February 2015 Valentine’s DayHappy

the rest of the hallway. Perhaps most importantly, the illumination has been softened a bit, by changing the number, wattage and cost of the light bulbs. But in all other respects the rest of 777’s hallways will look just like the hallway on 32.

Gooch Design Studio has revised the specifications to reflect these changes and 777 (and its lawyers) have been working with Norcon (our general contractor) to get the contract documents in order. Those tasks should be complete this week. Then the focus will turn to the schedule. Construction will likely begin in March, hopefully early in the month. We’ll see.

And we promise to let you know as soon as a schedule is in place. Greg Hopp

The success of the model floor paved the way for Board approval at the December 11 meeting. Materials with the longest lead times – carpeting, wall covering, light fixtures – were ordered by the end of December.

Relatively minor changes have been made to the design in response to resident comments and observations about the 32nd floor build-out. The elevator doors will be a different color, more in line with the corridor color scheme. The trash room door will have a “kick plate” to match the painted door. The overhang of the portal between the elevator vestibule and the hallway will be raised; the transition tile has been changed from pure white to a variegated gray to show less dirt and wear and tear. The pendant light at the north end of the hallway has been changed to a standard globe like

President’s Message

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         Tidbits  Feb.2015-­‐777  Bake  sale  for  Deborah’s  Place  

         Tidbits  Feb.2015-­‐777  Bake  sale  for  Deborah’s  Place            Tidbits  Feb.2015-­‐777  Bake  sale  for  Deborah’s  Place  

Bake Salefor Deborah’s Place

TidbitsThe holidays are over, and 777 residents and staff plunged into the new year with gusto: going back to school, work, and volunteer activities; traveling to warmer climates; attending cultural events throughout the city; and renovating apartments.

At the end of December, Carmel Muelhaussen who along with Gilda Small organized the successful 777 bake sale to raise funds for Deborah’s Place, received a letter from Bridget Elliott, Development Director, thanking her and 777 for their generous contribution (Carmel reports that 777 raised $1058, which was doubled by a gift from an anonymous donor). Bridget wrote “Your continued generosity makes possible the housing and services that help women live a better quality of life. Thank you for sharing the warmth of the holiday season with the women of Deborah’s Place”. And

thanks to all of you who volunteered your time and bought the wonderful baked goods.

Because of the holidays, there were few move-ins. However, we had the pleasure of meeting Melanie Reed at the Jan. New Resident Orientation. Melanie works at Northwestern Hospital as an interventional radiology x-ray technician. She and her husband have a home in Peoria, but for a number of years, she has been living in Chicago during the week to commute to her job, which she loves. She is delighted not only with our building’s proximity to the hospital, but also with the friendliness of the residents and staff. Melanie is a perfect fit for our building, as she is very gregarious and loves to meet new people.

Many residents have begun the New Year with major renovations. This month’s

Neighbors Column highlights what Kathy Murray has done to totally change a conventional one bedroom apartment. If you would like us to feature your renovation, please contact us at cec55e@aol.com or leave a note for Roberta Shwartz at the desk.

Joan Carey escaped the cold January weather by visiting old friends in Sarasota, Florida, and Board Vice President Virginia Sheldon spent two weeks in her favorite vacation spot in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Welcome back to winter in Chicago!

The weather may be colder, but political activity is heating up with the Chicago Mayoral and Aldermanic elections taking place on February 24. Don’t forget to vote!We wish you a wonderful Valentine’s Day and President’s Day!

Roberta Shwartz

                                                                     Melanie  Reed  

 

 

Melanie Reed

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2015 marks our Building’s 50th birthday and plans are afoot to mark this milestone in several ways. Certainly a birthday party is in order.

And it has been suggested by Wendell Gooch that with the completion of the hallways and various other improvements to our building in the recent past that a Realtor’s Open House be held to introduce Streeterville realtors to the new and improved building amenities and let them know we are not the same building we were a few years ago. We’ve reinvented ourselves as the gem we’ve always known we had the potential to be.

Having attained the age of 50 also qualifies us to seek listing on the National Register of Historic Places which imposes no restrictions on the building and that possibility will be investigated and perhaps pursued by the Board. Our building architecture, of a style termed “Mid Century Modern” has gained in prestige over the years and overall the building has aged well and may qualify to be listed.

We’ll keep you posted as plans progress for celebrating this important milestone!

The Building is Having a Significant Birthday

NEIGHBORS YOU SHOULD KNOW - KATHY MURRAY SINGS THE BLUES WHEN TURNING STANDARD ONE BEDROOM

APARTMENT INTO A BEAUTIFUL ECLECTIC HOME.Six years ago, when Kathy Murray, a teacher and licensed real estate agent, was looking for an apartment in Streeterville to rent short term, she was drawn to our beautiful building because of its location. She moved into a studio apartment with the intention of only staying six months. But that was before she met her significant other, well-known Chicago journalist Rick Kogan, became friends with many of the residents and staff at 777 and turned six months into two years. In fact, she liked our friendly, diverse building so much that four years ago she bought a one bedroom apartment three floors below the studio.

