Sales agents and brokers gathered at The Ritz Carlton Residences, Magnificent Mile to celebrate the groundbreaking of this soon to be iconic addition to Chicago’s skyline. Guests enjoyed champagne and hors dourves as they toured the sales center. Many had been there before and were reacquainting themselves with the 40-story building designed by Lucien Lagrange Architects. Only 88 units will be built in this unique residential building. The service level will be simply incomparable. The most notable amenity will be the Landmark Club, an exclusive private club for residents and their guests. As the Ritz Carlton Residences, Magnificent Mile tagline says, “Expect the Extraordinary”.

 

It is nice to see a developer moving forward. If you stand at the corner of Michigan and Erie you’ll notice that the construction activity is attracting the attention of all the passers by. This will be one of very few residential buildings in the city that can boast such a distinctive location right on Michigan Avenue. Residents will have the entire city at their fingertips!

 

The site is currently being cleared and soon drill rigs will be in place to start work on the footings. By October the steel frame will start to take shape. Deliveries in are set for 2011.

 

“This is a watershed event not only for The Ritz-Carlton Residences but also for Chicago as a whole,” according to Bruce Schultz, Principal of Prism Development Company, “In a time when there is so much concern about the business climate, it is a very positive sign for the economy of this city that a major residential development has sold 45% of the units, secured financing and is now under construction,” Schultz continued.

 

Rubloff is proud to be the exclusive marketer of this prestigious property. Jane Shawkey and Rachel Bailey are the there to answer your questions at 312.242.5980.

 

 

Got that?  Probably not.  That’s how the classified print ads—including real estate— read in newspapers, too.  It takes as much skill to decipher the classifieds as it does to solve the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle!  In this fast-paced society, who has the time?  With the internet revolution came an insatiable appetite for information— people want their news and they want it now.

With the internet now the number one source of information, it’s no surprise that advertising dollars are moving from print towards the internet, where consumers are getting a more “complete” experience in every sense of the word, and in a more timely fashion.  According to TNS Media Intelligence, a global marketing insight and information group, internet advertising is projected to grow 14.4% in 2008, indeed a sharp contrast with the 0.9% loss expected to be seen by newspapers.  Joe Swallen, the company’s Vice President of Research, definitively states, “The internet will continue to gain share, principally at the expense of newspapers.”

This is especially true in regards to the real estate industry.  According to a study done by the National Association of Realtors, 84% of people now use the internet as a search tool when looking for a home.

“For our agents, newspapers are an old standby…there’s a trend of going online. There’s a realization that’s where they need to be,” says Abby Lee, Director of Regional Advertising for a major real estate franchisor in Denver.

The first Chicago firm to market our properties via the web, Rubloff has always been regarded as an innovative industry leader, especially when it comes to technology.   We were the first Chicago company to market our properties on the world wide web in 1996, and we won a Webby Award for our website.  The new rubloff.com takes our product directly to the consumers and eliminates the guess work.  With our Google Maps Polygon search function and a few clicks of the mouse, one can see property facts, view photographs, take a virtual tour, map real time satellite images, and even find the nearest Starbucks!  Our properties also feature Individual Property Websites that direct clients directly to a page with all of the property information, a Virtual Tour, and conctact information.  Additionally, all of our information is accessible on handheld or smart phone devices.

Cn yr nwsppr do tht?

If indeed Green “is the New Black”, as the popular saying goes, then Chicago is without a doubt one of the most fashionable cities in America- ecologically speaking, that is.  But long before being Green was the “in” thing to be, Chicago was lionized as a national leader in city-sponsored green initiatives.  Since the 1980’s, Chicago has continued to pioneer the efforts of American cities to reduce their individual carbon footprints.

Chicago’s success can be attributed in large part to the efforts of its inhabitants to perform small steps in their day-to-day lives that ensure larger, wider-reaching environmental impacts.  These small steps are things like pledging to walk or take public transportation at least once a month instead of driving, scraping dishes instead of rinsing them before they go into the dishwasher, and only washing full loads of dishes or laundry.

To find out more small steps you can take to make sure that this green trend stays “in” (and therefore “in” effect), check out more of the City of Chicago’s environmental initiatives at the Department of Environment page.  These links also offer some more information regarding on-going programs to keep Chicago ahead in the Green Revolution.

Chicago Conservation Corps (C3)

Conserve Chicago Together

Recycling In Chicago

Rubloff is taking our steps, too.  We rely heavily on our well established web presence, and we outsource our printed materials to an eco-minded and environmentally conscious company called  Xpressdocs.  Their products are all 100% recyclable and they reduce metal and paper waste by using special printers and printing supplies that specifically aim to cut down on waste generated by standard printing processes by up to 400%.  They are also certified by The Forest Stewardship Council, a prominent conservation advocacy group whose standards “represent the world’s strongest system for guiding forest management toward sustainable outcomes.”

