Psst: Alison Victoria is the Queen of Chicago AND a Millennial Whisperer

In her new digital series, the star of HGTV’s all-new 'Windy City Rehab' proves that she’s also the (avocado) toast of the town.

January 01, 2019

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Alison Victoria knows her way around her home town (understatement of the year): She and her lead contractor, Donovan Eckhardt, make their living turning dilapidated Chicago properties into the epitome of cool.

Host Alison Victoria and contractor Donovan Eckhardt at their renovation after demolition went further than expected on Windy City Flip

Host Alison Victoria and contractor Donovan Eckhardt at their renovation after demolition went further than expected on Windy City Flip

Photo by: Peter Holmes

Peter Holmes

That’s the premise of her much-anticipated new show, Windy City Rehab — but when it comes to making the city over, she’s just getting started. For High Heels High Stakes, her new digital series, she’s remaking the rental market, too.

“If we can make a living and a killing with rental properties that are high end and boutique that no one else is building,” Alison says, “why would we not?

That means going undercover and hanging out with millennials to find out what makes tenants tick — and giving Donovan a makeover?

Naturally, Alison’s cultivated a look for her woman-on-the-street interviews with local college students — but, well, don’t eye her tech accessories too closely.

Her moves, on the other hand, are the genuine article.

She and Donovan learn that their young tenants-to-be are languishing in impersonal, underequipped spaces (and — surprise — they want to cook!). Their mission, then, is clear: To lavish their units with the design details and conveniences the rental market is so sorely lacking. (Alison: “I’m going rogue with the appliances.”)

So, does all that market research pay off?

Reader, it pays off.

It really pays off.

Will Alison score signed leases on all four of her brand-spanking-new units? Can she kill it in the rental game? Is a man bun for Donovan on the horizon? No spoilers here, folks, but we have our hunches.

Catch all of Alison and Donovan’s High Heels High Stakes adventures on the HGTV GO app, HGTV Insider Facebook Watch page and HGTV.com — and tune in to HGTV for the Windy City Rehab premiere on Tuesday, January 1 at 9|8c!

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