As Big As a Single Family Home Without Being One: 1821 N. Larrabee in Lincoln Park

Some buyers want the feeling of a single family home but don’t want the maintenance associated with it. For them, this 4-bedroom triplex unit at 1821 N. Larrabee in Lincoln Park might be the perfect alternative.

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This is a new construction unit in a two-unit building.

It has all the bells and whistles of a luxury property including a wine cellar in the lower level.

Three out of the four bedrooms are located on the second level (along with two baths.) The fourth bedroom is in the lower level.

It also has two fireplaces and a 400 square foot deck on the garage.

First listed in May 2009, it has been reduced by $200,000.

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Mario Greco at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See more pictures and a virtual tour here.

Unit #1: 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 4050 square feet, triplex

  • New construction
  • Originally listed in May 2009 for $1.399 million
  • Reduced
  • Currently listed for $1.199 million
  • Assessments of $304 a month
  • Taxes are “new”
  • 2 fireplaces
  • 3 outdoor spaces
  • Lower level wine cellar
  • Family room
  • Bedroom #1: 16×13
  • Bedroom #2: 19×12
  • Bedroom #3: 13×10
  • Bedroom #4: 19×14 (lower level)

43 Responses to “As Big As a Single Family Home Without Being One: 1821 N. Larrabee in Lincoln Park”

  1. So you have to split the “maintenance associated with a SFH” with one other person, who may be an unreasonable prick. Seems like a *huge* advantage.

    If you live in a SFH, you can pay other people to take care of your maintenance, too. Yeah, you don’t get someone else to pay 40% of it, but you also don’t have to do (or not do) things that that someone else wants done (or not done). And you don’t have anyone walking on your head, either.

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  2. interesting, wonder what the other unit’s was/is.

    all these MG listings and hardly a peep from westloop. odd.

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  3. other unit’s price

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  4. “hardly a peep from westloop”

    WL’s back in NYC or down in Fla (equally freezing in either place) and probably not think of us at all.

    Unless he’s lowercase-stevo.

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  5. Good points anon.

    If you can afford +$1 million properties, then you can surely afford to hire out the maintenance, which will likely happen anyways with this property, but you then have to make the hiring decisions with the other condo owner, which just seems like a silly hassle.

    Wow, that is some sentence.

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  6. I would want to meet the other owner to make sure that all is compatible. You wouldn’t take a bride/groom without meeting them first. So why would you get hitched (in a real estate way) before doing due diligence.

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  7. And it’s priced as much as a single family home so I would rather just buy a single family home and not have to worry about someone on top or below and have my own yard.

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  8. “have my own yard”

    No yard here (exc that patch in front). Garage roof deck, to watch the alley gators waddle by.

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  9. Certainly not priced like a SFH. Find me a SFH in Old Town LP for 1.1 million that is new and you have a buyer. Seems nice. Concern would be noise transmission to the upstairs sleeping area from the unit above?

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  10. what’s the Lot Size?

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  11. Think this is a standard 25/125.

    The Section 8 housing next door is a nice touch. This will sell another 200k less given the townhouse competition in ELP.

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  12. “Think this is a standard 25/125.”

    It’s a little shy–total SF is 2,928, which is 25×117 or 23.5×125 or somewhere in-between. A little more than 6% less.

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  13. This appears to have originally been marketed as a 3-unit (duplex down 2,600sf $789K, 2fl 1,350sf $549K, & 3-4fl duplex up 2,700sf $879K.) The only listing for the 3-4fl duplex indicates it was purchased by “one of the owners,” however the listing was cancelled and no confirmation of a “sale” in the public records.

    The interesting thing about the 3-4fl duplex is that it appears to have one of the 3 BRs in the basement, and a “den” on the first floor. Floorplans would help figure this one out.

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  14. The developer owns/occupies #2 and floor plan is avail on rubloff.com, etc. And you can’t find a SFH with these finishes and this size in this location for this price.

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  15. Mario

    While it may be true that you “can’t find a SFH with these finishes and this size in this location for this price,” that is NOT what you are offering. It’s not a SFH, so to make that point is moot.

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  16. “And you can’t find a SFH with these finishes and this size in this location for this price.”

    Of course not. But it’s not a SFH and its next to low income housing.

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  17. “And you can’t find a SFH with these finishes and this size in this location for this price.”

    Do you mean to tell us that condos (lower level units in particular) cost less than single family homes??? Wow.

    No way I am paying over a million to have a common stairwell outside of my master bedroom and folk walking around above three of the bedrooms. This place would be fine during the waking hours because your bedrooms are above your living space but you had better hope that the upstairs owner is early to bed, late to rise (with no dogs, no kids, no heel-wearing girlfriend). This is reminiscent of the place in East Village that is huge (but first floor), but square footage is not the end all be all. The finishes in this place are nice.

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  18. JMM – hence why it’s cheaper…

    Jon – Actually, condos don’t always cost less than SFHs – even in the same neighborhood. Look up 625 W. Buckingham #1 (duplex sold for $945k this year) and 657 W. Roscoe (single family home sold for $900k earlier this year) for one example.

