3-Bedroom Wicker Park Victorian Storefront Listed $80K Under 2006 Price: 1530 N. Paulina
We’ve chattered about this unique 3-bedroom unit in a former storefront at 1530 N. Paulina in Wicker Park several times since it first came on the market in July 2008.
See our original July 2008 chatter and pictures here.
This was the duplex down with the secret staircase in the floor (seen in the 2008 pictures.)
It has recently come back on the market as a short sale and is now listed $80,100 under the 2006 purchase price.
At 2700 square feet, the first floor former storefront has as much square footage as many single family homes or townhouses.
It has a private entrance, a garage space and a private rooftop deck.
The third bedroom and a full bath are in the lower level, along with a media/recreation room.
The kitchen has white cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
Is this a deal for the square footage and location?
Deborah Hess at Conlon: A Real Estate Company now has the listing. See more pictures here.
Unit #F: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2700 square feet
- Sold in December 2006 for $630,000
- Was listed in July 2008 for $675,000 (parking included)
- Withdrawn
- Originally listed in May 2010 for $650,000
- Was listed in August 2010 for $660,000 (looks like the parking was again included)
- Withdrawn
- Re-listed as a “short sale” for $549,900 (parking included)
- Assessments of $454 a month (includes cable)
- Taxes of $9446
- Central Air
- Private deck
- Bedroom #1: 17×12 (main level)
- Bedroom #2: 17×10 (main level)
- Bedroom #3: 13×11 (lower level)
I like it but not certain on pricing.
also, can’t they take down that horrible sign over cabinets/sink in kitchen photos? What is that? A slogan?
I would really have to study duplex down comps/townhomes in immediate area to get better idea on price/value
The renovation looks very well done. I am not sure that I care for the layout with the kitchen completely open in such a big space.
Is it a real estate listing or an advertisement for the artist? Who’s pieces I guess are on those weird pedestals.
More good news on retail sales today.
Maybe the “force of nature” will help sell this place.
This is either the home of Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt (hence the sign over the kitchen) or more likely a serious collector or dealer in his work. Most of the sculpture in the main living room area is by Hunt. I’m surprised that someone got to the point of a short sale with this much salable sculpture around.
Is Clio on vacation? He’s been silent the last couple of days. We miss you Clio!
I believe this is probably Richard Hunt’s apartment. He is a public Chicago sculptor (his his his own studio) and those look like his sculptures.
This would be his work as well: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zJpnTu57Koc/R1GFonLup3I/AAAAAAAACc4/KT_AilhauJw/s1600-R/LI-sculp-0249b.jpg
so did dick hunt stage the place? what is with those two signs in the kitchen?
Here it Richard Hunt’s website… He is a force of nature, you know.
http://www.richardhunt.us/
looks like they did a good job remedying the trap door staircase. will likely appeal to more buyers. They should throw in a sculpture.
I’ve been in this place – the reason for the signs and art everywhere is that the unit is used as a gallery for the current resident. Listing says “3BR” but actually it is currently set up as 1BR with two office/gallery type rooms that could be used for bedrooms. Check out http://thinkartsalon.com/ for gallery info (for example, they hare hosting an event on Thursday, “Richard Hunt: A Force of Nature &
Adam Clement”).
The main issues I saw with the place where that the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms were placed a bit awkwardly (the one photo of an office is the 2nd bedroom) – upstairs the two bathrooms are in the master suite and in the kitchen, so 2nd bedroom users either use the master suite or take their showers and then walk through the open kitchen to get back to their rooms. 3rd bedroom is downstairs and 3 of the walls in that bedroom have double doors, which is sort of meh. Additionally, there are _zero_ windows downstairs (there is some sort of weird plexiglass section in one corner of the ceiling that lets some light down there, but that struck me more as odd than useful). On the plus side, because its set up as a gallery, the lighting in the basement is very nice.
lol at the staging
come on bob, you’re a bit slow with your Maude Lebowski reference to make me LOL today
LOL @ Wicker Park.
