A New Record High Price for a 2/2 in Crilly Court? 1708 N. Wells in Old Town
This 2-bedroom in Crilly Court at 1708 N. Wells in Old Town just came on the market.
We’ve chattered about this complex many times since it was converted from apartments into condos right at the peak of the boom in 2007.
Built in 1866, it has two fireplaces, crown molding and a deck off the back of the unit that overlooks the courtyard.
The units sold quickly originally and prices have never looked back as not only has the complex held its value, but it has gone up in price even during the dark times of 2011-2012.
The collection of buildings is right in the heart of Old Town, near restaurants, shops, transportation and Second City.
This 2-bedroom with den has come on the market after a full kitchen renovation.
The original kitchen was the old dark wood cabinets with dark granite counter tops. The unit now has white custom cabinets and a big kitchen island with Carrera counter tops.
There’s a built-in Leibherr refrigerator, a BlueStar range, a Bosch dishwasher and Restoration Hardware finishes.
The unit has a custom in-ceiling speaker system throughout and new lighting in each room.
If you recall, there are only 8 parking spots in the courtyard and those sold originally with the larger 3-bedroom units.
So this unit doesn’t have parking. It is leased in the neighborhood.
It does have the other features buyers look for, however, including central air and washer/dryer in the unit.
The unit is listed at $615,000 or $104,000 more than the 2013 sales price. This would be a new record sales price for a 2/2 unit on the Wells Street side of this complex.
Will it get the premium?
Phyllis Hall at Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #3: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1520 square feet
- Sold in July 2007 for $461,000
- Sold in March 2013 for $511,000
- Currently listed for $615,000 (with a new kitchen)
- Assessments of $442 a month (includes exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $8214
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- No parking- it’s leased in the neighborhood
- Bedroom #1: 12×17
- Bedroom #2: 11×13
- Family room: 10×15
The kitchen is beautiful
I’ve always liked this complex, and this unit is beautiful.
The continued popularity of this good-looking building proves that parking is not a big issue with urban dwellers in Chicago, who accept that they will have to scramble for parking, and aren’t as car-dependent as suburbanites in any case. People accept the trade-off for a safe,attractive urban neighborhood with charm, and proximity to downtown.
Relative to what people are paying for 2/2s in locations far less desirable than this spot, pricing for this cool pad, even without parking, seems reasonable.
“The continued popularity of this good-looking building proves that parking is not a big issue with urban dwellers in Chicago”
I am not sure Laura. The popularity of the building at best proves that lack of parking is not a deal breaker. I believe lack of parking, significantly reduces the buyer pool. Sure Chicago has decent public transport, but still Americans, especially those with family, prefer owning cars and convenience of having a parking spot.
Can’t say I agree on the kitchen with the clutter-inviting open shelves, difficult to maintain marble countertops and odd blue stove. Yes, it appears to all be of good quality but not the easiest to live with long-term. Nice unit in a good location though.
for a “designer” unit this place looks awful, makes me want to gag, Summer Thornton whopever that is, sucks
I think this unit will go quickly at this price. People love old town. The lack of parking is rough, but there is street parking in this area for people with permits. I was surprised when I visited a friend in this area and had no trouble finding parking.
Anyone know anything about the roof access for this unit / building?
Agree w/ Sonies. The kitchen is a mess and there’s a ton of wasted space (The area between the fireplace and Kitchen Island is really questionable)
Brass hood? I can honestly say i’ve never seen this. now i know what not to do. i guess microwaves aren’t available in this finish to complete the look.
those shelves on both sides of the range really limit your counter space when cooking.
While the Summer Thornton aesthetic is not my personal taste I can say that this unit is full of custom and high quality details. There is a very limited amount of open shelves. The brass hood and blue stove are specific but I know there would be complaints on here about how every kitchen in Chicago has stainless. This place will be bought by someone who likes the design. The area between the kitchen island and fireplace is narrow but that is the issue with most Chicago condos. There are other spaces for tv watching, eating, etc. That is a sitting space and I expect it functions well when casually entertaining. Its a nice unit and for the right younger buyer who wants style this is good to go.