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  19. you forgot to add “as of today”. 2011 may be different..

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  20. At $999,000 I’m sure it would find a buyer. At this price, yes, there are still plenty of SFH options in similar locations available.

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  21. “At this price, yes, there are still plenty of SFH options in similar locations available.”

    In Lincon Elem attendance area and with 4 BRs?

    Not really, at least today. Two rowhouses (1919 LPW, [previously featured for $899, and one on Sedgewick for $1.395) and the Menominee SFH/2-flat from this week. That does *not* qualify as “plenty” and I don’t think that outside Lincoln Elem a/a is similar enough for a real comparison.

    But then, none of the others have public housing for a next door neighbor.

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  22. “Jon – Actually, condos don’t always cost less than SFHs – even in the same neighborhood. Look up 625 W. Buckingham #1 (duplex sold for $945k this year) and 657 W. Roscoe (single family home sold for $900k earlier this year) for one example.”

    I’m not trying to argue here when I took issue with your statement that this condo is cheaper than SFHs WITH SIMILAR FINISHES and OF THE SAME SIZE. I can’t see the listing on Buckingham but it’s probably a gigantic duplex down (with many baths and parking) and 657 W. Roscoe appears to be a 2,072 SF, 1.5 bath POS with no garage… Of course condos can cost more than SFHs but your point was that it cost less than a single family of the same size with similar finishes. Of course.

    Plus, I’d bet most of the chatters on here would call $945K for a duplex down a silly purchase. Just guessing.

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  23. Buckingham and Roscoe are similarly sized and there are trade-offs (nicer finishes (buckingham) v. huge yard (roscoe), etc.) but they are not as diametrically opposed as you think/assume.

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  24. MG —

    What is the section 8 discount neighborly here?

    Also, here is a SFH that will probably trade close to this place and IS a SFH in the Lincoln district, on a far better street. Yes, the layout has lots of wasted space and 1 less bedroom, but you get a 2 car garage. Few people I know actually use their 4th bedroom in the city anyway.

    http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1856-N-Howe-St-60614/home/13347533

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  25. “Buckingham and Roscoe are similarly sized and there are trade-offs (nicer finishes (buckingham) v. huge yard (roscoe), etc.) but they are not as diametrically opposed as you think/assume.”

    MG – On your listing for 625 W. Buckingham #2 (on Trulia) you say that Unit #1 is sold and was 4 Bedrooms/3.5 bathrooms and 3800 SF.

    http://www.trulia.com/property/1080747939-625-W-Buckingham-Pl-2-Chicago-IL

    Now you are telling me that #1 is “similarly sized” to a 2,072, 1.5 bath? Stop. You are embarrassing yourself!

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  26. Jon – If you depend on a tax record for anything other than LAND SQFTGE you are doing so at your own peril. Tax records are not updated very often. Roscoe’s sqftge was nowhere near 2000 (closer to 3500 or so) and it had 2.5 baths.

    As for Buckingham, you are right, I just checked the listing sheet.

    And Howe… If you like living in a house that Miami Vice would have used for a set only after DePalma’s Scarface was done with it, it’s a great frame house with “interesting” curb appeal. Definitely better street than Larrabee though… Not sure why you wouldn’t want to spend $250k less at Larrabee – imagine how high of a brick wall you could build to keep the dastardly “poor” people living next door out of sight and out of mind…

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  27. Miami Vice was awesome though.

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  28. “Jon – If you depend on a tax record for anything other than LAND SQFTGE you are doing so at your own peril.”

    From the same guy that relied on the “developer’s plan” or something to arrive at a grossly inflated square footage for that place at Wolcott on Diversey (Unit I or something). What happened with that place? I think it’s back on the market with another misstatement regarding square footage and a bumped up price (new agent).

    MORE IMPORTANTLY…

    “Roscoe’s sqftge was nowhere near 2000 (closer to 3500 or so) and it had 2.5 baths.”

    We chatted about this place on here MG. Don’t now contradict the floor plan you posted with your listing. Your own floor plan has this place at about 2,600SF MAX (if you count the unfinished basement/mechanical room/laundry room). There is just NO WAY you get to 3,500 square feet for that place — up to your old tricks again!

    http://media.rubloff.com/files/property/5831331/2282/Floorplan/

    In other words, are you f-ing kidding me? I gave you some good advice when I told you to stop embarassing yourself! Take it.

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  29. “Your own floor plan has this place at about 2,600SF MAX (if you count the unfinished basement/mechanical room/laundry room). ”

    If you count all the interior space (based on the dimensiond from teh FP), I think you can get to 2750 or so.

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  30. Jon – Why all the venom? Calm down a bit. Diversey is not back on the market. The whole point of my initial comment re: Buckingham and Roscoe was that you can’t generalize as much as you did. Some people may trade the almighty sqftge for a large yard on a 130′ lot and others might trade garage parking for no parking for the luxury of not having anyone walking above them. That’s the point.

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  31. This seems like a nice place in the worst location in the best neighborhood. 2 out of 3 is pretty good. But the price just makes no sense to me. It’s upper end, but it’s still a duplex down. I would have guessed $750k.

