St. Francis lakefront complex may go condo

The owner of a new St. Francis apartment complex overlooking Lake Michigan is planning to convert the rental units to condominiums.

The Landing at Park Shore, 4100 S. Lake Drive, is taking that step because the apartments have been renting more slowly than expected, said St. Francis City Administrator Ralph Voltner. Voltner made his comments at a recent Common Council meeting.

Representatives of Thomson Corp., the Brookfield-based firm that developed The Landing, couldn't be reached for comment Thursday. Higher-end luxury apartments, such as those at The Landing, are often difficult to rent during times of low mortgage rates. Prospective renters often choose instead to buy condominiums to take advantage of low mortgage rates.

The Landing has 145 units in its first phase, which was completed about a year ago, and so far has leased about 90 units, Voltner said. Thomson is building additional phases and plans eventually to have around 300 units at the site.

The Landing has apartments with one, two and three bedrooms. Rental rates range from $970 to $2,775, according to the development's Internet site.

The condo conversion plans came to light through a recent letter written to Voltner by Dean Frederick, an engineer at Thomson.

That letter requests the removal of references to apartments in Thomson's development agreement with the city. The change would allow for the conversion to condos.

The letter didn't elaborate on the reason for that request, other than to cite "present market conditions and the contemplated future conditions." City officials will consider Thomson's request.

The Thomson development is just south of The Residence at Park Shore, a condo complex being developed by Kimball Hill Homes, based in Rolling Meadows, Ill.

Kimball Hill has so far built 135 units, with an additional 55 units under construction. Construction of 66 more units could begin in the spring.

Kimball Hill's midrise units in its current phase start at $159,900, with townhouse-style units starting around $290,000.

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