Video and photo gallery: Park Lane development across from Northpark

by Mike Bullock , John P. Meyer

As noted, Nordstrom Rack celebrated their grand opening today (Thursday, March 19) with free tote bags and a $1,000 grand prize "race through the rack" event. On Wednesday, March 18, cameraman Mike Bullock and I got an insider tour of both the retail complex (referred to as simply "Park Lane") and the adjoining high-rise residences, known as "The Heights at Park Lane."

Joining us on our tour were several delightful young women from the Advocate magazines (all five of 'em), and an equally pleasant lady named Connie who currently writes freelance for various realty journals.

As you can see from the photos, there was still a lot of work going on around the 33.5 acre, mixed-use development, located just across Central Expressway (Hwy. 75) from Northpark. In addition to the Nordstrom store opening, the gigantic Dick's Sporting Goods store (72,000 sq. ft.) will open with fanfare on April 3 - though, FYI, they've already had a "soft opening," so you can actually go in and shop there already - deck yourself out with some hip waders and a fly rod, maybe. Lane Bryant/Cacique will also open April 3, and The Children's Place props open its doors on April 24.

One really nifty thing the developers did when prepping the grounds was to transplant as many of the large existing trees as they could; those same trees have now been sited around the property, giving it a more seasoned look than it might othwerwise have.

Lowdown on the residential properties: they are all for lease/rent only at present, though there is a provision for converting to sales if conditions warrant. Harvest Partners rep (and charming tourguide) Michelle Davis told us that the units are already 30% leased (they've been leasing since last October).

The residential units are divided into three sections: The Lofts, a four-story structure housing 45 units ranging from 764 to 1,164 sq. ft. (and renting for about $1.48/sq. ft., according to Michelle); The Flats, 15 stories housing 218 apartments from 677 to 1,872 sq. ft. in size (and the rent's gone up, folks - one of the units we toured here ran $4,800/month); and the 20-story Tower, where 62 - um - "exclusive" residences range from 1,076 to 3,800 sq. ft., with the top two floors dedicated to four penthouses.

Three of the four penthouses are already leased, folks, so hurry on down to the leasing office if you've got in the neighborhood of $10,500/month to spend on rent.

What can I say, except that this is shaping up as one classy joint?