It seems to me that a complete bike is going to be your best option. Another bike similar to this you might want to consider is the Novara Element at REI. If you're an REI member, they're offering 20% off in the month of March on any single item. The coupon would bring the Element down to this price, I think. There's also the Novara Randonee, which would be a little cheaper, but it's more of a touring bike.

One more (steel) bike I saw in a bike shop recently in this price range is the Masi Speciale CX. It's about $1050; beautiful bike, if you can find one.

http://www.masibikes.com/cycles/speciale_cx.php