$140K Reduction: 1021 W. Bryn Mawr in Edgewater
We’ve chattered about this 3-bedroom unit in the The Manor House, at 1021 W. Bryn Mawr, in Edgewater twice before.
It’s been on the market since at least last November, when we first chattered about it. It’s now been reduced by $140,000.
Here’s the listing:
Amazing 3-level 3 bed 2 bath in classic historic building. ‘The Manor House’ is Edgewater’s finest gem! A statuette fountain greets you and your guests.
Vintage characteristics include original woodwork, hdwd floors, vaulted beamed ceilings, leaded glass, ballroom sized living/great room, free-standing fireplace PLUS 3 outdoor spaces! Heated garage parking included w/option to purchase 2nd adjacent spot. Great value!
Last March, many of you thought it needed to be reduced. Well- it has. How much lower will it go?
John Robinson at Century 21 Sussex & Reilly has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #3B: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, with three different outdoor spaces
- I couldn’t locate an original sales price
- Was listed in November 2007 for $539,000
- Reduced
- Was listed in March 2008 for $499,000 included one heated parking space
- Reduced
- Currently listed for $399,000 includes one heated parking space
- Assessments of $450 a month
- Taxes of $6,352
- Central Air
First
Keep dropping it- this building is a dump with a checkered history.
Bad conversion in the late 80s followed by semi-slumhood with more fires than I could keep track of, followed by clean up and finally, sales at stupefying prices as Edgewater cleaned up and the housing rampage got underway.
Now, just one more badly-rehabbed unit with a lot of unique features but needing $100K worth of work in a badly kept building.
This place is really interesting. Aside from the negative issues with the neighborhood/rest of the building, a little paint and some creativeness and this place has the potential to be special. from the pictures, it looks huge!
It’s huge, and the neighborhood is actually very good. This neighborhood has managed a miraculous turnaround since 1997. It’s friendly, developing rapidly, and commercial is blossoming with plenty of room for newcomers.
But a close examination of the building from the street shows dry-rotted windows and an overall air of deterioration. I believe there are a lot of rentals in the place.
There is also stiff competition from many beautiful vintage condos in the area, that offer much better appearance and amenities and greater space for less money. There are too many beautiful places on the market between the 5400 N and 6400N blocks to pay this kind of money for this place.
I always drove past that building and admired it. However, the unit layout doesn’t appear to be that functional, the kitchen is dated, the bathroom shown in the pic doesn’t look too appealing and I can see where the ceiling could turn people off.
I’m sure someone will find its charm, but I think they’re doing the right thing by dropping the price.
This unit makes me want to poke my eyes out with a blunt pencil.
If I recall correctly, this building itself does not have parking. The heated indoor spot they are including must be in the much newer Atelier, which is located immediately to the east across the alley. Also, I once heard this building almost went bankrupt at least once due to lack of parking, but that’s been somewhat addressed I guess.
It’s a charming building and a good location, but condos of all sorts are still just too darned expensive. Others are right to point out the faults and insist on lower prices. Prices declines are far from over, Chicago was a wee bit late to the bust.
This has been for sale forever, and I think they redid the kitchen while having it listed – badly, those look like Home Despot cabinets, the old one’s matched the 60s style better. I think the spaces were carved out of the buildings ballroom and billiard rooms.
I don’t quite understand how not having parking would drive a building to bankruptcy. And frankly, the atelier is a liability – the construction quality – and design – are lacking. Architect friends of mine looked at a unit there and walked out when they saw the sloppy workmanship on the balconies.
This building almost went bankrupt once, in the 90s, due to the condition of the neighborhood at that time, which was NOT auspicious for middle-class condo development, to say the least. It was a MUCH different neighborhood than it is now, and when real estate tanked in the early 90s, there was no hope of selling these badly-rehabbed places as condos. As it was, things were bad enough in Lakeview as far as sales went.
I had friends in highrises nearby on Sheridan Road just north of Bryn Mawr, and I swear there was a fire in this building every week. It had totally flopped as a condo conversion in the 80s, and the “developer” was still trying to sell units at ludicrously inflated prices while letting empty units be rented out to anybody who walked in the door with a rent voucher. Units were occupied by overly large families, by dope dealers and users, and assorted other riffraff. The neighborhood was very bad and dangerous then, the epicenter of the notorious “Winthrop Corridor” of drugs and gangs.
That’s all over now, and this is now a great area I spend a lot of time in and would like to buy in. But this building is still not in very good condition, and is competing with much better deals in the immediate area.
“this building is a dump with a checkered history”
wow. please, don’t let a lack of facts get in the way of making a such cheeky and summarily dismissive comment.
I am a long time lurker, first time commenter. I live in this building. I have no direct interest in this unit and I am not on the Board, but seeing my building popping up for discussion and eliciting some of the trademark snarky speculation that tends to fly around here, I thought I’d chime in with an insider’s point of view for anyone who might be interested in that kind of perspective. And yes, I realize my initial tone here for my first comment will rile some folks up, but when others are leading off with “this building is a dump with a checkered history”, I suppose a little defensiveness is to be expected.
This unit has been on and off the market ever since I moved into the building in September 2002. I honestly don’t think anything has changed (someone alluded to a kitchen update), but I cannot say for sure. There are 16 units in the building with varied layouts, maybe 4 different types altogether. The two penthouses are definitely the most ‘unique’. I looked at this unit before purchasing mine and have been in it at least one other time for an Association meeting. It is huge, it is unique, it unquestionably would benefit from some updating. I have seen what some other folks have done to remodel units in this building and echo what I believe someone else said about the potential for someone with the vision and resources to update it.
Renting is generally not allowed except under extreme circumstances and then only for short-term purpose and with approval of the Board. Since I have been here there has never been more than one unit rented and I think 14 of the 16 units have not been rented or offered for rent at all during that time. I’m pretty sure half the building has been here 6+ years. Whatever the situation might have been in 1980, it is hardly like that now.
Parking is next door at the Atelier. There is an alley door in our building and an alley door in the Atelier. Perhaps not quite as convenient as having a spot in one’s own basement, but it’s really incredibly convenient. Before the Atelier was up a few folks parked in the surface lot of the Rennaissance at Catalpa and Sheridan, which I believe is still an option for spot rental.
A lot of work has been done in the building, both to the common elements and infrastructure and to individual units, and there is a plan for ongoing maintenance and improvements. It is far from a ‘dump’.
If someone wants cookie cutter space and ‘amenities’, no, this probably isn’t the right building for them. If someone is worried about what happened here 25 years ago, I’m not sure what to tell them. Buy something brand new or buy a place whose historical narrative has been blessed by Laura as pure and desirable. But I’ve lived here 6 trouble-free years, love the neighborhood, love our location and love this building. Someone will, as Dave suggests, find this unit’s charm. The uniqueness of this place does tend to narrow the field of potential buyers, but the net result is the people who buy here are people who could certainly buy other spots, but want to be here. And we all realize we have something special here, even if Laura has nothing but disdain for our lil’ checkered dump.
Now back on the market at $350k!
now at $325k (down from $539k in ’07!)