$1000 a Square Foot in Old Town: A 1-Bedroom Cottage at 216 W. Menomonee
This rare 1-bedroom Chicago Fire cottage at 216 W. Menomonee in Old Town just came on the market.
Built in 1874 on a 24×117 lot, it come complete with a picket fence and a highly coveted 1-car garage.
According to tax records, the house is only about 780 square feet.
It is landmarked.
It has skylights and the kitchen is open to the living room with craftsmen style cabinetry.
The bedroom opens to the bricked private garden.
It has central air and a laundry room.
There’s a floorplan in the listing.
The house is listed at a new record high, of just about $1000 a square foot.
Will this unique property find a buyer at this price?
(It came on the market a few days ago- it may already be under contract.)
Gregory Desmond at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
216 W. Menomonee: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, no square footage listed (but tax records say 780 square feet)
- Sold in October 1988 for $200,000
- Sold in September 1990 for $240,000
- Sold in October 1997 for $275,000
- Sold in February 2002 for $387,000
- Sold in January 2007 for $630,000
- Currently listed for $795,000
- Taxes of $9739
- Central Air
- Bedroom: 18×11
- Living room: 26×13
- Kitchen: 10×10
If I were a burglar or home invader,this place would be like heaven. Ground floors, lots of windows to break, secluded, rich people live here. There’s no bars on the windows, it’s like these people are confusing the neighborhood for Buffalo Grove or something! SUre all of these things can remedied, like ripping out skylights and installing bars on the windows, but who wants to let security get in the way of a great looking first floor pad?
I saw a story about this the other day. I think the current owner is selling because they are prohibited from expanding the footprint because of Landmark Status.
Why don’t the criminals just drive to the suburbs? I have a friend in Northfield who doesn’t lock his doors and lives at the end of a wooded drive. That’s where I would go if I was a burglar.
A look at the “Mugs in the news” in the Chicago Tribune tells me that burglars usually DO go to the suburbs (at least the ones that get caught!)…
Jenny, you are clearly not a criminal. A house at the end of a driveway is not a good target. The neighbors are nosy and call the police on all suspicious looking people, and it’s likely the cops will see you’re jalopy driving into town before you see them; and when you try to escape to your car you end up cornered, and there’s nowhere to run.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-12-13/news/ct-park-ridge-burglary-arrest-nnw-tl-1213-20131213_1_police-credit-burglary-arrests-residential-burglary
http://www.journal-topics.com/news/article_b45813f6-6440-11e3-a8bf-0019bb30f31a.html
W/ pics
I would totally live up in this place if it were priced a much more reasonable $700 a sqft… lol
I like the dinky American flag, because if they bought the full-size kit it would make the house look puny.
“Menomonee” street? More like “Madeomoney” street.
” The neighbors are nosy and call the police on all suspicious looking people”
All that police support costs money. Maybe you should ask your neighbors to call the police less, and then your taxes won’t go up 6%.
This will go near ask. Some suburban empty nesters that want a place in the city WITHOUT the annoyances of shared walls and the rules of a HOA in a high rise. Sure it’s a bit small but to some it is made up by privacy and ability to garden.
Hey! I remember this place! They were part of the garden walk during the Old Town Art Fair. The back yard is AWESOME and they put a lot of work into this place.
This is a perfect place for a divorced parent to live and send their child to Lincoln school. The other parent can slum it in Portage Park.
“This is a perfect place for a divorced parent to live and send their child to Lincoln school. The other parent can slum it in Portage Park.”
It’d be pretty tight with a child. In an article about the property in the paper, the current owner said it’s not bad for 2 adults but a family would be tough.
This cottage isn’t yet under contract. I’m surprised. I thought it would be sold after the first weekend given how unique it is and that it has the 1-car garage.
It will be interesting to watch.
“It’d be pretty tight with a child. In an article about the property in the paper, the current owner said it’s not bad for 2 adults but a family would be tough.”
If it’s good for two adults, it certainly would be good for one divorced parent living with one child part of the time.
“This is a perfect place for a divorced parent to live and send their child to Lincoln school. The other parent can slum it in Portage Park.”
For $795,000? This cutesy place is for the ex-wife, of the rare guy who had a pre-nup and didn’t get taken to the cleaners in the settlement.
“If it’s good for two adults, it certainly would be good for one divorced parent living with one child part of the time.”:
That’s a super niche market. It’ll be listed for a long time if they’re waiting for that kind of buyer.
“That’s a super niche market. It’ll be listed for a long time if they’re waiting for that kind of buyer.”
Maybe the family that bought the place on Burling also bought this so the two ex parents can be close to the kid. Yes it’s a niche, but there is always a buyer. As I stated elsewhere, money isn’t always the reason why people buy or sell.
“It’d be pretty tight with a child…”
Given the class sizes at the attendance area elem, the school/home experience would be seamless.
Story about the house (and owner) from the NY Times last year: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/07/garden/treating-his-house-like-a-museum.html?_r=0
“If it’s good for two adults, it certainly would be good for one divorced parent living with one child part of the time.”
Do you sleep with your child in the same bed?
That’s what they meant. 2 adults can share the bedroom. They weren’t talking about roomies here. They were talking about a couple.
So unless that child shares the bed with the adult, you have to find somewhere else for them to sleep.
So where would you put the child? Out in the pullout couch in the living room? Sure. But full time? And why? For $795,000 you have a ton of options to get your child their own bedroom in Lincoln Park. This is not NYC nor Hong Kong.
“Do you sleep with your child in the same bed?”
Yes. Too bad I’m not a divorcee looking for a house in Old Town.
“And during the renovation, he said, he often had to wriggle through the crawl space, where the pungent smell of burned wood remains unmistakable.”
Wow. An actual remnant of the Chicago fire. That is pretty cool.
I thought this would sell in the first weekend. Tells you what I know.
It’s been on the market for months. Finally pending though.