Brighton brings modern European flair to Lakeview East by Dan Schuyler - New Homes The Brighton, a new nine-story condo building underway at 550 W. Wellington, in some ways offers a sharp contrast to the graystones and Victorians that will be its neighbors on this leafy street in Lakeview East. The development’s clean lines and cool steel and glass construction are more reminiscent of modernist Mies van der Rohe than of the historic European influences that dominate here. A closer look at the project, however, reveals a strong European bent as well, in everything from the elegant lobby to the condos’ German cabinetry and Italian flooring. In some ways, the Brighton is the careful marriage of a modernist aesthetic with European warmth and comfort. That’s no surprise, given the planning process undertaken by developer JP Stellas Properties, www.jpstellas.com, a firm with nearly half a century of experience building in Chicago. “We spent close to three years designing and developing this building,” says JPSP project manager Steve Bauman. “There’s nothing like it in the city. Everything about it is top quality and cutting-edge contemporary. We didn’t leave anything out.” The nine-story building of glass, steel and concrete will replace an old apartment building with 16 new luxury condos. The Brighton is decidedly modern, and its overall theme is one of simplicity, according to architect Garet Stefanowski, of Pappageorge Haymes. “The style of the building is kind of Miesian in the sense that it is very simple with clean sleek lines,” says Stefanowski. “But contextually it has more of a European look. The building panels and much of the exterior and interior materials are all imported. Some of these materials have never been used in this country until now.” The ground level contains the small intimate lobby, appointed in imported honed granite, wood-paneled walls and stainless steel details, complemented by fine Italian furnishings. “The crisp lineal European look of the building interior is immediately apparent when you enter the lobby,” says Bauman. “And it extends into the elegantly finished extra tall high-speed elevator, right on into the residences.”