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  32. No venom MG, and no worries.

    I get the fact that condos CAN be more expensive than SFHs. Not rocket science. Just that the 2 places you directed me to aren’t comparable (used in the laymen sense of the word). And:

    4.5 baths isn’t 2.5
    3800 square feet isn’t 2750 (anon being generous) square feet
    Parking isn’t no parking

    “Comps” are probably a term of art you should be more familiar with than me.

    Oh, and I called your office a couple months ago to get a showing and nobody could set it up in a reasonable time frame — too busy! Bid’ness must be good for you! Cheers.

    footnote: we’ve exhausted the square footage controversy, but if you call that place on Roscoe “closer to 3500 or so” square feet, you’ve lost cred in my book (again). signed, the guy that busted your square footage lies on diversey. just be honest! make it a NY resolution! even your unwitting buyers might like it.

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  33. outta sight for a supposed SFH….Think you need to be realistic about someone spending this kind of cash for Lincoln School District. Someone buying this place DOES not have kids. FYI…mom of multliples replying here.

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  34. “It’s upper end, but it’s still a duplex down. I would have guessed $750k.”

    Are you serious?! Maybe it won’t sell at the current list but I would be very surprised to see it sell below $1mil.

    This property is extremely nice/spacious and located in the best neighborhood. Its pretty clearly not a standard “duplex down”.

    There are 2 major downsides that everyone mentioned. a)Poor street i.e. Living next to section 8 housing b) Having people walk above your bedrooms. If this place drops to $1mil I’m sure someone will be able to live with those things.

    There simply aren’t properties with similar finishes/space that sell for $950-$1.1.5 in this neighborhood. For everyone saying there are…..please link because I’m looking to buy soon!

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  35. It was a bubble phenomenon of considering fixtures in the purchase price of a place at a rate far above their replacement cost.

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  36. One question, How does this compare to the bordello in china town?

    This place has mucho indoor space, and its a nice place. Its a strange animal you have people above you. and common stairs right outside your bedroom and family room window. your “outdoor” space is a shared deck above the garage.

    I dont know this place needs a specific buyer or illogical buyer with money to burn. its alot of space and anon touched on the “sharing” of maintenance with someone who might careless or care too much and differ than your own ideas on it.

    at 1mil i dont want to “share” anything unless i am getting some crazy view, something special or unique.

    I guess i dont get it.

    also i am tired of the open kitchen fad, give me walls people!!! if i want a loft i would be buying a loft, Give me walls!!!!!!!

    i guess i dont get that either.

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  37. “There simply aren’t properties with similar finishes/space that sell for $950-$1.1.5 in this neighborhood. For everyone saying there are…..please link because I’m looking to buy soon!”

    I live in this neighborhood. I think this price is crazy for a duplex down. I think the price inflates the value of the finishes. For a similar price you can get a better property an do your own finishes. Links in this neighborhood that I think make this place look silly:

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/170-W-Eugenie-Street_Chicago_IL_60614_1114858145

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/240-W-Willow-Street_Chicago_IL_60614_1114595224

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1717-N-Hudson-Avenue_Chicago_IL_60614_1113833748

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1907-N-Cleveland-Avenue-Unit-A_Chicago_IL_60614_1113508733

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1719-N-Hudson-Avenue_Chicago_IL_60614_1113833781

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1919-N-Lincoln-Park-West_Chicago_IL_60614_1114394704

    http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1826-N-Lincoln-Avenue_Chicago_IL_60614_1112675489

    Some are smaller, some are single family, some are rowhouses, but they are all places I would look at before I looked at this place at this price. I clearly have a bias towards vintage so maybe that’s the difference.

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  38. This one actually has walls. Having the kitchen in the back is a nice change from the typical one room in the front set up. I think it makes this into a sfh feel. The problem of upstairs neighbors is the real issue. If the place is well soundpoofed it would be nice. If not it will be tough.

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  39. I like the space, but I’d much rather be in LP (north of Armitage) in a single family at this price point – and I imagine there are still about a dozen $1-1.5 MM listings that meet that description.

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  40. “and I imagine there are still about a dozen $1-1.5 MM listings that meet that description.”

    Please find them and list them if so. South of Fullerton, North of Armitage and East of Halsted, they do not seem to exist.

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  41. abigbeatdownfool on January 8th, 2010 at 10:47 am

    MG’s such a lightning rod in the CC. As for the space, I just think duplex downs are (comparatively) a hard sell in this market — too many better options abound.

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  42. “Please find them and list them if so. South of Fullerton, North of Armitage and East of Halsted, they do not seem to exist.”

    A couple with 3 BR (ie MUCH smaller than this) and, as noted above, exactly one rowhouse with 4 BR, sharing an alley w/ Clark.

    There will be more in a couple months.

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  43. I walked through this unit and it was nice; certainly not a SFH, but it really felt like it. The major issue my wife and I had with the unit was the lack of storage in the kitchen (including cabinet-depth refrigerator). To be practical for our family, it needs to be renovated and didn’t seem right to do in a new unit.

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