New Construction Market Heats Up: 2/2 Condos Starting At $489,000 in Southport: 1204 W. Cornelia

This 6-unit building at 1204 W. Cornelia in the Southport neighborhood of Lakeview is still under construction but the units have started coming on the market.

According to several of the listings, 2 of the units, including at least one of the 4-bedroom first floor duplex down units priced at $789,000, are already under contract.

Delivery is expected in November 2012.

Prices on the units are the following (they’ve only listed 3 of the 6 so far):

  • Unit #1W: 4 bedrooms/2.5 baths, $789,000
  • Unit #2W: 2 bedrooms/2 baths, $489,000
  • Unit #3W: 2 bedrooms/2 baths, penthouse with rooftop deck, $575,000

I can’t tell for sure if parking is included, but it looks like it is.

Other than new construction right on Southport itself, I can’t remember the last new construction building in the neighborhood (and one that isn’t directly on the El tracks.)

Yes, it’s in the Blaine school district (which is being marketed heavily).

The units will have upscale finishes such as crown molding, heated floors, concrete soundproofing and Viking appliances.

With 2 out of the 6 condos already sold, it appears demand is strong for “new” in Southport.

Is this one of the few neighborhoods that can still support a 2/2 condo priced at nearly $500,000?

Jeff Lowe at Prudential Rubloff is handling sales. Check out interior pictures (of similar buildings) here.

42 Responses to “New Construction Market Heats Up: 2/2 Condos Starting At $489,000 in Southport: 1204 W. Cornelia”

  1. There was a new construction on Seminary across from Hawthorne 1-2 years ago that looks similar to this Cornelia building.
    There is new construction right now on Clifton just north of School which I think is apartments.
    New home on Seminary just north of Belmont which is single family.
    A lot is cleared on School just west of Racine for something…

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  2. Obiously the west side condos would go first as they aren’t one the busy street of Racine.

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  3. went through one from the same developer ON southport over the weekend but am very leery of buying straight from a developer. ANy pit falls to buying new?

    I also didn’t like the amount of light, or lack thereof to the unit.

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  4. I didn’t realize Blaine went south of Addison at all, but sure enough, it dips to Cornelia from Racine to Southport. Neighbors across the street are in Hamilton, across Racine is in Nettlehorst.

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  5. Lincoln Park is another obvious such neighborhood. The fact remains that Chicago real estate is incredibly affordable (relative to other metro areas, I’m not going to open up the bag of worms on RE ‘value’ in general). Look outside Chicago and it’s impossible to get a new construction, 2×2 in a very desirable metro area for anywhere close to $500K.

    IMA Southport and L.Park offer some incredible values especially relative to downtown condos with their high assessments and low sq footage or renting alternatives.

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  6. Housing Bear – not sure if the Southport unit is being done by the same developer. It’s listed by the same agent, but I *believe* it is a different developer. Just a thought.

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  7. Southport corridor is stupidly overpriced. Blaine is a good school by CPS standards but to pay this kind of premium for a 2/2 that will very likely be right back on the market in 3-4 years (probably underwater), and for what? The neighborhood is covered in suburban-style stores and outlets like Anthropologie, Einstein bagel, and Jewel. If someone wants to live in the city in a good school district why not just live 8-10 minutes farther out on the Brown line in North Center or Lincoln Square (also with some good schools) and save $150-200k!?

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  8. Actually, I misspoke. If someone actually paid the list price or close to it for the ‘penthouse’ 2/2, they could realistically save $300k (!) by living in Lincoln Square or North Center which have comparable or even superior local services and schools. It’s laughable.

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  9. Lincoln Square is not Southport Corridor thats why

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  10. “If someone actually paid the list price or close to it for the ‘penthouse’ 2/2, they could realistically save $300k (!) by living in … North Center”

    Where are the new-ish 2/2s in North Center, not on major streets (ie IPR/Western/Addison/Lincoln) for under $300k?

