on Kimbark in 2008 when the first of the development’s four phases began rising. Chicago developer Stonemason Group built the development’s first three phases, while Northbrook-based Premium Builders built the fourth, Abrams-award-winning, phase. The project consists of four buildings, each with eight units, located in the 6400-6600 blocks of South Kimbark Avenue. The development had an average MLS market time of 45 days per listing.
For Steele and his team, the sale of the last unit this spring marks the end of a journey in which the top-producing real estate agent showed that dramatic price reductions and concessions aren’t necessary to move high-quality condominium units in the city. The three-bedroom, two-bath unit sold at its original list price of $249,900 and after only 84 days of being on the market.
Steele focused on pricing integrity when marketing the Renaissance on Kimbark. This means that the first buyers of units in the development paid the same price as did the last. Often, developers and real estate agents will offer the last units in a large development at bargain prices as a way to speed the final closing.
Steele, though, refused to do this. Such a strategy offers financial protection to the early buyers of the project, he said, who won’t see the value of their units diminished because of significant price cuts to the development’s last remaining condos. “Now, if those first owners want to refinance to take advantage of today’s low interest rates, they still have that opportunity,” Steele said. “That’s a real benefit for all.”
Steele also focused on the quality of the units at Renaissance on Kimbark when marketing the property. The development features high-end 1,700-square-foot simplexes and 2,800-square-foot duplexes with rooftop decks. The lots the project occupies are also large ones, measuring 50 by 165 feet, 40 feet deeper than a standard Chicago city lot.
Hotel inspired master suites boast walk-in closets, while spa-like baths feature large showers, dual vanities and heated floors. The floor plans offer enough space so that owners can easily accommodate nicely sized furniture. Steele said that he and the developers worked together closely throughout the design process to make sure the Renaissance on Kimbark included the right layout and amenities to best succeed in today’s market.
“The best developers and agents involve themselves in making revisions to the plans. This project went through revisions until it was 100 percent right-on,” Steele said. “There are a lot of projects that look great on the plans. But then when you build it, the rooms may not be the most functional. We made sure that the plans for this project were absolutely perfect before we moved ahead with construction.”
