Looking for a Pre-War Lincoln Park 3-Bedroom With An Outdoor Terrace? 2130 N. Lincoln Park West
This 3-bedroom vintage unit in 2130 N. Lincoln Park West in Lincoln Park came on the market in January 2012.
It has nearly all the features buyers look for, but can rarely find, in a vintage unit.
It has a washer/dryer in the unit and attached heated garage parking. The one amenity it is missing is central air.
The unit even has a private elevator entry and a private 660 square foot terrace, which is unique for these pre-war buildings.
Built in 1927, the unit has a 38 foot barrel vaulted gallery and oak floors.
The listing says the kitchen is 3 years old. It has white cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
The listing also says the bathrooms are “new.”
Located directly across from Lincoln Park, is this the perfect vintage property under a million dollars in this location?
Jennifer Lea at Dream Town has the listing. See the pictures, the virtual tour and the floorplan here.
Unit #2S: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2400 square feet
- Sold in February 2000 for $480,000
- Originally listed in January 2012 for $895,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $849,500
- Assessments of $1443 a month (includes heat, parking, cable)
- Taxes of $10640
- No central air- window units only
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Garage parking included
- 600 square foot private terrace
- Bedroom #1: 16×14
- Bedroom #2: 16×11
- Bedroom #3: 10×10
- Gallery: 38×7
So many beautiful details in this apartment, however there is one major deal breaker…..an electric range! Are we in S Florida?
I like the terrace but with all of those windows looking down on you, there is little privacy…I guess you can just sit under a nice umbrella.
Although this place is beautiful, I don’t understand what warrants the $400k price increase since 2000 though. The kitchen and bathrooms are just average.
Was this always a 3BR? It looks as if they have reduced the size of the living room to carve out the 3rd bedroom. I agree with you Jenny, it is quite expensive. I don’t know enough about LP and vintage properties, but I would have thought this should be in mid 600s.
Mike: “So many beautiful details in this apartment, however there is one major deal breaker…..an electric range! Are we in S Florida?”
Could that be a conduction range? Otherwise, major fail.
Cool place. I would never spend that much for it though. and 1400+ a month in assesments is brutal
Agreed on the kitchen and baths being only OK. The kitchen layout is especially strange from the floorplan, probably due to the bedroom addition. Otherwise, it seems like a well thought-out layout.
They are definitely including the terrace in their sq. ft. number. I get about 1800sq. ft. without the terrace. Even so, given the address, the finishes, the heated garage and private elevator entrance, and the terrace, I can see this selling for well into the 700s.
My mother swore by her electric range. No budging her on the subject. I’ve always preferred gas. Pretty simple and inexpensive fix. The question of appreciation will be the real issue. Seems like $400k might be a bit optimistic. Other than that I like this unit! Hope that they find another 12+ year owner!
I’ve always wanted an induction range even though I never cook. I just like the idea of them and am a sucker for technology.
This one’s been on my radar; I missed the price reduction. At this rate, when we’re ready to sell/buy (maybe next year), it might be in our range. But hopefully it will be gone by then, as I’m afraid it just wouldn’t work with two kids.
Pros:
* The vaulted gallery is awesome.
* The outdoor space looks pretty great. It’s not ideal in terms of privacy, but there aren’t that many units looking down on it. There are only a couple of other private outdoor spaces this size on LPW/Lakeview (if you want sunbathing level privacy…then with rare exceptions you won’t have a giant private terrace and live right on the park). Not so much to thwart prying eyes, but more to block the brutal sun it likely gets in the afternoon, I’d erect some sort of semi-enclosed/pergola-like structure. I really like how the rear/west end of the unit flows (i.e., separate dining room with huge windows, just off the kitchen, flowing out onto the terrace). From the gallery all the way back through the terrace, it just seems like a great family living and entertaining space.
* It is a very well-regarded, well-run building. Given the sq footage, parking, heat, and quality of maintenance , the assessments are reasonable.
Minor Cons:
* It’s on the second floor. I realize that someone has to live on the lower floors of a tall building, but it’s kind of a bummer. It sort of takes the thrill out of the private elevator. But provided that the front windows are serious enough to keep out much of the outside sound, this con alone isn’t enough to be a deal killer. I imagine it still has a pretty nice view of the park, and it’s far enough from the Webster intersection for that noise to be minimal (my noise concerns would be the neighboring building’s parking garage door on LPW, and the bus stop).
* The living/front room looks to be a little on the small side. But, given the size of the gallery and dining room, and the terrace, this shouldn’t be a deal killer either. If done right (i.e., differently than the more formal current furnishings), it could be plenty comfortable for 4 people to watch the tube.
