A Bucktown Single Family Home for Contemporary Lovers: 1614 N. Wolcott
Bucktown and Wicker Park have become a hotbed of contemporary and modern construction with this 3-bedroom single family home at 1614 N. Wolcott a prime example.
Actually ahead of its time, having been built in 1995 by Brininstool+Lynch , the listing says it was renovated in 2004 by Patrizio Fradiani.
No cherry and granite in the kitchen on this house. The cabinets are Poliform high-gloss white lacquard and there is a stainless steel island. The refrigerator is Sub-Zero.
Two of the three bedrooms are on the third floor. There is also a basement family room.
The house is built on a nearly standard lot of 24×125 and has a two car garage.
Robert John Anderson at Baird & Warner has the listing. See more pictures here.
1614 N. Wolcott: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3600 square feet, 2 car garage
- Sold in April 1993 for $50,000
- House built in 1995
- Sold in April 2000 for $640,000
- Sold in June 2003 for $748,000
- Originally listed in August 2009 for $1.649 million
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $1.595 million
- Taxes of $11,501
- Skylights
- Bedroom #1: 19×12 (3rd floor)
- Bedroom #2: 19×13 (3rd floor)
- Bedroom #3: 12×14 (main level)
interesting…I’ve never actually seen cinderblock on the inside. With so many buildings with serious water penetration proplems due to faulty cinderblock construction, I’d be extremely worried about this type of construction.
Love this place. I would probably buy it furnished too. The cinderblock does concern me, but it was built before the pick up truck developers ran wild, so it was probably done correctly.
“With so many buildings with serious water penetration proplems due to faulty cinderblock construction, I’d be extremely worried about this type of construction.”
More info? Dryvit is one form of this right? I’ve always wondered about this b/c Lucas Homes which builds a lot in this area, uses Dryvit (or used to). I like a lot of their houses in terms of interior space (not so much the exteriors).
Dude i was up doing some work late last night and saw this place on LX TV HOMES (or something of that title) and these pictures dont do it justice.
I really cool place! it feels more of a cold show room than a warm “your home” vibe but really darn cool!
Cinderblock and Dryvit are entirely different things. Dryvit is a coating/sheathing, cinderblock is masonry blocks.
“More info? Dryvit is one form of this right?”
Delicious! The floors are gorgeous. Brininstool+Lynch is a great design house. I would imagine that any material they would use would be top-tier.
I am perplexed by the seemingly lack of walk-in closet in the master bedroom, though. The wall closet looks organized, but I’d definitely want a larger walk-in, esp at this price range. Maybe the pictures don’t show it?
Also, I understand that grass is higher maintenance, but I really can’t stand a gravel yard. Guess the current owners don’t have any kids or pets?
I like it. I can’t afford it.
Someday I’d like to build my own place, similar to this, using Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) — probably the best (and greenest) building material.
I a mod(ern) dude, and I love empty floor space.
Hideous from the outside, but very cool on the inside.
But is that really cinderblock? Looks more like grey brick…
I’d be more concerned though about whether there’s any insulation in those walls or just straight up brick.
Have had this on my redfin favorites for a while now to see what happens with it. Looks to be way overpriced.
Definitely dig this place.
I like it….for 900k. C’mon Bucktown/Wicker Park? That’s a good back up when it’s too expensive to live in Lincoln Park and Lakeview but the prices are finally back down so why would someone drop 1.6 mill to live on the fringe?
“Sold in April 1993 for $50,000”
probably was a crack house or empty lot back in 93… amazing how times have changed
wouldn’t call bucktown ‘the fringe’…totally different feel from LP
Only downside to this is location….too close (1/2 block) to North ave..
“probably was a crack house or empty lot back in 93… amazing how times have changed”
My wife tells me you would regularly see prostitutes on North Ave right around here in the late 1990s. What’s odd (or maybe not) is I get everyblock summaries of the area and still see reports of prostitution arrests sometimes.
which is odd, that you still get summaries or there is prostitution still?
cause some say its the oldest profession
“What’s odd (or maybe not) is I get everyblock summaries of the area and still see reports of prostitution arrests sometimes.”
