Can the West Loop Get Any Hotter? A 2/2 Renovated Loft at 1000 W. Washington
This 2-bedroom loft at 1000 W. Washington in the West Loop just came on the market.
It’s in the middle of one of the hottest neighborhoods in the city with new restaurants and hotels opening up just a block away on Randolph Street and just a short stroll from Fulton Market.
The loft has exposed brick walls with concrete ceilings and exposed duct work.
It last sold in 2013 and appears to have undergone a renovation.
There are wide plank dark wood floors throughout.
The kitchen has been renovated since the 2013 sale and has white cabinets, stone counter tops and a gray subway tile backsplash.
It appears that both bathrooms have also been renovated.
The loft has barn doors that lead to the bedroom as well as in the bedroom to the master bathroom.
You can see the 2013 unit pictures here.
This loft has the other features buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and garage parking.
It is listed for $319,000 more than the 2013 sale, at $649,000.
With almost no inventory in the West Loop, will they get the premium?
Peter Childs at Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff has the listing. See the current pictures here.
Unit #214: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1500 square feet
- Sold in April 1997 for $185,000 (included the parking)
- Sold in July 2000 for $279,000 (included the parking)
- Sold in December 2004 for $335,000 (included the parking)
- Sold in November 2013 for $330,000 (included the parking)
- Currently listed for $649,000 (includes the parking)
- Assessments of $558 a month (includes doorman, cable, exterior maintenance, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $4162
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 14×15
- Bedroom #2: 11×14
nice job on the decorating LOFL
GLWS
Isn’t this the loft building that was subject to massive litigation regarding leaks, mold, etc… there was once a website dedicated to all the lawsuits in the building. It was scary, and suggested that each owner was responsible for tens of thousands of dollars. Does anyone know if this litigation been resolved and the problems with the building fixed?
I would hope that after nearly 10 years the problems would have been fixed
My friend lived in this building. It was one of the most unique lofts I’ve visited. There were three stories of lofts. He ended up getting a great deal because of the law suit. I’m not sure what happened with any of that as he and I fell out of touch, but that loft was beautiful.
This particular one doesn’t seem that impressive compared to the one my friend owned.
Urban Mommy – yes this is *that* building. Very scary stuff happened here which is every condo owner’s nightmare. Even if these issues have been addressed and lawsuits settled, I would still avoid this building like the plague (no pun intended).
http://chicago.curbed.com/2010/10/26/10498142/my-condo-is-killing-me-seriously
The official site for the mold & lawsuits was:
http://www.1000westlofts-lawsuit.com/site/
but for some reason you need a login. I’m going to have one of my very computer savvy “friends” look into getting me one…
It was a pain to finance units in this building due to the lawsuit. Very few lenders would touch it. There are some really unit lofts in the building though if you want a “real loft.” Unfortunately, this unit is not one of them.
I just checked one the condo blacklists with a major lender and it appears to be “approved” now so I guess the lawsuit has been resolved.
I wouldn’t knock the seller for trying to extract maximum value on their investment. But I will knock any sucker who’s dumb enough to actually pay it.
I can’t imagine there are a lot of big buildings on the lending blacklist anymore are there?
Sonies, lenders continually evaluate condo developments to ensure they are healthy. Every time a unit owner gets a mortgage for either a purchase or refinance, the health of the condo development is evaluated.
The biggest issues we still see with many buildings are lawsuits (any lawsuit involving structural issues will make the building next to impossible to finance). The other is single entity ownership where one owner owns more than 10% of the units. Every now and then we still come across developments with inadequate reserves.
For the most part, developments have been doing a better job of keeping up with changing lending requirements so that units are easier to finance for owners and buyers.
You’ve got to have a death wish or be ignorant to the buildings history to buy into this building: http://www.chicagonow.com/getting-real/2011/02/condos-that-try-to-kill-you-and-take-all-your-money/#image/1
“You’ve got to have a death wish or be ignorant to the buildings history to buy into this building”
Every time I’ve cribbed about this building in the last 5 years there are posters who appear out of nowhere to talk all gloom and doom.
The lawsuits in the building were YEARS ago.
Additionally, the banks are looking at EVERYTHING with buildings now. They want to know everything happening with the HOA. The last I heard, this wasn’t an all cash building so there’s your answer.
I go to the west loop everyday now for a project I’m working on. All the trucks all over makes it a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there.
Sabrina– you’d buy a condo in a building that had mold readings that were “off the charts” and causing serious health issues, because it was 5 years ago? You are a braver woman than me.
Medical knowledge about mold has definitely increased in recent years, but there is still a lot the is not well understood. After water damage to a building, mold grows in walls and then becomes dormant until subsequent high humidity; suitable conditions reactivate mold. I read that dormant mold spores can remain viable for over 20 years, waiting for the right environment to germinate. If that is true, I certainly don’t know, then mold problems five years ago would still be a concern today.
“Sabrina– you’d buy a condo in a building that had mold readings that were “off the charts” and causing serious health issues, because it was 5 years ago? You are a braver woman than me.”
I don’t know what your beef is CK, but people like you turn up every time I crib on this building.
There are disclosure laws. If you’re buying in a building, any building, you should be reading the Association minutes. You should be provided with information on any litigation. Then you can make your decision. That’s responsible buying. And, believe me, the bank is also reading all of the same information.
From what I’ve heard, the banks are being more difficult with condo associations than buyers are.
Have a deal right now where the HOA isn’t budgeting enough for reserves. Both Freddie & Fannie want 10% of total assessments collected going towards reserves called out in budget. This building is putting less than 5% in reserves. This will kill any financing for a buyer where the lender is required to do a full warranty of the condo development.
I always find it comical that the “management companies” these high rises pay never seem to inform their condo boards of silly issues like this that should be easily corrected. it isn’t that hard to stay up on guidelines so the condo looks healthy financially.