Broker Open Tuesday

Located just off Broadway and Bryn Mawr are the Catalpa Gardens Condo's - aka the purple and yellow high rises. The distinctive colors notwithstanding, the condo's feature some nice features and a location convenient to shops, transportation and the lakefront.

Actually three high rises in a row, from the street you're only presented with one entrance and the other two buildings are arranged behind the first one. The arrangement of the three towers affords all three buildings views of the lake from the east, north and southern units. The western views are nothing to sneeze at, either.

To travel from the front building to the other two behind, you can walk through the garage on the ground floor, but the buildings are connected by a cool glass walkway that offers floor-to-ceiling views of the western city and the lake to the east.

The model is tricked out with nearly every upgrade imaginable which makes a visit a visual delight. It is still available for purchase for $399,000. I'd go for this one. The kitchen features a great upgraded appliance package and next to the dining area is a bar with wine refrigerator. The master bathroom catches your eye with a very stylish double bowl vanity with a blue-hued granite top. Very sharp.

A 10th floor two bedroom was also open in order to show off the views of the lake, but the weather completely conspired against the agents today and we couldn't see farther than two blocks in the soupy rain. This unit was finished with all standard materials and showed itself a bit plainly. Perhaps, also, because there was not furniture or paint. The baths and the kitchen seemed like small punctuation marks in vast empty rooms, but perhaps this is a testament to the large room sizes and the tall ceilings on the 10th floor.

The area around Broadway and Bryn Mawr has historically had more than its fair share of problems. You can plainly see that the neighborhood is desperately trying to break out from its rough past with the addition of national retailers such as Strabucks, Bank of America along with some pretty cool cafes and restaurants. We'd have to say that it will take a few more cycles of redevelopment to get rid of some of the undesirable liquor stores, currency exchanges and SRO-style apartment buildings, but each day there are clear signs of improvement.