Loft Week: Do Loft Buyers Care About Busy Streets? 550 N. Kingsbury in River North
It’s time to do loft week on Crib Chatter.
This 1000 square foot 1-bedroom loft in the River Bank Lofts at 550 N. Kingsbury in River North just came on the market.
The River Bank Lofts has 138 units with hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, and timber ceilings.
The west side of the building has views out on the Chicago River while the east has “city views.”
This loft is east facing with a balcony overlooking the city.
It has exposed brick walls, timber ceilings and hardwood floors, along with a gas fireplace.
The kitchen has white cabinets and the listing says “new” stainless steel appliances.
It has both a den and a climate controlled 18×11 “bonus room” across the hall.
It has the features buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and parking is available for $25,000 extra.
Most lofts were built in industrial areas so locations aren’t always prime.
The north side of this building is next to the Ohio Street feeder ramp to the Kennedy Expressway.
As a buyer, do you care about busy nearby streets? Or is it expected with most loft buildings?
Patrick Teets at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #515: 1 bedroom, 1 bath, 1000 square feet
- Sold in March 1996 for $156,000 (included parking)
- Sold in April 2003 for $263,500 (included parking)
- Sold in February 2012 for $245,000 (included parking)
- Sold in April 2014 for $330,000 (included parking)
- Currently listed for $330,000 (plus $25,000 for parking)
- Assessments of $470 a month (includes doorman, cable, exercise room, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $5733
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Gas fireplace
- Bedroom: 12×10
- Den: 12×8
- Storage unit across the hall: 18×11
Even though this building is right next to the feeder ramp, the ramp is 50 feet above the building’s roof so you can’t really hear much of the traffic. This is a nice building in a great location, though kind of far from the nearest train station (Merch Mart).
I think buyers care about being near busy streets, but some will take the trade-off. I used to live near here (a bit farther away from the expressway) and my balcony was always covered in a layer of grime. There’s a lot of dirt and dust that comes up from the highway.
To the “jenny” who posted this comment:
“i am looking for lofts and I can say I don’t care about the busyness of a street. I probably care more about bus traffic or train noise than I do about car traffic.
I was on the architectural boat tour the other day and thought actually that would be super annoying to live next to!”
Please pick another name to post under because, if you read the site, you’ll see there is already a “jenny” so it will cause too much confusion. Thanks!
There is no possible way you can’t hear the ass hat motorcycles at 2:30am every Friday/Saturday night from every unit in this building.
Fred – they rip down this street full throttle and its annoying AF