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  11. ” Lunker (August 6, 2012, 1:09 pm)

    Lincoln Square is not Southport Corridor thats why”

    Can you please back up your statement? I explained various reasons why I believe Southport is overpriced with schools, commute via public transit, & local services in Lincoln Square that are comparable or if somewhat less desirable to some buyers then certainly they do not represent such a drop off to justify a $200k markup.

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  12. “schools … in Lincoln Square that are comparable”

    plural?

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  13. Lincoln Square to the Southport Corridor is apples to oranges.

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  14. “Can you please back up your statement?”

    Lincoln Sq is just not equal to “SoPo” and it doesn’t have that same cache and never will. Don’t ask me why people flock to buy burnt-coffee from Starbucks, but they do, and shorting SBUX stock is like trying to hope SoPo prices won’t hold their values, don’t fight the trend. SoPo is like a bubble within the super-GZ bubble!!! On a side note, how much longer will it be before Hamilton school is equal to Blaine. It’s going to happen, and Hamilton is a nice looking school, etc.

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  15. anon (tfo) (August 6, 2012, 1:51 pm)
    “schools … in Lincoln Square that are comparable
    plural?”

    Coonley and Waters.

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  16. “According to several of the listings, 2 of the units, including at least one of the 4-bedroom first floor duplex down units priced at $789,000, are already under contract.”

    Sure there are two contracts signed. One from the developers cousin and the other from one of the original investors in the project. I only believe the “under contract” story when they are actually CLOSED units. Until then it is a potential marketing ploy to lure others into believing that it is a special project. I can hear the agent explaining to a prospective buyer that the “buy now before it is sold out” story.

    Remember that when there are two duplex BASEMENT units that there is little competition or urgency to put in a bid near asking price but when the other unit is already under contract the seller has some leverage!

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  17. “One from the developers cousin and the other from one of the original investors in the project.”

    Yep, and sometimes this ploy is used to get the construction loan, they tell the bank the project is partly “pre-sold”. Technically, it’s not fraud if the contracts are real and the bank reviews and approves them.

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  18. “Coonley”

    No portion of the Coonley attendance area is north of Montrose, so, not a “Lincoln Square” school.

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  19. I can believe buyers continue to pay over $700k for new construction duplexes. Check out the resales on 855 buckingham. 3232 seminary and 3546 reta

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  20. Southport is better than Lincoln Square because its a better el stop, you can walk to Wrigley Field, the Music Box and jog over to the lakefront. Those are huge advantages and worth every penny of the price difference.

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  21. “Those are huge advantages and worth every penny of the price difference.”

    Nobody “jogs over to the lakefront” from SoPo. Some people jog around SoPo but they don’t go to the lakefront. Dumbass.

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  22. “Nobody “jogs over to the lakefront” from SoPo.”

    Uh, yeah some people do. Not you or me, Bob, but some people, and more than just a few. Gotta get over to the lakefront to get a decent 5+ mile run in, and there are a *lot* of people who run 5+ most days. It’s just over a mile from this place to the lakefront trail.

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  23. “I can believe buyers continue to pay over $700k for new construction duplexes.”

    You meant can NOT, right?

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  24. The people who buy on the Southport corner are the same people who confuse the Samsung tablet with the iPad. There are lots of them.

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  25. Josh, yes all those duplexes sold for high prices but all of the sellers are selling for significantly less than they paid. Why should these buyers pay over $700k just to lose money as well? If I were buying a duplex down (which thank god I’m not!) I wouldn’t pay any more than the places you listed whether it is new construction or not. The prices aren’t going to go up from there…..

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  26. Bob (August 6, 2012, 6:54 pm)
    “Those are huge advantages and worth every penny of the price difference.”
    Nobody “jogs over to the lakefront” from SoPo. Some people jog around SoPo but they don’t go to the lakefront. Dumbass.
    Rating: -2 (from 6 votes)

    Pull out a map Pal…lake is definitely useable from Southport.

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  27. daniely (August 6, 2012, 1:39 pm)
    ” Lunker (August 6, 2012, 1:09 pm)
    Lincoln Square is not Southport Corridor thats why”
    Can you please back up your statement? I explained various reasons why I believe Southport is overpriced with schools, commute via public transit, & local services in Lincoln Square that are comparable or if somewhat less desirable to some buyers then certainly they do not represent such a drop off to justify a $200k markup.

