The first units are expected to be delivered in early 2005, Mazola tells GlobeSt.com. One- and two-bedroom loft units in the warehouse will range from $189,000 to $400,000, he says, with most of the project being one-bedroom or one-bedroom-plus den layouts.

The 100,000-sf warehouse at 1228 W. Van Buren St., most recently used by True Value Hardware, will be topped with two additional floors in the conversion. Built in 1945, the building was acquired by Centurion Lofts LLC earlier this year for $6.8 million, according to property records.

The other part of the nearly two-acre development site is at 1227 W. Jackson Blvd. Although Centurion Lofts LLC will begin with renovating the warehouse first, the second phase will include a 198-unit building on a parking lot, acquired by the city to serve a nearby library.

With a price range dipping below $200,000, the loft project is in line with a trend across the Downtown market, according to Appraisal Research Counselors' most recent residential benchmark report. Most of the new contracts for loft condominiums are in the West Loop and at prices below $300 per sf, according to Appraisal Research Counselors.

However, the adaptive reuse market appears to have gone on hiatus recently, according to Appraisal Research Counselors, which notes only two deals for such projects closed last year, totaling $7.5 million. In 2001, the firm tracked $116 million in sales for such projects.