5 Communities. Every Detail Covered.

The most talked-about new development in Chicago right now — and unlike a lot of marquee projects, the residential component actually lives up to the attention. Lincoln Yards is a 55-acre mixed-use transformation of a former industrial corridor along the North Branch of the Chicago River. The homes range from 2-bed condos starting in the high $400Ks to 4-bed townhomes pushing past $800K. Every unit comes with the full smart home standard package: whole-home Lutron lighting automation, Nest Learning Thermostat with room-by-room sensors, Level 2 EV charging in every garage, and pre-run conduit for solar. The location — between Lincoln Park and Wicker Park, walking distance to both neighborhoods — is genuinely hard to argue with. The main caveat: this is a 10-year buildout, so early buyers are living in an active construction zone for a while.

A 42-story luxury tower that sets a new benchmark for finishes in the South Loop. The Savant whole-home automation system — not Nest, not Google — is standard in every unit, along with motorized blackout shades on every window and automated under-floor heating in all bathrooms. The building runs on 100% renewable energy through a long-term power purchase agreement, which is genuinely unusual for Chicago high-rise construction. Amenities include a 40th-floor indoor pool with lake views, a climate-controlled wine room, and a dedicated EV fleet for resident use. The price points are high for the South Loop, and they're honest about that. What you're paying for is real, but this is a building for buyers who want the very best in Chicago new construction and aren't interested in trade-offs.

Boutique townhomes in the neighborhood Chicago restaurants made famous. These aren't industrial-loft conversions — they're purpose-built new construction designed to fit Fulton Market's aesthetic without apologizing for being new. The smart home package centers on Google's Nest ecosystem: Nest Learning Thermostat, Nest Protect smoke and CO detectors, Nest Hello video doorbell, and Nest x Yale smart locks. EV charging in every attached garage. Pre-wired for solar on every rooftop. The West Loop location means you're genuinely walkable to some of the best restaurants in Chicago, and the architectural compatibility with the neighborhood is a real point of distinction — these don't look like they were dropped in from a suburban development.

Coming late 2025: 88 units across 12 buildings, all within two blocks of the lakefront path. Pre-sales are open now at what the developer is calling "pre-construction pricing" — which typically means 10–15% below what they'll be asking once construction is further along. The smart home package is being designed as the most comprehensive of any Chicago development this year: full Control4 automation system, custom app, solar panels as standard (not optional), battery backup capable of running critical circuits for 24 hours, and a building-wide energy management system that pools solar generation across all 12 buildings. Take the specs with some caution given how early this is — these are commitments, not delivered features. But the team behind it has a good track record in Chicago.

The only genuinely new construction in Wicker Park proper in the past five years. Thirty-six units across six 3-flat buildings, designed by an architect who spent real time understanding what Wicker Park's 1890s-era greystones actually look like — and built the new construction to fit rather than contrast. The smart home package is more modest than the higher-priced communities on this list, but it's honest: Ecobee smart thermostats, Ring Pro video doorbells, August smart locks, pre-wired EV charging in the parking deck, and whole-home LED smart lighting. At these price points in this neighborhood, that's genuinely above what comparable resale inventory is offering. Walk score of 98.