    It’s not a comparison. Totally different neighborhood. Yes you get more for your money. On that same statement why even move to Southport just move to Uptown or Rogers. Closer to the Lake, they all have Starbucks, and have good EL access.

    Southport is a nice area I’d much rather live there than Lincoln Sq.

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  28. “The people who buy on the Southport corner are the same people who confuse the Samsung tablet with the iPad. There are lots of them.”

    False. SoPo denizens consume Starbucks and Apple products, exclusively!

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  29. “Those are huge advantages and worth every penny of the price difference.”
    Nobody “jogs over to the lakefront” from SoPo. Some people jog around SoPo but they don’t go to the lakefront. Dumbass.

    Actually my wife does, like four times a week.

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  30. Southport is atleast 15-20 minutes closer to the loop than Lincoln Square or Andersonville. That by itself can make it a better choice than Lincoln Square. When I lived on Eddy, I regularly walked/biked to the lake, and I can’t do that from Lincoln Square. Southport Grocery and Safari Cup both match up to anything in Lincoln Square. Lincoln Square is great but there’s no reason it’s better than Southport.

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  31. “Southport is atleast 15-20 minutes closer to the loop than … Andersonville.”

    So, you make the transfer from Red to Brown *every* time without waiting at Belmont? What’s your secret?

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  32. “Southport is atleast 15-20 minutes closer to the loop than … Andersonville.”

    Totally untrue. I can’t for the life of me understand why people don’t get that it takes longer to head west on the brown line a stop or two then to stay on the redline and travel a few stops further north. If you don’t believe me, look it up on the RTA trip planner. These are the travel times you will find:

    Argyle (Andersonville) to State and Monroe Redline stop: 25 minutes
    Southport to State and Monroe Redline stop: 23 minutes — if you get lucky and make a quick transfer
    Southport to Adams Brown Line stop: 27 minutes

    It’s a wash in terms of time. And if you get on at Argyle, you don’t have to transfer and you will always have a place to sit.

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  33. Holy crap, a cookie cutter developer actually added some articulation to the sides of their McCondos?

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  34. “It’s a wash in terms of time. And if you get on at Argyle, you don’t have to transfer and you will always have a place to sit.”

    People I know in Andersonville actually took the bus to the brown line and then down. It took FOREVER. It was much longer than living in Southport. They ended up moving closer to downtown.

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  35. “People I know in Andersonville actually took the bus to the brown line and then down. It took FOREVER. It was much longer than living in Southport. They ended up moving closer to downtown.”

    As with any neighborhood, your commute will depend on where precisely you live. The eastern half of Andersonville is generally an easy walk to the red line. The western half, not so much. The same could be said of Lakeview — there are parts of west Lakeview that are a pain in the neck from a commuting standpoint and I personally would not want to live in those areas. But I would never make the statement that it’s a pain to commute from Lakeview to downtown in general.

    It just kind of drives me nuts when people on this site make sweeping statements about neighborhoods that are clearly untrue. If you don’t know anything about the neighborhood under discussion, please don’t try to tell others what it is like. It’s just not helpful.

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  36. The commute from Bryn Mawr and Berwyn Red Line to downtown is about 30 minutes.

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  37. “Lincoln Square is great but there’s no reason it’s better than Southport.”

    That is a valid opinion.

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  38. “As with any neighborhood, your commute will depend on where precisely you live. The eastern half of Andersonville is generally an easy walk to the red line.”

    There always seem to be fatties lurking here who can’t fathom walking over 1 block to a train.

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  39. I lived on the red line for many years and always dreaded taking it; my husband once witnessed a grown man dropping a deuce in a red line el car. We’ve been on the brown line for the past few years, and it’s amazing how much more pleasant it is. Different strokes for different folks, though, I suppose.

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  40. I once saw a guy jack off in his backyard in Schaumburg.

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  41. One of many reasons I avoid Schaumburg.

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  42. But are either as bad as poor Jenny getting flashed in the park on multiple occasions?

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