Crib Chatter

  The Spire, at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive, in Streeterville, is now on the MLS. Apparently The Spire sales team feels it is in their best interest to list some of their units – just in case a possible buyer is looking around and hadn’t heard of the building yet. Right now, I count 12 […]

We continue our church-to-home tour with another church conversion- this time in Lakeview. 1021 W. Barry looks to be a smaller church than the one in West Town.  It also seems to be one of those conversions where not as many of the original elements were kept.  Or maybe the pictures just don’t do it justice. […]

200 East Pearson in Streeterville/Gold Coast is that rare building that you might walk by a million times before realizing that people actually live there. Just east of Michigan Avenue, across from the Museum of Contemporary Art, 200 East Pearson was built in 1916. It has only 10 units. From Chicago Apartments: A Century of […]

A lot of people have been wondering how long it will take before some of the flippers feel the stress of the slowing market. It is already happening at The Columbian at 1160 S. Michigan in the South Loop. The building was only 70% sold when closings began.  The developer has been cutting prices and […]

Some of the church conversions are better than others.  I never understand it when a developer takes such a cool structure and strips out all of the unique elements. This church conversion at 1658 W. Superior in West Town was one of the conversions where many of the original elements were kept- from  the brick to the […]

Perhaps you’ve seen this amusing Craigslist post about a one bedroom unit at 200 W. Grand in River North. The headline reads: $439000 1800sf with 900sf private terrace! Must Sell! Basically, the unit is only 900 square feet but the terrace is also 900 square feet- so that’s how you get 1800 square feet. Brilliant. […]

The Fairbanks at Cityfront Plaza,  at 240 E. Illinois in Streeterville, has been closing for the past few months. Flips have started appearing in the building, but not as many as you might think for a building of that size. It has 31 stories. Current stats: 12 units for sale 4 units for rent The “loft” […]

Some more good news for renters. Crain’s is reporting that downtown apartment rents fell 4.3% in the fourth quarter, the largest quarterly decline since 2001. According to the Appraisal Research Counselors, vacancies also dropped to 91.3% from 94.6% in the third quarter. The Appraisal Research Counselors admit that the excess condo supply will be competing for renters with […]

Chicago has an enormous amount of churches but as the congregations dwindle, many religious orders are left to contemplate: what to do with a church that isn’t wanted anymore? Years ago, Chicago figured out the answer: convert them into housing. The latest such project is in the McKinley Park area a few blocks from the […]

I feel for sellers and agents as they try and gauge what the market is this spring. It’s hard to price properties right now. All sellers want to make money off their sale.  But what is the “market” price and what is listing too high? 333 S. Des Plaines is a 75 year old brick building in the […]