Chicago · Cook County · IL
Homes for sale in
The Lancaster.
- Active listings
- 2
- Median list
- $509K
- Avg time on market
- 23 days
- Sold · last year
- 8
Active listings
2 homes on the market
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About the community
Full-service condo residences at the heart of Lakeshore East.
The Lancaster is a luxury residential condominium tower in the Lakeshore East master-planned community, in the part of downtown Chicago known as the New Eastside in the northeast corner of the Loop. Developed by Magellan Development Group and completed around 2005, it was the first residential condominium finished at Lakeshore East, designed by Loewenberg Architects and wrapped around the six-acre park at the center of the neighborhood. The residences offer floor-to-ceiling glass with city, park, harbor, and Lake Michigan views, full-service amenities, and a walkable location steps from Michigan Avenue, the Riverwalk, and Millennium Park.
At a glance
29-floor Magellan tower
A glass, concrete, and steel high-rise with about 209 residences, per developer figures, and a signature rooftop pergola deck.
Full-service building
24-hour door staff and on-site management, with a receiving room and package handling for residents.
Fitness and lounge
A resident fitness center, a private lounge and party room, a rooftop sun deck, and a bike room.
Park, harbor, and lake views
Floor-to-ceiling curtain-wall glass and recessed private balconies oriented to the park, the harbor, and Lake Michigan.
Wrapped around the park
Sits on the six-acre Lakeshore East park with a dog park and landscaped open space at the door.
Walkable downtown
A Mariano's within Lakeshore East, with Michigan Avenue, the Riverwalk, and Millennium Park minutes away on foot.
Chicago Public Schools
Served by CPS, with downtown boundaries drawn tightly. Confirm the assigned schools with the CPS locator by address.
On-site garage parking
An on-site parking facility serves the building. Confirm whether a given unit includes deeded parking or rents it separately.
What’s close
The Lancaster sits in the New Eastside at the heart of Lakeshore East, a quiet, park-centered residential enclave that is still steps from the full amenities of downtown Chicago.
- Parks
- The six-acre Lakeshore East park at the door, with Maggie Daley Park and Millennium Park just to the west.
- Shopping
- A Mariano's within Lakeshore East, with the Magnificent Mile and Loop retail a short walk away.
- Riverwalk
- The Chicago Riverwalk along the river to the north, plus lakefront paths to the east.
- Highway
- Quick access to Lake Shore Drive along the lakefront and to the I-90 and I-94 expressways at the edge of the Loop.
- Schools
- Chicago Public Schools, with tightly drawn downtown boundaries. Confirm the assigned schools by address; nearby options include Ogden International.
- Transit
- CTA bus and rail in the Loop, Metra at nearby downtown stations, and a connection to the underground Pedway.
What it’s actually like to live here
Living at The Lancaster means living inside one of downtown Chicago's most deliberately planned neighborhoods. Lakeshore East was designed around its central park, so daily life is oriented toward green space, lakefront paths, and a genuine sense of a residential village dropped into the middle of the city. From a residence you can walk a dog in the park downstairs, pick up groceries at Mariano's, and still be at Michigan Avenue, the Riverwalk, or Millennium Park in minutes on foot, and the floor-to-ceiling glass delivers the long lake and skyline views that bring many buyers here in the first place.
It is also a full-service, boutique building. With 24-hour door staff, on-site management, a fitness center, a resident lounge, and a rooftop pergola deck, the tower is built for lock-and-leave convenience, which suits professionals, downsizers, and second-home owners who want downtown access without maintaining a house. The relatively small residence count for a downtown high-rise gives it a more intimate feel than the largest towers nearby.
The honest tradeoffs are the tradeoffs of any New Eastside high-rise. Monthly assessments are meaningful because you are paying for staff, amenities, and a well-run building, and parking downtown is a real cost that is often separate from the unit. The neighborhood is layered onto multi-level streets and the Pedway, which is a marvel once you learn it but can feel maze-like at first, and the immediate area leans more residential and park than nightlife, so some dining and errands mean a short walk toward the Loop or Michigan Avenue. Buyers weighing schools should confirm CPS attendance carefully, since downtown boundaries and options change.
Market trends
Why this market moves the way it does
The Lancaster trades as an upper-tier downtown lakefront condo, so value turns on the specific unit: the floor, the view, the layout, and how the residence has been finished. The building's full-service operation, its park-wrapped location, and its walkable downtown access are the durable draws that support pricing across the market's cycles.
What holds value
The fundamentals matter more than the cosmetics here. Buyers want floor plan, lot, and basement, in that order. Cosmetics are the tiebreaker.
- View and floor
- Higher floors and unobstructed park, harbor, and lake views carry a clear premium over lower or interior-facing units.
- Full-service operation
- 24-hour staff, on-site management, and a well-run association support values against self-managed buildings.
- Lakeshore East location
- Being wrapped around the neighborhood park with walkable downtown access is a lasting demand driver.
- Layout and finishes
- Updated, well-laid-out residences outprice dated units of the same size and line.
- Parking and assessments
- Whether a unit includes deeded parking, and its assessment level, factor directly into what buyers will pay.