It’s a beautiful house for sure, but I would almost feel like a prisoner in my own home if I lived here. If I didn’t keep it extraordinarily neat and uncluttered (and I wouldn’t), I’d feel like I was letting the greater good down.
DZ: They aren’t out in force during normal hours, but definitely a few pros walking up and down around 3:30-5 am on weekends. I was walked home from Cans by one two or three summers ago ~2 am. She wasn’t thrilled that I didn’t want to party with her.
The working girls can often be found around Blommingdale Avenue adjacent to the abandoned rail platform.
“Ebonized gray maple hdwd floors”
Who knew that Steel Wool & Vinigar is all it takes for a high end finish…
You can fill the cores of masonry (CMU) with insulation, though its an issue at bondbeams
Beautiful place. Having lived around here from 94-99, yes there were many,many prostitutes working the area. In fact, showtime did a documentary on it, in about 96 or so.
Wonder what gets this place sold. $1.2?
I thought all the prostitutes hung out on Hooker Street?
dont have to go back to the 90s…I new a guy in 01 who would pick up working girls at the citgo station on north.
Trui – seeing as that the place on the corner of Wabansia & Winchester closed for 1.375 recently (I liked that place as well) I’d say there’s a shot of similar pricing. I don’t think this one compares with the SFHs across the street that are listing for 2MM+ though that might be influencing the list price. There are a few places in the ~1.4 range up and down Winchester, Honore, Wolcott and Wood now.
Wicker above is spot on… Wolcott and Winchester from North Ave to Cortland are prime blocks with some really terrific homes. High end cluster of neighbors. However, $1.6M looks too rich for that face. I’d say $1.2M range.
Beauuuuuuutiful home.
the outside is a bit fug, but remember, ‘ true beauty comes from within ‘ – definitely the case for this home.
i’d say 1.3 would get this thing moving. bucktown isn’t lincoln park, but i’d probably have a hard time picking between lakeview and bucktown. lakeview has beach access, but i just love the bucktown vibe…
this is the kind of place i’d love to buy after i finish med school + residency. but then again, with healthcare reform, i’ll probably have to divide the price by 3 to be able to afford this pad, haha.
Anyone have intel on Burr Elementary? This area has a lot of nice homes (on full sized lots). The numbers on Burr look very mediocre. I’ve heard they have a good preschool teacher and program, but whether it’s translating into any gains in the younger grades. Many of the homes are so pricey that maybe private school is the first choice for a lot of parents.
Saw that the place below (in same area, not saying it’s a direct comp) sold for $985K, about 10% off last list I see, and about 2% a year increase from 2001 price. The percentage increase seems more or less ok to me, especially given improvments in area. Then again, in the same everyblock update, there was another prostitution arrest on 1900 block of North.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1735-N-Hermitage-Ave-60622/home/13354944
Quick look at a Gold Coast ad listing 3×3 2495 $6181, 2566 sq. ft.3 Bath(s) premium property, DZ’s “not quite comp” numbers seem good. God bless ’em if they find someone to pay 1.5…
DZ: I have no information on Burr other than what you’ve heard: that the younger grades are starting to turn around. I suppose the one other piece of info was that recently there have been more afterschool programs as well.
Doesn’t change the prostitution arrests that occur at north & damen of course, but I know the neighborhood is at least calling them in now rather than accepting the situation.
1735 N. Hermitage:
$785,600.00 mortgage on a $985,000 house.
I understand that’s exactly 20% down, but damn, no wonder real estate in some hoods remains so expensive – so many people are still willing to lever up and borrow borrow borrow to buy into the home of their dreams. It’s not like a wealthy household could be content putting down $200k on a $600k home; they must use that $200k towards a $1,000,000 home for the maximum leverage and buying power. It’s like they can’t let a single dollar of leverage go to waste to get into the home of their dreams! There’s never been a better time to buy, right?
Yet, this leverage still amazes me. I have no doubt that these buyers make good money, probably great money if google is accurate, and, in order to qualify for a jumbo mortgage of this size, but seriously, it’s not wealth that drives home prices in this neighborhood so high, it’s the leverage.
