Dreaming of a Rooftop Deck With a Waterfall and Fire Pits? 837 W. Newport in Lakeview
This top floor 2-bedroom at 837 W. Newport in Lakeview came on the market in May 2017.
This 3-unit building was a 2007-2008 gut rehab of a vintage building.
It has luxury finishes including dark stained hardwood floors and wainscoting.
The kitchen has 42″ dark stained cabinets, stainless steel Viking appliances and granite counter tops.
The master suite has a shower with rain, steam and body sprays.
There’s a deck at the back of the unit, which has the preferred layout of access without having to go through the master bedroom to get there.
There’s also a staircase to the second floor which has a den or a bonus space with a wet bar as well as a fully customized rooftop deck with fire pits, a waterfall, speakers, lighting, and several custom seating areas.
The unit has central air, washer/dryer in the unit and 1-car garage parking.
This property came on the market in May 2017 for $779,000 and has been reduced $80,000 to $699,000.
It is also available for rent, listed in September 2017 for $4300 a month but reduced to $3950 a month.
This unit has been listed for sale for 7 months.
With inventory at record lows, why isn’t this selling?
Christopher Mulka at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
Unit #3: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1900 square feet
- Sold in March 2008 for $672,500
- Sold in July 2010 for $630,000
- Originally listed in May 2017 for $779,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $699,000
- OR you can rent it
- Originally listed for rent in September 2017 for $4300 a month
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $3950 a month
- Assessments of $180 a month (includes exterior maintenance)
- Taxes of $10,987
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Garage parking included
- Wet bar
- Private rooftop deck
- Fire pits/waterfall on the rooftop deck
- Bedroom #1: 14×14 (first floor)
- Bedroom #2: 11×11 (first floor)
- Bonus room/den: 11×20 (second floor)
Nice place and the deck is killer.
Seems like it should move at 700
I toured this unit with some buyers shortly after it came on the market. When it was first listed, it said 3 bedrooms, claiming that den/bar area leading to the roofdeck “could” be a third bedroom which is a REAL stretch. I dislike this tactic used by agents unless it’s easily conceivable which this is not.
I also think the staging/presentation is an issue. My buyers were turned off by the wallpaper and what I believe was a leather wall in the master. Easily fixable, I know, but it gave a negative feeling when touring which should always be avoided ahead of time.
Secondly, while the rooftop is amazing, it needed some work and should be staged properly. Again, a negative that could’ve easily been a positive pre-list. This is the selling point for the unit and it falls flat in the pictures and in person.
Lastly the price. We felt it was overpriced by at least $50k if not more. I believe it’s near market value now but it’s a stale listing. For comparison, my buyers ended up with a 4 bed SFH in West Lakeview for a slightly higher price. It was a no-brainer.
Why it hasn’t sold – I wonder if the deck is included in the square footage. This place doesn’t look that big to me.
For the most part, I like this house with two glaring exceptions. They need to change the walls in the master bedroom. I can’t figure out what’s going on in the master bedroom, but I have a sense that it’s a love or hate thing and I hate it.
Second, I don’t understand the wall paper in random places in parts of the hallway and fireplace. If I were a buyer, I would look at those things and be annoyed because they would require me to hire someone to change it and then to make sure that I could find paint that matches the rest of the unit. Otherwise, this place would be turn key. I especially like that all of the kitchen cabinet pulls are aligned vertically.
Wouldn’t those pulls be horizontal?
This place is nice and the rooftop is amazing. I think it maybe sat initially since it was priced much higher than $699K. I also think the pool of buyers interested in a 2×2 in Lakeview at this price point is small. Families want more bedrooms, DINKs may prefer to be south of here, and younger professionals need something cheaper. I also think it’s tough to justify a premium for amazing outdoor space in Chicago. I would rather spend an extra $100K for more living space.
NEED TO KNOW THE ROOFTOP WEIGHT CAPACITY FOR JAN TERRI.
THAT WOULD MAKE GREAT BAND PRACTICE SPACE AND SHE COULD ADD A NACHO CHEESE HOT TUB FOR KILLA KEG PARTIES LOLZ!!!!
GO BEARS AND OLD STLE LOLZ!!!!!!!!!
Really nice place very tasteful. Wallpaper issues aside, I like what they’ve done especially with the upstairs den, nice place to get away/hide from wife/in-laws during the holidays. The deck is outstanding, you don’t see too many of those on buildings like this and I have to wonder how flexible Chicago code is now to allow future ones. The summer parties here would be awesome. I just keep thinking about the ragers Jan Terri could throw on that deck and realize how much of a steal it is at 600k.
“I wonder if the deck is included in the square footage.”
