the Palmolive

My real estate obsession began when I first saw a unit under construction at the Palmolive Building at 919 N. Michigan Ave. This art deco masterpiece was built in 1929 as headquarters and office space for, you guessed it, the Palmolive soap company. Later on it became the home to Playboy (!); today, it's a much desired residential address, close to Mag Mile shopping (Louis Vuitton anchors the building) and only a few blocks from Oak Street Beach.

One of the units that I orignially saw when it was unfinished is now up for resale, and it's absolutely gorgeous - you can view a narrated tour here. If you'd like to buy it, it'll cost you a mere $2,495,000. If you'd like even more detail on this over-the-top pied-a-terre, Chicago magazine featured it in the latest edition of their Deal Estate blog.

Brown Line River North Construction Update

The Brown Line reconstruction of the River North Franklin stop at the Chicago/Franklin intersection is scheduled for completion late June/ early July. Improvements to the stop include adding elevators, new stairwells, improved sidewalks, painting on the street, and a new store/vending area. The new entrance to the stop is on Superior Street.

Another new CTA feature can be found online - Google Transit, which lets CTA riders access public transit data through Google. Riders can type in their starting and destination points, and step-by-step written directions will appear with fare information included. A map of the route represented by icons pops up; clicking the icon will display an estimated schedule for the departure of the next train or bus. Chicago is one of 39 U.S. cities to be featured on Google Transit and the second largest public transportation system represented. It's also available for some cities in Canada, Asia, Australia, and Europe, so keep it in mind next time your travels take you abroad!

TomKat loves River North

River North celebrity sighting! TomKat alert...

These photos are from Lake Point Tower by Navy Pier, which apparently hosted Tom Cruise, Katie, Suri and Oprah last night. They were all in town to film the second half of Oprah's interview with Tom. Wonder what other hot spots they hit?