* It’s just 3 beds. That wouldn’t be such a bummer if the living room were bigger, or if some of the gallery space were configured as a den, but as it is now, the only place for guests (assuming all bedrooms are occupied) would be in the living room. Also not a deal killer, but once you’re in this price range, it would be nice if the grandparents (or friends of limited means) didn’t have to sleep on the couch.
Major Con:
* The bedroom lay out. I’d want the master to be up front next to the living room (well, I’d like there to be French doors separating a living and family room up there, but it needs to be a 3 bed). I just can’t see how to make those two other bedrooms work with two kids (one kid, no problem, then you’ve got a great/private guest room in the rear). I thought about flipping the dining room and rear bedroom, but that really wouldn’t work. The only thing that seems remotely possible would be to truly enclose much of the terrace, thereby greatly expanding the interior space of the home. Given what that would cost (if permitted), for what could still be an odd layout, that just seems like a huge expense, all else considered.
Personally, I’d have a hard time passing it up at $600k(ish). But for the high $700’s (which I presume they’re looking for), I think there are other opportunities (but again, for empty nesters or one-child families, something in mid 700’s doesn’t seem unreasonable). It doesn’t have private outdoor space (though it does have a roof pool and doorman), but I’m keen on the 4/4 at 2100 LPW (#7AN). It’s at 774k (down from 850k), but from the looks of the listing, I gather that it hasn’t been updated since the current family moved in (mid to late 90’s?). I haven’t bothered to look up their mortgage situation, but I’d bet they’d grudgingly take something in the mid 600’s. I’m not sure where I’d scrape up the $100k it would take to make the needed updates, but for $750k, I’d happily raise two kids there.
Annony – I’m missing the issue with having one kid in the front and one in the back, at least in terms of it being a major con.
Annony – That is a really great assessment. The gallery is indeed stunning.
Gorgeous apartment and great location, with beautiful details and great outdoor space. A private elevator stop is a great amenity. For all that, a person might overlook the kitchen and baths, which are a little bit too Light & Bright.
I do appreciate that it’s wired for an electric range, which I prefer. But at this price, could you get a built-in induction cook top and convection ovens instead of a medium-grade range shoved into a niche? Looks to me like the bath and kitchen renos were done to the minimum.
Laura: “I do appreciate that it’s wired for an electric range, which I prefer.”
I’m interested in what you find preferable about them. My mother is similar to JP3’s in that we’ll pry her electric range from her cold dead hands, but she doesn’t have a good explanation for why she likes it.
I guess they are easier to clean?
Blackberry,
Having one kid in the front is a bummer because that room shares a wall with the living room. We had that set up for a couple of years in a place we were renting (that is similar to the subject property in certain ways). Once we moved, it was nice to be able to turn the t.v. volume up to an audible level or to converse at a reasonable level at night.
In the back, the 10 x 10 size of the room isn’t an insurmountably con (it’s really a little kid’s size room, but at least it has an in suite bath, which might make a teen feel o.k. about it). But as with the front bedroom, it’s a matter of location. With a kid sleeping in the rear bedroom, forget about coming home on the late side from work and heating something up in the kitchen, or using the terrace at night.
These concerns might be most relevant with respect to young kids, but that’s quite a few years to live that way. I’ve not seen the unit in person, and perhaps it “lives better” than the pictures and floor plan make it look. If we can’t buy a three bed a year from now (assuming we opt to move out of our 2 bed), and this place is still on the market, maybe we’ll offer to rent it from them. And again, were it closer to $600k, I think we could learn to live with the odd bedroom situation and would consider buying it, but assuming they’re dead set on getting $100k more than that (which, again, wouldn’t be unreasonable), I think there could be better options (though not many, and not often) in the $700’s for the 2-kid family who wants to live on or within one block of the park.
I love the interior, but couldn’t imagine making serious use of that terrace. I’d feel like I was in a fish bowl.
Our old electric oven had very even temperature control for baking. Our current gas oven is not as good for baking but just as good for roasting and I like the gas better for broiling.
The electric coil boiled water for pasta faster than our current gas model. Gas is easier to control for sauces.
We have gas now as the boss prefers it. I can eat too much with either gas or electric.
TftInChi, I come from a family of women who all cook on electric. My grandmother was the first woman in her neighborhood to own an electric range.
I prefer electric for its cleanliness and SAFETY. I really, really hate having a gas line coming into my apartment and I don’t like the open flame. I remember an old gas apt. stove I was cooking on suddenly flaring up and grabbing the sleeve of my sweater. Thankfully, I was wearing a heavy wool sweater treated with a flame retardant and was able to smother the little fire. Gas pipelines corrode over time, and you have a carbon monoxide hazard wherever you have gas coming into the place. I have had to call the gas company’s emergency number quite a few times over the years because of leaky pipelines and corroded, leaky stove connections. Meanwhile, my mother’s stove sat in one place for 30 years with no issues with the 220V connection.