Maybe in part, but I pencil it out at about 1750-1800 based on the floorplan and with the ‘den’ on the roof level, but w/o deducting for the stairs on both levels (ie, I’m not crediting the den as being the full claimed size in part bc of the stairs).
“Wouldn’t those pulls be horizontal?”
Yes. Mistyped. Sigh.
apropos of the discussion about no-smoking condos, maybe this is sitting bc the other two owners are problematic in some way. Have no idea, but it’s always a legit issue in a 3-unit building.
We need to re do our roofdeck and I would love something like this – it’s SO EXPENSIVE, though. Particularly since we’d need to demo the existing deck. Sigh.
This block (actually 2 blocks) of Newport is really lovely- all vintage buildings – no split face block nightmares or 4+1s. The space is nice (if a bit bland), and I particularly like the 2nd floor den, but at the end of the day, it’s stil a 2bd/2ba in Boystown. I think it needs to be priced at least $20K lower.
Nice looking place. My kitchen I designed (well, my wife designed) looks very much like this with the white/cream colored granite, dark cabinets, although my kitchen has a better layout with an island and room for 4 stools. As for the price, $700 for a 2/2 – even rehabbed – is a bit pricey for me. I think the boystown location puts off a lot of potential buyers too. It’s like trying to sell too expensive of a unit in Chinatown, you’re only attracting one demo of buyer. It’s also just too far north for a $700k 2/2 conversion, and ultimately, as anon(tfo) it’s just a three unit building. I know it’s a tight market but even some buyers are balking at this. I agree with madeline, at least $20k is lower.
why white counter tops… thats pretty bad design IMO
Someone please explain the Abe Frohman/Jan Terri thing. It’s been going on so long, I think it’s time for Sabrina to do a post dedicated to Jan’s fave properties or something.
“Second, I don’t understand the wall paper in random places in parts of the hallway and fireplace”
my guess is it’s a optics thing. When you look down the hallway frontwise, you see the wall paper, but the sides have a different tone. I’m guessing the fireplace is either done that way to pull it in or because they had some left over.
“the Abe Frohman/Jan Terri thing”
Abe Frohman = Sausage King of Chicago
Jan Terri = Musical Queen of Chicago
Together = Their own thing
Here, it’s a typical comment thread running joke. Not a very funny one, but they typically are not. Would be funnier with a little more variety; I did ‘appreciate’ the nacho cheese hot tub today.
I’m guessing that the market is saying that this is not a $779K or even $700K location. As nice as it is, the location is what it is.
If there were an elevator, empty nesters would be falling all over themselves to buy this place.
“Here, it’s a typical comment thread running joke. Not a very funny one, but they typically are not. Would be funnier with a little more variety; I did ‘appreciate’ the nacho cheese hot tub today.”
I kind of look forward to Abe’s posts..not that they are particularly funny, but they are consistent. I too like the nacho hot tub thing.until I thought of the real Jan in one and then…not so much.
The place is nice…love the deck but yea, its Boyztown…there has to be a gay couple who would throw some great parties on that deck.
Now that I have seen that Jan Terri video, I understand those posts a little more.
“there has to be a gay couple who would throw some great parties on that deck”
At this price point, many of such couples (and many design-minded straight ones for that matter) may not be able to look past the TVOTF and the MOTS.
this place isn’t selling because of the large ding in the viking refrigerator. buyers are picky today. /sarcasm
I actually like all of the wallpaper in this place…the dated granite on the other hand needs to go.
No elevator is a deal breaker. Otherwise, great unit.
“the dated granite on the other hand needs to go.”
It’s 10 years old.
Does ALL granite have to go now? What’s “in” now then? The quartz?
“It’s 10 years old.
Does ALL granite have to go now?”
Sometimes yes. If you live in the Chicagoland area and you bought a place in the last 20 years or so, every developer, rehabber, or flipper has used busy granite and SS appliances in the kitchen as the model of modern design. The coasts are somewhat different, more sleak, European and non-busy countertops and backsplashes (quartz is one of those options, but there are plenty of others). People have different tastes, obviously, but certain design items, like fashion items, can look dated a year after they are introduced. Look at any new high end apartment buildings or condo buildings. No one is using busy granite, subway glass or other busy glass tile, or traditonal cabinetry. It’s not a good or a bad thing. It’s just a thing. No one would walk into the kitchen in this place and say holy smokes, this kitchen is amazing. They would shrug their shoulders and walk right to the killer deck.
The granite is perfectly fine, infinitely preferable to quartz or concrete paired with boring, plain “Euro” cabinetry.
“No one would walk into the kitchen in this place and say holy smokes, this kitchen is amazing.”