The one bedroom was functional and attractive, but Kathy is highly creative with a talent for decorating, and she was eager to set about turning the apartment into an imaginative space that would suit Rick and her urban, artistic life style. The first step was to turn to two of her closest friends-Don Raney and Jaymes Richardson, owners of the aptly named Civility Design, which was located in Chicago and now is in Washington, D.C. They told her the square, plain living room needed a new focal point and suggested creating a wall unit with multiple uses.

She contacted Jim Bartuch, owner of

Garden Architecture, who had done work for her sister. He built a twenty foot wall unit on the north wall, with glass shelves and space for books, photos and a large television, as well as a wine- rack. But we are jumping ahead of the story. Kathy, who is highly organized as well as artistic, knew that first she had to have a plan. Don and Jaymes created a sketch of everything from moldings to the wall unit. Kathy also made up an idea book, where she put pictures of items from the internet and magazines that appealed to her. Working with them and with Jim, she created a beautiful living room in shades of blue, her favorite color, which is set up for lively

777 North Michigan Avenue as seen from Huron Street, September 1966, courtesy of the Chicago History Museum.

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777 N. Michigan AvenueCondominium Association

Chicago, IL 60611P:312-943-5400F: 312-943-4722

                                                                                                                       NEIGHBORS-­‐  KATHY  MURRAY  

Wall  unit  before  completion                                                                                    Wall  unit  after  completion  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living  room-­‐Northwest  view                                                                              Redone  closets  in  bedroom  

                                                                                                                       NEIGHBORS-­‐  KATHY  MURRAY  

Wall  unit  before  completion                                                                                    Wall  unit  after  completion  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living  room-­‐Northwest  view                                                                              Redone  closets  in  bedroom  

                                                                                                                       NEIGHBORS-­‐  KATHY  MURRAY  

Wall  unit  before  completion                                                                                    Wall  unit  after  completion  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living  room-­‐Northwest  view                                                                              Redone  closets  in  bedroom  

                                                                                                                       NEIGHBORS-­‐  KATHY  MURRAY  

Wall  unit  before  completion                                                                                    Wall  unit  after  completion  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living  room-­‐Northwest  view                                                                              Redone  closets  in  bedroom  

Wall unit before completion Wall unit after completion Living room-Northwest view Redone closets in bedroom

conversation and dining (she is also a fantastic cook).

The living room has built in molding. The wall is painted in soft chinchilla (a blue color) and the back of the unit is nocturnal gray (a blue-gray color). She has three inch baseboards around all of the living room. The lighting is built into the wall unit, rather than the ceiling. She furnished it with a mix of modern and old. The dining room table belonged to her great grandmother, and was passed on to her grandmother, then to her mother and then to her. The micro fiber circular sofa on the south wall is retro, mid-century, which was custom made for her by Rick Baron, a custom upholsterer. The circular teal leather ottoman has a circular mirrored lazy Susan on top. There is a conventional cabinet in one part of the room, which the designers spray painted to make it look retro. She has ordered an exotic leopard rug, trimmed in leather, to bring everything together.

The objects d’art, as well as the furniture, are eclectic. On the south wall, there are fascinating black and white photographs, some of which she shot herself and some of which she found on the internet, all have people in them. Some are from 1899 with horse drawn carriages. On the north wall, there is a photograph of our building the year it was built, which Rick got from the Chicago Tribune. She also has a retro turquoise phone and high ball glasses with silver rims.

Once Kathy had transformed the living room, she moved on to the bedroom. As she did in the living room, she asked Jim to put in larger baseboards and create moldings, to make the room look fresh. She has custom closets-one for her shoe collection, one for her hanging items, and one for Rick with suspended drawers. She also re-carpeted the bedroom with lush carpeting. Regarding the kitchen, Kathy “just gave it a little face lift.” She put a new floor in the kitchen and refaced all the cabinets. The bathroom was done, although she plans to put in a new vanity.

Kathy suggested we talk to Jim Bartuch (he can be contacted at 630-661-1558.) to find out more about what he did for her. Jim has done extensive work on houses, building everything from altars to overhead trellises for gardens, but he enjoys working on high rise buildings. He created all the built-ins and doors to the kitchen cabinets, which makes them more contemporary looking. He feels that this is far more economical than replacing the entire cabinets. ”Working with Kathy was one of my favorite projects I have ever done. We were able to totally change the feel of the apartment,” he said. Not only did he enjoy working with both Kathy and Rick, but he also loved the building and found the staff - especially Enoch- to be great to work with!”

Like most creative people, Kathy views the remodeling and decorating as an

ongoing project- but she is delighted with the results and encourages 777 neighbors to remodel their apartments to suit their own tastes and life styles.

Roberta Shwartz

REAL ESTATE SALES

Active Listings:Studios: 3602 $159,000 1103 $175,500 2603 $189,000 3305 $197,000Pending: Two-Bedroom 1000 $399,000

There have been no closings sinceJanuary 1, 2015.

Source: Chicago MLS courtesy of Helen Beller, Berkshire Hathaway