I’m praying for the day when electric heat is as economical and efficient as gas heat is and I’ll be thankful for the day when we don’t have gas pipelines and “step-down” stations that need intensive on-going maintenance, snaking through every neighborhood. Look up gas explosions and see how many have occurred in the Chicago area, and elsewhere, and how many people killed and homes destroyed. Storing and transporting this stuff is really very hazardous, but we don’t think about it any more than we think about the number of people killed in car accidents every year because we are so used to having it around.
Echoing Jenn, I also appreciate the temperature control in electric ovens,and I notice that the “self clean” feature works better in electric ovens than in gas. When I moved out of my mother’s house as a young woman and took an apt. with a gas stove, I couldn’t figure out why my cakes and souffles kept falling, which never happened with my mom’s stove.
The assessment is pretty reasonable for a 2400 sq ft unit if it includes heat. Does it? I looked at the listing sheet and couldn’t find any mention of that. The taxes aren’t too bad, either.
I am a gas stove fan. Electric ruins the food as when you turn it off still the surface can be too hot. If you are cooking one dish sure you can remove it, but in mayhem of making multiple dishes for a party and running around, you’d feel really sorry when you see your perfectly cooked fish has become too dry.
Also you cannot roast things on fire, think peppers and so on.
I am not a good baker (ok I cannot almost bake at all) so cannot comment about that, but I seriously doubt anyone who cares about food cooked at right temperatures would prefer electric.
“I seriously doubt anyone who cares about food cooked at right temperatures would prefer electric.”
The thing to do is to have a gas (or induction, if you prefer) cooktop and an electric oven, for the greater evenness of oven temp. Hence the existence of dual fuel ranges, which have become rather common.
Cooking on electric takes a different technique. You can attain just as much control over the temp on an electric cooker as a gas one, but you must allow for more rise time and learn to make use of the residual heat when cooking on the stovetop. As any chef knows, you draw heavily on your experience with a particular cooking medium, and if you’re accustomed to electric, you know exacly when to turn the burner off , or reduce the temp, to get the temp you want. And it’s easier now than ever, because modern ceramic-topped ranges have faster rise times, while induction is very fast and very precise, as well as very energy-efficient and super-safe. When what I’m cooking is almost hot, I reduce the heat or turn off the burner and let it finish.
Most of us can’t imagine being able to cook with precision on an old fashioned wood burning stove, over a fireplace, or in an old iron oven with no controls, with a fire underneath it to produce heat. Yet for centuries, good cooks not not only knew how to cook great meals on these primitive appliances, but these days, a few outlier chefs swear by them and take a lot of pride in being able to cook and even bake using the means used in pre-tech days before the first gas-fired ranges appeared. My great grandmother on my maternal side, a German woman and famous cook who took great pride in her baking, spent every Saturday turning out the breads and rolls and strudels and pies and very fancy cakes that her large family would consume for a week, all on a wood-fired range with no temperature controls at all. She cooked on that thing for decades and knew exactly how to gauge whether the oven or stove top was at the right temp for whatever it was she was cooking.
$600,000, after seller has reality check and that one certain buyer materializes. This is a vintage two-bedrm + maid’s room apartment, w/newer roof deck created over 1st floor space but observed by all neighboring units – a large unit but not quite a winning combination. Likely a dark unit interior too, when morning sun isn’t shining in livingroom and one east-facing bedroom.
Most highrises have electric stoves in units rather than gas service. Beats running gas service to every unit, saving significant piping costs. Also was a fire-safety issue regarding needed pilot lights.
My house has a gas range and an electric oven. I hate the electric oven for cooking (I don’t bake). The temp isn’t even throughout the inside. When we redo the kitchen in the next couple of years, I’m putting gas back in.
This unit was recently reduced to $825,000.
The unit directly above, #3S, just hit the market at $779k. It doesn’t have a huge private terrace like #2S (which is indeed a rare thing for a LPW/Lakeview Ave building), and the “bedroom” off of the living room is used as a family/t.v. room, but it’s overall a nicer looking unit. The third floor of the building has beautiful, arched windows in front, the kitchen in #3S looks nicer, and it’s simply one floor higher, which makes for a nicer view of the park/trees and reduced noise.
As I said above, these half-floor “3 bed” units in this building are well-suited (long term) to one child families. And #3S really drives that fact home, as these places, with their lovely gallery halls, shouldn’t have a t.v. in the main living room, but should instead place it in a French-doored room off of the living room, as #3S has done. And having purchased it for $660k four years ago, I’d bet one could close #3S for $700k, tops. Has to have #2S very, very concerned.