Media Coverage
ChicagoMag: February 5th, 2015
From the Article: When the housing market crashed in 2008, homebuilders like Bogdan “Dan” Popovych figured they needed a fresh way to stand out in the bleak marketplace. So Popovych, a Ukrainian emigre who owns Panoptic Group in Chicago, went green—with a vengeance.
Along with a few other builders in the area, Popovych has moved to the forefront of smart, sustainable new-home construction. Panoptic homes are built with rooftop solar panels, “sealed-home” insulation and automated controls that allow everything from thermostat levels to lights and locks to be controlled from a homeowner's mobile phone or computer.
Panoptic erected its first green home in Chicago's Ukrainian Village nearly three years ago on speculation and found a buyer, at $1 million, within two weeks of putting it up for sale. The new homeowners were delighted to find that they were negative users of electricity—the meter ran backward as they sold the surplus power produced by their solar panels on most days back to Commonwealth Edison. Popovych calculates that the family, benefiting from an annualized utility savings of $2,500, could pay off their mortgage in 23 years instead of 30.
Another home, a six-bedroom house of 4,000 square feet that he sold last summer, ran air-conditioning bills of $16 a month during the worst of the heat, he says.
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ChicagoMag: January 9th, 2015
From the article: For several years, the recession scorned any developer who considered scaling-up green construction. And even though Chicago incentivizes sustainable building to a degree, green buildings are still far from the mainstream. There is traction, however, with high-end condo and single-family products built to LEED Gold or Platinum standards in select affluent, progressive parts of town—namely Wicker Park, Noble Square, and the East Village. The up-front cost of buying into this philosophy and lifestyle is prohibitive for most buyers, but the hope is it’s the leading edge of a new paradigm in real estate development.
Panoptic Group is one firm that committed itself to sustainable ground-up construction in 2011 after waiting out the recession. All of their single-family homes and condos on scattered sites in aforementioned trendy areas built since or in the pipeline are designed to LEED Gold standards, with or without actual certification. “We completely scrapped our old system of building design and moved into ground-up green construction which is cheaper and more effective than retrofits,” says Panoptic owner Bogdan Popovytch. “A lot of developers emphasize sustainable features—from countertops to flooring—but it’s window dressing applied to their standard construction template.”...
Curbed Magazine: January 5th, 2015
From the article: Here's a chance to live off the grid in the middle of Chicago. This brand new construction on Racine Avenue in West Town is loaded to the gills with high tech features, including a row of rooftop solar panels. The four bedroom home has a template contempo look and feel but hidden beneath the surface is an electric car charging port, electronic home automatic and a LEED Gold certification,the listings boasts. But all of this tech in a brand new 3,300 square foot single family home will cost a pretty penny right? Although it's not cheap, the $929,000ask isn't absurd either. It's only nine times the cost of your decked out Tesla Model S...
Curbed Magazine: May 2nd, 2014
From the article: A spiffy looking condo development that was revealed about eight months ago has broke ground at Damen and Augusta in the the Ukrainian Village. The developer, Panoptic Group, plans to erect five total units, comprising of two duplex 3-beds, one 1,500-square-foot 2-bed, and two 2-bed "penthouses". Readers may remember Panoptic Group from a fiasco that involved a plan to build two super futuristic buildings next to each other in the Ukrainian Village, where the developer used unlicensed renderings. At least one unit in the new1000 Damen development is currently under contract. One thing that is rather interesting is the developer has commissioned a website that allows viewers to take a virtual tour of the units in this new project...
Curbed Magazine: March 14th, 2014
From the article: This super contemporary glass and steel-webbed mixed use building will soon be coming to 701 N Western Avenue. The developer, Panoptic Group, is currently in the process of obtaining permits to begin construction on the site, and hopes to break ground in early April. The developer expects to obtain LEED Gold status for the project, and once completed, the building will contain nine1,800 square foot condo units, and have at least one parking space for each unit. The building will also boast roughly 2,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. In addition to having a striking aesthetic, the developer claims that the webbed design of the building will serve a functional purpose by acting as a solar shade. The average price for a unit in the new sleek building is expected to run about $469,000, so get ready Ukrainian Villagers...
Curbed Magazine: September 25th, 2013
From the article: A tipster revealed a new look bearing down on Damen & Augusta in the Ukrainian Village. Any old 5-unit infill is small potatoes, but this blast of modernity from developer Panoptic Group won't look remotely like anything within a half-mile. Division and Chicago Aves have a sprinkling of colorful, quasi-modular low-rise condos and other developers are bringing larger batches of contemporary stock with recurring design (see Noah Properties, Smart Tech,Fifield Cos.). Aside from the reds and swooping lines of the Citgo station standing opposite the site, the existing 3-flat and workers cottage housing stock bears no surprises. The plan promises two duplex 3-beds, one 1,500-square-foot 2-bed, and two 2-bed "penthouses". Panoptic is also interested in LEED certification and Smart Home automation. Hey, whatever your take, let's all put our hands together for the loss of another large vacant lot.
Update: Unit pricing was obtained via BuzzBuzz Home which has the 3-bed duplexes going for $599K, the 1,500-square-foot 2-bed for $579K, and, in a twist, the 2-bed "penthouses" for $519K.
·Panoptic Group [official]...