All the people I know in Logan Square are moving back to Wicker Park because they can afford it again!
I wonder if they’ll reopen Filter? LOL!
we saw this unit a few weeks ago. it is extremely unique and the pictures don’t do it justice. it’s such a refreshing departure from a duplex cookie cutter place. it is indeed being used as a live/work space as an art gallery. apparently the owner is moving because zoning requirements no longer allow it?
that being said, there are some things that require work (echoing R’s points above)…you cannot tell in the pictures but about 3 feet in front of the window there is no wood floor, they are using a grate covered by plexiglass to remedy the gap. It looks like it used to be an overlook into the lower level, but it needs to be fixed.
the private rooftop deck layout is strange and isn’t very private.
the downstairs ‘office’ isn’t properly segregated from the living area space and needs a closet if you want to use it as a bedroom.
my mom & i loved it, my dad & husband saw work. we did like it, but the work + the pain of a short sale + higher end of our price range + assessments + taxes ended up taking this one off the potential list.
PS – i found the realtor showing this property to be really respectable. she knew all the answers to my questions without hesistancy, was very well-spoken, and seemed knowledgable about short sales. this place used to be listed under a different agency, they just acquired the listing since the new price change.
Dick Hunt to the rescue.
“come on bob, you’re a bit slow with your Maude Lebowski reference to make me LOL today”
Maude Lebowski would never need a short sale as economic concerns never matter to genuine artsy-fartsy people.
This person was an artsy fartsy impersonator. Someone who thought that this place would be nice because how much their arty friends and social circle would be envious of them when they had their wine parties. In fact they so desired to be envied by their social circle they threw economic considerations aside and dropped 630k at the peak.
Now this poseur is going to be an artiste alright: a starving artist.
Bob – at least this person had the guts to go out there and take a chance -Good for them!! They should be proud of themselves and not be discouraged. Everyone falls – it is how u respond when u r down that matters and is a true measure of a man.
chicagobull: Filter’s been reopened for awhile. Changed up the food menu unfortunately.
I see a price of $349K on the listing page.
For those that actually saw the unit, was there any sort of exit in the basement? If there are no windows and the only exit is the internal stairs then the entire basement is a deathtrap. What happens if someone is sleeping in the basement bedroom and a fire happens on the first floor? exactly, that’s why there are codes and requirements for windows.
There are requirements for a basement bedroom in the local codes. Fire safety is of the most importance and can often be solved with an exterior exit or windows that are large enough for emergency egress.
Who puts a sign in their home proclaiming themself a force of nature? C’mon.
Under Contract.
How much do you guys think this place is really worth? Is it a deterrent for potential buys that this unit opens up straight to the side walk? What about the fact that it is a duplex down? Is this unit worth 500k when its listed at 550k?
If I could get it for 485K, is that a good deal?
Young if you want to do it do it. You can always move after 2 years and keep renting the unit out.
Although personally if I’m dropping 500k on a place you can rest assured I won’t have three room mates. Sounds like a luxury frat house to me. If you get sick of the area just rent it out and move to Lincoln Park or River North and buy a place there.
“1. How long are you planning to live there?
Unclear. Atleast 2 years, but maybe as long as 5-10 years. Atleast for the first year, and maybe 2 years, I will have 1-3 room mates paying rent.
…
One scenario I can imagine, is that I end up getting sick of the area, or wanting to move to river north or Lincoln park type place in the next couple years.”
Condo association only allows 25% rentals. Currently 3 out of 16 units are rented out, so it is close to the limit. You can rent for 1 year at a time, and if there is another unit trying to rent then they will get a turn to rent out their unit. I’m not sure how easy or hard it is to change condo rules once you are a owner.
How hard is it to get condo rules changed?
Good luck. You would need a majority of the owners. And why would they change it? The rental restriction is in place to protect the owners. Without it- someone wouldn’t be able to get a loan to buy in the building. They’re unlikely to vote against their own interests.