ELITE STREET | By Bob Goldsborough | Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson has paid $1.32 million for a four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot town house fronting the Chicago River in a gated development in River West.

The Swedish native was drafted by the Blackhawks in 2005 and joined the team in 2008.

Built in 2000, Hjalmarsson’s 12-room town home has 3-1/2 baths, a fireplace, custom built-ins in the living and family rooms, custom closets, special lighting details, an integrated sound system, an extra-wide floor plan, a balcony, a private rooftop deck and a two-car, attached garage.

The town home had been listed in March for $1.425 million. It previously had been listed in May 2009 for $1.649 million and then reduced to $1.595 million, but it was taken off the market in late June 2009.

Hjalmarsson, 23, joins other athletes in his neighborhood, including Chicago native and Miami heat star Dwyane Wade, who last year purchased a town home just down the street for $1.425 million. Dallas Mavericks forward Shawn Marion, also an area native, paid $985,000 in mid-2004 for a town home nearby.