Flame away!
(I would bet dollars to donuts the mortgage has an ARM or an IO component to facilitate that extra bit of buying power!)
This is right across from the wonderful Ranquist Development homes marketed as Urban Sandbox. 1615 N Wolcott was a nice multi-unit building that had some units selling for over a $1MM. Considering those were condos… this may get over $1MM but only slightly.
Still nothing compares to Ranquist… and Studio Dwell Architects. I wish I won the lottery 🙁
“Yet, this leverage still amazes me. I have no doubt that these buyers make good money, probably great money if google is accurate, and, in order to qualify for a jumbo mortgage of this size, but seriously, it’s not wealth that drives home prices in this neighborhood so high, it’s the leverage.”
HD, you’ve just verified for yourself that there’s a good chance the buyers did not need this much leverage to buy the home. So why exactly is this a good example of leverage driving prices. One possibility is that they were trying to get as big a home as their downpayment would allow. Another, probably more likely, possibility is that they were thinkg they could make more than the tax adjusted cost of capital of the mortgage. If it’s the latter, I don’t know if that’s a good decision or not, but it’s not what is driving up home prices.
Wasn’t 20 percent down the pre-bubble norm?
“Doesn’t change the prostitution arrests that occur at north & damen of course, but I know the neighborhood is at least calling them in now rather than accepting the situation.”
Wicker, thanks for the school info. The prostitution arrests don’t really bother me so much as seem like a curiosity given the change in the neighborhood. I would have thought they would have shifted somewhere else by now unless there is really something compelling about north ave.
“Wasn’t 20 percent down the pre-bubble norm?”
I’m with you DZ– I’m not gonna place the blame on the people putting down 20% these days.
See, e.g., http://cribchatter.com/?p=8403.
No, actually, pre_bubble – large homes needed large down payments. Let me guess, they took out a 785k mortgage because they want the tax benefits, right? Because that what rich people do! Rich people borrow and lever their down payment for maximum possible leverage. That’s why these homes cost a million; because these homes are directly related to what they can borrow. Gawd, let’s not go down this road again.
“No, actually, pre_bubble – large homes needed large down payments.”
Is that really true? I genuinely don’t know. I thought it wasn’t the case.
HD, my only point (or at least the one that isn’t a pure rehash) is that you figured out there was good chance those particular owners could afford a lot more house, yet you use it as your poster boy of housing prices being driven up by people maxing out the house they could afford.
I don’t know if they could afford a lot more house; maybe they can. Regardless, for being rich they sure as hell leveraged up to buy that million dollar home. Maybe I have these outdated and antiquated preconceived notions that higher income earners don’t need to borrow as much as regular folks but time and time again I am proved wrong. I work with (and answer to!) plenty of people who make $200k, $300k a year and higher yet they don’t live in million dollar homes or leverage up a 20% down payment into a million dollar home. They live in homes worth $400k or $500k, and they bought them years ago, not in 2002 or 2006 or 2010. I’m just saying; I’ve got personal friends who live in million dollar homes and they too had to leverage up to get there.
People bought homes based on their income, not their down payments because the lenders allowed smaller down payments. This was what drove prices up. There are a lot more people who can afford these larger places on income, but not liquidity. Down payments are what keep prices in check.
It is a lot harder to save up for a large down payment than to actually earn enough money to carry the monthly nut on these larger mortgages.
The problem with the higher end market now is that the down payments are required, so even the people who would normally have bought these places find themselves priced out because they don’t want to come up with the cash required. They rather just buy a cheaper place now.
Money was also so cheap, it was very tempting to just keep your money. If you are getting the loan at 5 or 6%, after the tax benefit it is pretty much free money. Many just preferred to keep their liquidity.
Does anyone know whether this house sold?
“Does anyone know whether this house sold?”
I can’t find any record that it sold. It is also no longer listed. Anyone else know anything?
Back listed again – this time $1.45.
Good thing they held out for the market to improve 🙂