Real talk
Who shouldn’t buy here
Here is the honest version before you tour.
Read the assessment and the reserves. Exact monthly assessments vary by unit and are not published building-wide, so confirm the current figure, precisely what it covers, whether any utilities are bundled, and the health of the association's reserves before you commit.
Sort out parking early. The building has an on-site garage, but parking downtown is often bought or rented separately from the unit, so confirm whether a given residence includes deeded parking and budget for it either way.
Confirm CPS attendance by address. Downtown school boundaries are drawn tightly and can change, and there are neighborhood, magnet, and selective-enrollment options in play, so verify the assigned and available schools with CPS rather than assuming.
One piece of advice
“The Lancaster is a strong pick for full-service downtown living: a park-wrapped Lakeshore East address with real lake and skyline views and lock-and-leave convenience. Just buy the specific unit on its floor, view, and finishes, read the assessment and reserves, nail down parking, and confirm CPS attendance by address. Do that and it is a well-run way into the New Eastside.”
The questions buyers actually ask
The Lancaster FAQ
The questions I get most from buyers shopping The Lancaster. If yours isn't here, text 224-385-8779, same-day reply.
- What does the HOA actually cover?
- The Lancaster is a full-service building, and monthly assessments reflect that service level. Assessments in a building of this type typically cover items such as 24-hour door staff, on-site management, building insurance, water, common-area maintenance and reserves, and use of the fitness center and shared amenities, and often some utilities. Exact assessment amounts vary by unit and are not published building-wide, so confirm the current assessment and precisely what it includes, and whether parking is billed separately, for the specific unit.
- What are property taxes like?
- Roughly $8,000 – $16,000 per year, depending on home size and value. Cook County assessor records are the source of truth. Happy to pull a specific bill on any home you're considering.
- When was The Lancaster built?
- Magellan Development Group (architect Loewenberg Architects); part of the SOM-designed Lakeshore East master plan built the community between 2004 and 2005. Magellan Development Group (architect Loewenberg Architects); part of the SOM-designed Lakeshore East master plan stopped new construction in 2005, so every sale today is a resale.
- What's the typical closing timeline?
- 45 to 90 days from accepted offer to keys. Cash deals can close in two weeks. Conventional financing is usually closer to 90.
- Where exactly is The Lancaster, and what neighborhood is it in?
- It is at 201 North Westshore Drive in the Lakeshore East community within the New Eastside area of downtown Chicago's Loop, wrapped around the six-acre Lakeshore East park.
- When was it built and who developed it?
- It was completed around 2005 and was the first residential condominium finished at Lakeshore East. It was developed by Magellan Development Group and designed by Loewenberg Architects, while SOM designed the overall Lakeshore East master plan.
- How big is the building and how many condos are there?
- Per the developer, it is a 29-story tower with about 209 residences, with an on-site garage. Some third-party sites list slightly different figures, so treat the developer numbers as primary and confirm details for a specific unit.
- What amenities does the building offer?
- 24-hour door staff, on-site management, a fitness center, a resident lounge and party room, a rooftop sun deck with a pergola, a receiving room, a bike room, and on-site garage parking, and it is pet-friendly. Confirm any specific amenity that matters to you.
- What do units cost and how is the market right now?
- Pricing sits at the upper-tier downtown lakefront end and varies widely by floor, view, and layout. For current numbers, see the live Market snapshot on this page, which pulls active listings and recent sales rather than a static figure.
- What schools would my children attend?
- The building is served by Chicago Public Schools, but downtown attendance boundaries are address-specific and change, so confirm your assigned schools using the CPS School Locator by exact address. Nearby options commonly cited for the area include Ogden International.
- Who is the real estate agent for The Lancaster?
- Joe Keegan is the local licensed Illinois real estate broker who covers The Lancaster in Chicago, IL through Subdiview, a neighborhood-first home search for the Chicago suburbs and collar counties. Joe prices and negotiates from the live MRED sold comps for The Lancaster specifically, not national averages, and can help you buy or sell here. Reach Joe at 224-385-8779 or joe@joekeeganhomes.com.
Your local agent
Joe knows The Lancaster
Most agents will list anything. I focus on the places I actually know, and the things that move value here don't show up in the MLS write-up: which streets and buildings hold demand, what the HOA or assessments really cover, how the comps read once you account for condition and location, and where buyers consistently want to be.
When you're ready to tour or list, you want someone who has read the last 50 closed comps in this specific market, not a national average, and can tell you what they actually mean for your price. That's how I work. Text or call any time, and I'll give you a real take, not a brochure.
- Licensed Illinois broker
- Comp-driven pricing
- Chicago specialist
- Honest local market take
- Brokerocity
Market snapshot
The Lancaster, by the numbers
Live MRED data, refreshed daily. The numbers below tell you what this market is doing today, not what Zillow's algorithm thinks it might be doing six weeks from now.
Typical list price
$508,500
Typical sale price · last 90 days
$473,000
Homes for sale right now
2
Avg time on market
23 days
Sold in the last year
8
This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC for the period August 2, 2025 through August 2, 2026. Midwest Real Estate Data, LLC does not guarantee nor is it in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by Midwest Real Estate Data LLC may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
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