I like the blue stove and the brass hood! I would probably have flipped the seating area and the table, and made some different choices on the light fixtures, but overall I think it looks great.
“The area between the kitchen island and fireplace is narrow but that is the issue with most Chicago condos. There are other spaces for tv watching, eating, etc. That is a sitting space and I expect it functions well when casually entertaining”
It might if you give up kitchen functionality. I don’t see any practical reason to put the sofa right under the island. If you do any cooking, the couch is going to get nailed or someone will spill a glass of wine, etc The pictures with the ottoman really show how impractical the space is for entertaining.
The space might be salvageable by rotating the sofa 90 deg this would allow people to interact with the kitchen, but guessing that you’d be limited to a couple of chairs
This is a really poorly thought out space.
I adore the blue oven.
Not a fan of open shelving in kitchens myself due to the cooking grease / dust combo…and the fact that all your shelved items must be…”curated” or you look like a slob. Otherwise, except for the microwave, I like the kitchen. That open shelving can be replaced eventually.
I think it was this building or one right nearby – – a friend owned the unit above the bakery. The horror stories of the 5AM rap music blaring from the bakery would make me never ever consider a unit above a retail use, regardless of the retail use. You just never know what will be there next year.
Main living space looks cramped – can’t find the area in the photos that makes this place 1,500 SF. No parking is a deal-breaker at this price point, IMO. Old Town is great though!
Definitely not a family apartment (3rd floor walk up / only 2 br / no parking) despite Lincoln Elem attendance area and too expensive for a 2/2 starter apartment (which I think are a bad idea regardless) which are usually in the $350-450k range. So I think we are talking empty nesters or DINKs with no interest in ever having kids. Empty nesters are tough because of walk up apartment and aging so this is probably a DINK place. Not my style design wise and seems smaller than 1500sft. Location is amazing and it looks like a really nice place. That section of Wells is very quiet despite being on Wells. Walk to farmers market / 2nd city / many great restaurants. Maybe it gets $600k if they find the right buyer.
My friend who lives in Old Town is a single professional. He chose it because it was equidistant from where his friends live and you can Uber anywhere quickly. I see this type of place more of a single person. Yes, there are well-off people who can afford to live here alone.
This probably belongs to a single woman.
“A transplant from New York City, she loves all things preppy. By day she rolls with high powered financial types, but by night she hangs with her girlfriends and loves to entertain & cook. She wanted a space to have her girlfriends over, to sip great wine and escape.”
It is contingent. Guess some other people adored the blue range too 🙂
Since Margot left, Old Town seems to be losing its charm. I was down Wells street and the area is definitely transitioning. To what, I’m not sure.
I wonder if they are ever going to fix the stable. That was one of the most charming parts of Old Town.
the noble horse theater is gone and going to be replaced with an apartment building monstrosity
That’s really sad, Sonies. I loved the charm of that theater. There was something fun about walking around in the middle of the city and seeing a stable.
This unit is A/I today
It seems crazy to me that there is no roof access for this building. What a great location for a roof deck.
Coincidentally there is an article in the online rag DNAChicago about how Old Town is evolving and rapidly losing its charm in the process.
Online rag is right. They suck.
“Coincidentally there is an article in the online rag DNAChicago about how Old Town is evolving and rapidly losing its charm in the process.”
Well- they’re tearing down most of what is on Wells and building new. But is there much of value on Wells anyway? Some of which will be torn down is really ugly and has no historical value. And a lot of what is getting built in “old town” is at the southern end of Wells street which was not well populated until a few years ago anyway.
At Divison and Wells they are about to start construction on the re-build of Atrium Village which is apparently going to be 4 high rises and some townhouses. That will be HUGE for the neighborhood.
But on the north end- when you actually cross North Avenue- a large part of that area is historically protected. Not much they can do there.
Everyone wants to be in Old Town. It’s been one of the hottest neighborhoods for the last 6 years. I think it’s great they’re building more units. And a hotel there? Why not? Again, it’s a hot restaurant zone and Second City is there.
“What a great location for a roof deck.”
It’s possible this entire complex is historically protected. Many buildings/properties right around it are. If it is, there is only so much you can do to the outside. And a roof deck wouldn’t have been original to the property when it was built.