Would You Say Oui to This Parisian-Like Gold Coast 3-Bedroom? 31 E. Elm
This top floor 3-bedroom at 31 E. Elm in the Gold Coast just came on the market.
The building was built in the pre-war era, in 1912, and has 12 units.
But if you’ve dreamed about running away to Paris, but it’s just not practical, perhaps buying a Parisian-like apartment is the next best thing.
The listing says this apartment has recently been renovated.
This unit has tall ceilings with crown molding and custom built-ins and millwork.
It has 2 custom stone wood burning fireplaces, one in the living room and one in the master bedroom.
The kitchen has white cabinets and appliances except for a stainless steel stove. Are luxury white appliances that blend in with the cabinetry the next appliance trend?
The bathrooms are white marble.
There’s also a lower level bonus room which the listing says has been finished with new windows, lights and rubber flooring so it can be a playroom or an exercise room.
But it is the French windows which are most Parisian like. New construction builders rarely build with them. The listing says they were just replaced.
This unit has central air and washer/dryer in the unit but there’s no parking with this building. It is available to rent directly across the street at the condo building at 30 E Elm for $315 a month.
Will there be a quick sale of this property in this hot market?
Millie Rosenbloom at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #3A: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in May 1989 for $360,000
- Sold in October 1995 for $356,000
- Sold in November 2006 for $732,500
- Sold in November 2010 for $752,000
- Currently listed at $878,000
- Assessments of $721 a month (includes water, gas, cable, exterior maintenance, snow removal)
- Taxes of $10,993
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- No parking- but available across the street for $315 a month
- Bedroom #1: 15×15
- Bedroom #2: 10×20
- Bedroom #3: 15×9
Pretty place! I would love to live in this type of home. Although, the lack of parking would ruin it for me.
No dogs, no parking, no deal!
I like this a lot. I am considering a move to Chicago full time and may check this out on my next trip.
I’m neither walk-up phobic nor an “oh, but those assessements” guy, but for a non-elevator building (condo), those seem a tad high. Perhaps it’s especially well maintained/frequently cleaned. In any event, it’s a really nice place, and I’d bet it closes for roughly $850k by the end of Sept. Sure hope the next resident doesn’t put a t.v. in that living room.
“I’m neither walk-up phobic nor an “oh, but those assessements” guy, but for a non-elevator building (condo), those seem a tad high. Perhaps it’s especially well maintained/frequently cleaned.”
It includes gas and cable. Gas on a big unit like this easily runs $150 or more a month in the winter time. Cable is also easily $100 a month (maybe more depending on the package.) That is $250 right there.
There are just 12 units in this building. It doesn’t seem outrageous that it would cost each about $6,000 a year to make sure:
1. The staircase is vacuumed once a week
2. The windows are cleaned twice a year
3. The sidewalk is cleared off all winter
4. The hallways may be heated and air conditioned- this will cost
5. They have to put some into the reserves for brick work, painting, roof etc.
These assessments don’t seem outrageous to me at all given the age of the building. If it didn’t include cable and gas- then I might agree with you.
“Although, the lack of parking would ruin it for me.”
Why do you need a car in the Gold Coast? Just Uber. Or use Zipcar to drive out to the mall.
I also agree the assessments are fair. I live in the GC and I need a car to get my kid to Ogden. And to get to the grocery store now that the crappy ass Jewel is closed that you need to be vaccinated to just walk into the door.
ive always loved this building and always fantasized about owning a unit here. but the no parking is a dealer killer for me. i would never buy a home anywhere, outside of manhattan, without a parking space.
The “cable included” thing is almost universally nonsense. You pretty much just need to order a regular cable package.
Friends who lived in a 9-unit Gold Coast townhouse development had high assessments for a “shovel and minor landscaping maintenance” self-managed association. Each unit paid all its own utilities, and common area light fixtures (3?) were probably wired to someone’s unit. Issue turned out to be a sky-high condominium association insurance policy, purchased through a residential SF/condo insurance broker rather than a commercial insurance broker. When the association president (our friend) properly shopped the policy, the premium dropped by half. I suspect that small associations are only as efficiently-managed as their member-owners insist.
“The “cable included” thing is almost universally nonsense. You pretty much just need to order a regular cable package.”
I see you’ve never lived in a highrise anonny where the building contracts with one of the big cable providers for an “all you can use” package that pretty much includes everything (including wifi in some cases.) In the highrises I’ve lived in with cable included it was a great deal. Got the entire movie package with all the specialty channels included which normally would have cost me about $200 a month. It definitely wasn’t costing my building that.
I never watch TV and find the whole cable deal silly especially in this day and age where people can use Netflix and so on to watch what they like.
“I never watch TV and find the whole cable deal silly especially in this day and age where people can use Netflix and so on to watch what they like.”
miumiu- you may see more condo associations going this route as more people want to cut the cord and do their own thing (Amazon, Netflix, Hulu etc.) But for now, the cable/internet packages are often cheaper in the big buildings where they can negotiate.
I need a car so I can go places with my dogs. I also like the freedom that owning a car provides. I can’t imagine ever going without a car.
My building just signed a cable deal. It works out very well. It includes HD, a DVR, and most of the regular channels you get with cable for $41 a month (including tax). They also signed with an internet company and it costs only $21 a month for 50mbps, so I’m happy. I used to pay about $100 a more a month when I bought it on my own.
It’s a 12 unit building not some towering high rise with 100 200 300 units.
I’m with architect on this one – might be worthwhile to have someone look over their costs