We also have several agents that are Eco-Brokers and have the National Association of Realtors Green Certification who represent buildings and developments that are up to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.  One agent, Mario Greco, even designed and built his own home customized to LEED standards, which received a “5″ by Energy Star- the highest rating given for energy conservation.  Rubloff’s distinguished luxury development, Lincoln Park 2520, will be LEED-certified once completed.  For more information on LEED residences and Chicago’s strides to stay at the forefront on the residential Green scene, see the “Living Leed” article on the Chicago Association of Realtors website.

Well, the weather is only just beginning to agree, but believe it or not, summer is well underway in Chicago and her surrounding suburbs. And it’s no wonder we celebrate its arrival, given how much we go through in the winter months. While enjoying the interiors of our respective homes (and often others as well) to their fullest is the perfect pastime for winter, now is the time to start getting outside on the weekends. And what better way than by checking out some of Chicago’s many festivals and events that pepper our many diverse communities?

Below is a just a sampling of upcoming summer events in Chicago and the North Shore, with web links to more information, where available. Enjoy one, pick and choose, or hit them all! And all summer long, Rubloff will be by your side.

Follow Rubloff today on Twitter.com to see our updates from all kinds of festivals and events across the city and suburbs. Click the link below, or go to any page on Rubloff.com and click “Ask Arthur on Twitter” at the top of the page. And if you’re at a festival you think we should check out, send us a tweet by starting your message with @Rubloff.

JUNE
5: Concert Season Begins at Ravinia Festival (Highland Park)
6-7: Chicago Gospel Music Festival
6-7: Chicago Tribune Printers Row Lit Fest
12-14: Chicago Blues Festival
12: Blues on the North Shore Festival (Evanston)
13-14: Andersonville Midsommarfest
13-14: Old Town Art Fair
19-21: Taste of Randolph Street
20-21: Custer Street Fair (Evanston)
26-28: Chicago Soul Music Festival
26-July 5: Taste of Chicago
27-28: Fountain Square Arts Festival (Evanston)
27-28: Festival of Fine Craft (Highland Park)
28: Pride Parade

JULY
3: Independence Eve Fireworks
4: Independence Day Fireworks (Suburban locations below, times vary)
Evanston Clark Street Beach
Glencoe Lakefront Park
Lake Forest Deerpath Community Park
Skokie Niles West High School
Wilmette Gilson Park
Winnetka Duke Child’s Field
10-11: Old St. Pat’s World’s Largest Block Party
11-12: Chicago Folk and Roots Festival
11-12: Rock Around the Block
12: Keep Evanston Beautiful Garden Walk (Evanston)
14-Aug. 25: Outdoor Film Festival in Grant Park
18-19: Ethnic Arts Festival (Evanston)
19: Chinatown Summer Fair
25: Venetian Night
25-26: Taste of Lincoln Avenue
25-26: Wicker Park Fest
25-26:North Shore Art Festival (Old Orchard Shopping Center)
31- Aug. 2: Gold Coast Art Fair

AUGUST
1-2: Northalsted Market Days
1-2: Retro on Roscoe
1-2: Lakeshore Arts Festival (Evanston)
7-9: Lollapalooza
8: Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic
8-9: Lincoln Park Arts and Music Festival
8-9: Art at the Glen Town Center (Glenview)
15-16: Chicago Air and Water Show
29-30: Bucktown Arts Fest
29-30: !Viva! Chicago Latin Music Festival

SEPTEMBER
4-6: Chicago Jazz Festival
12-13: Celtic Fest Chicago
25-27: Oktoberfest

And if outdoors and crowds aren’t your thing, don’t forget to check out RubloffOpenHouses.com for all the weekend showings of the best in Chicago Real Estate!

Congratulations to The Mario Greco Group, who have been named to the Wall Street Journal’s Top 400 awards program and additionally made the prestigious top 100 real estate brokers in America list.

More than 7,000 real estate brokerages all across the nation were surveyed by Denver based Real Trends in the selection process. Mario and his group were the 26th most productive agent team in the US by dollar volume with $130,000,000 in gross sales. With 224 sides, the Mario Greco Group came in 89th place in the entire country for sales sides.

The Real Estate Top 400 awards program was developed jointly by The Wall Street Journal’s Business Development Group and REAL Trends, a leading source of analysis and information for the residential real estate brokerage industry. The Real Estate Top 400 honors America’s elite real estate agents and their companies, many of which have forged longstanding business relationships with The Wall Street Journal. The Real Estate Top 400 is compiled and analyzed by REAL Trends.

Click to read Full Article and to view all stats.

“Today is an amazing day for open houses. Steady streams of ready-to-buy buyers are out in full force. . .”

Read the full post in our Guide Me Home to Chicago Luxury blog.