No it’s not amazing, but it’s a modern kitchen. Maybe at the $700k price level discriminating buyers want more. This site is so spoiled, they forget that ‘busy’ granite is the look that’s replaced laminate countertops and white ‘euro’ cabinets with the brown stripes from the 80′. Many $600k+ homes all around the entire metro area these days have updated kitchens with the ‘busy’ granite. It’s just a small subset of north side new construction that are trying to set the coastal trends….and if by coastal you mean Tarek and Christina, no thank you, all their ‘coastal’ designs look the same and cheap.
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Park-Ridge/1216-S-Western-Ave-60068/home/13564076
“The granite is perfectly fine”
“perfectly fine” is suitable for a mediocre condo. my guess is that someone paying 700k for a 2/2 condo wants something more in tune with current finishes. the current owners went the route of installing on-trend wallpaper (whether we like it or not) but not many people today are going to pick that granite out.
“Many $600k+ homes all around the entire metro area these days have updated kitchens with the ‘busy’ granite.”
updated in the last couple of years? and not in the burbs? when do you think that house you referenced was updated? my guess is that the reason it sold for $175k less then it did in 2008 is because it’s dated.
On the coasts they did the tile for countertops and a shit ton of homes still have them
I like granite and will always like granite. I don’t understand how it can be considered out of style when there are so many different choices out there.
” my guess is that the reason it sold for $175k less then it did in 2008 is because it’s dated.”
That and Lehman collapsed a few weeks later deepening the world in the GFC, and most people around the country who bought in 2008 are in the same position. The only point I was trying to make is that while $700k is a lot of money for a condo, it’s really not enough $ to be discriminating enough to expect the latest california trends in countertops. As my grandma used to say, you can’t expect champagne on a beer budget.
As for the specific granite pattern in this condo, my neighbor (in my inner ring suburb, just moved here from the city) is rebabbing her kitchen which was original to the house (1950’s). I walked past her house a few days ago and in her driveway were the cut granite countertops, same color as these, getting prepped for install. This exact color is still a popular choice among remodels although California Dreamin’ Christina & I gotta Gun Tarek might not approve.
“I don’t understand how it can be considered out of style when there are so many different choices out there.”
Whether it’s liked or not, the trend today is white and grey. There aren’t many granite choices in that color scheme. Most are busy and speckled (white kashmir granite) that people today are moving away from.
First off, the microwave over the Viking stove is a BIG no-no! That stove will melt the microwave on the first real use.
Secondly, I am one half of that gay couple that would buy this place, and ick! The kitchen isn’t $700k, the 2 bedrooms is probably 1 too small, and I have learned better than to be in small condo associations.
This 36 y/o gay guy says I’ll take a big house out in Oak Park any day over this AND save money!!
White and gray has been boring and artless since day one. Two or three years from now the same people who bitch about beige, cherry and granite will bitch about white, gray and quartz. Better to just go with what you like and ignore the trendy unless you like it enough to live with it after it’s no longer in fashion.
It makes me sad that our society is so consumption oriented that people are talking about ripping out granite countertops because something else is in style this year. That just seems so environmentally unfriendly to me.
I’m not hard core on this. People should live in a place they like. I do think our world would be better if we started focusing on quality again. Wood cabinets can be sanded and re-stained or painted. All of those crazy-expensive Italian acrylic cabinets you see in the Mart are going to look terrible in ten years and end up in landfills. A nice *classic* granite, solid surface, or quarts should last forty or fifty years. I realize it seems fun to buy glittery counters or concrete that will stain, but ask yourself if that’s what you will want to look at in ten years? On the other hand, I’ve seen 25-year-old Silestone in a neutral color that still looks modern and fabulous. Ditto fifty year old stone.
“Whether it’s liked or not, the trend today is white and grey.”
vs.
“This Is the 1 Thing Christina and Tarek El Moussa Put in Every ‘Flip or Flop’ Kitchen” …. And as the network explains, the couple’s designs prove that a monochromatic color palette doesn’t have to feel boring. Christina and Tarek often go with white — or white and gray — design elements in the kitchen.
SO the “in” trend is grey and white (and costal), which is exactly what christina and tarek are doing. No thank you.
Are barn doors in too? they’re all over HGTV too!
https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/what-christina-and-tarek-el-moussa-put-in-every-flip-or-flop-kitchen.html/?a=viewall
This is the link from above
“Are barn doors in too? they’re all over HGTV too!”
Yes. We’ve discussed them several times in 2017 in “remodeled” units, and not just lofts. Lol.
But the truth is, the Flip or Flop guys put in the same type of kitchen (the gray/white) because the trends start on the coasts and then come to the Midwest. And they put in finishes that appeal to the most number of buyers. You want “bland” – sorry to say. That’s most buyers.
Whoever the poster is, know this: My policy is to ignore any comment posted here in all-caps.
Thank you.