4 1/2 Years Later, This Streeterville Townhouse Is Still Waiting for a Buyer: 424 E. North Water
We last chattered about this 3-bedroom townhouse at 424 E. North Water in Streeterville in July 2010 (the picture above is of the complex- not necessarily this particular unit since it is a gated community with no public access.)
See our prior chatter here.
Many people don’t realize that there are even townhouses in Streeterville.
This one is located between the Chicago River and the Ogden Slip. Water taxis used to depart nearby on the Ogden Slip (do they still?) or it’s a short walk to the Michigan Avenue location where a commuter could take it to their loop office.
This townhouse is built on a land lease (which the listing says to ask about.) I believe its an extra monthly cost on top of the $420 a month assessment.
Does anyone know?
The townhouse has 3 levels, with the 1-car garage and a bedroom on the first level, the living/dining and kitchen are on the second level and the other two bedrooms are on the top floor.
This property also has a roof-top deck to take in the skyline, and Navy Pier fireworks, and a balcony.
The kitchen has maple cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops.
Since July 2010, this townhouse has been reduced another $50,000.
Will this finally sell in 2012, nearly 5 years since it first came on the market?
Mario Greco at Rubloff now has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #424-D: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2200 square feet, 1 car garage
- Hard to figure out the records but it looks like it sold in March 1997 for $305,000
- Originally listed in August 2007 (I couldn’t find a listing price)
- Was listed in February 2008 for $779,000
- Reduced several times
- Was listed in July 2010 for $699,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $649,000
- Assessments of $420 a month
- Taxes of $10764
- Ask about the “land lease”
- Central Air
- 1 car attached heated garage parking
- Rooftop deck: 17×11
- Bedroom #1: 15×12 (third floor)
- Bedroom #2: 12×12 (third floor)
- Bedroom #3: 11×10 (main floor)
A land lease on residential property? Are we in Monaco?
It was listed in 8/07 for $789,900
2200 square feet? That’s some Mario-Math for ya!
I would go crazy living in a place this narrow – I think it’s 14 feet wide???
If the redfin agent comments are accurate, they turned down $650K twice prior to June 2010.
We looked at one or two of these a long long time ago. While the idea of your own townhome in streeterville sounds nice, these are so narrow (and so vertical) and the townhomes are all so much on top of each other. It just wasn’t appealing at all.
All I can think is the land lease is keeping this place from selling. The price seems reasonable and I would take this over a similarly priced condo. Nothing beats having your own entryway and private garage.
From the July 2010 comments by the listing agent: “The land purchase price is 500 x current land lease ($705) so $352,500.”
Yikes.
“Nothing beats having your own entryway”
You do, it’s called the door to your condo. If it’s privacy and seclusion you crave, this is absolutely not the place to find it.
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but many years ago when I first moved downtown my dream was to live in one of these townhomes. It just seemed so cool to live right along the river and be so close to the beach and Michigan Ave. When I actually began investigating and visiting the properties, I came upon the two main drawbacks other commenters already have mentioned: (1) these places — or at least the ones I’ve been in — are extremely narrow and so have strange layouts; (2) the land lease situation is odd and makes me nervous.
“the land lease situation is odd and makes me nervous”
1. Who owns the land? How is the lease, or the land purchase option price, set?
2. Are taxes supposed to include the land value if the land is leased?
A university or typically the Catholic Church, usually owns the land. I actually saw some HH Hawaii where the land owner was planning to take the property back and tear down the homes.
“A university or typically the Catholic Church, usually owns the land”
Not here. It’s the Chicago Dock and Canal trust:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-08-16/news/9708160115_1_townhouses-leased-chicago-dock
There are a bunch of commercial properties around town on leased land, too (Drake was. And some (mnay?) of the CHA replacement condo projects are on leases, too.
14′ interior wall to interior wall is way too narrow. My house is 17′ and that feels really narrow (is 17′ standard for a 25′ lot?). I feel if it were 19′ or maybe even 20′ it open my home up so much more.
Fun article!
Not fun!, but kinda interesting, using a v loose defn of “interesting”:
http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/workingpapers/88-98/WP_93-13R.pdf
What is with the complete lack of cabinet space in the kitchen?
The rooftop deck is the only selling point here
I was in this unit last summer. If it looks narrow in the pictures…it is more so in person. I felt the taxes were high considering you don’t own the land. I was told at the time by the broker that the land lease was $640 per month…but that you could buy the land. I have no further info on that. I feel one of the benefits of living in a townhouse are the greatly reduced assessments (I am paying well over 3k per month so I am always sensitive to assessments.) which you don’t have here. The idea of being so close to the lake was attractive, but it is a truly desolate area. Oh and by the way…there is nothing deductible about the land lease.
Having sold one of these units within the past year, a potential buyer will need a smart lender and patience, this specific land lease arrangement is difficult for lenders to grasp.
I was thinking of other places I’ve seen where land leases are common in RE and remember Gibraltar was one. They even have their own currency which is weird for such a small place.
Gibraltar is a weird place all round.
“They even have their own currency which is weird for such a small place.”
Not really weirder than Jersey, Guernsey and Manx pounds. And, really, its just an extension of pound sterling bank notes in Scotland and Ireland.
odd. i always thought these were nicer and were built closer to 1990. are there more townhomes down in the “north pier” area or is this it?
too bad the fat tuesdays closed.
“2200 square feet? That’s some Mario-Math for ya!”
Don’t blame Mario for the square footage. All the older listings say the same square footage and this has had a bunch of agents over the years.
I am a regular crib-chatter lurker, so imagine my surprise when I saw my townhome neighborhood featured here!
Some of these units are much larger, have about 3,500 square feet and are significantly wider. The larger units have two car (side by side) garages and are about 21 feet wide. Some of the owners have already bought the land under them, while others still sit on leased land. Expect a significant price difference for similar units that do, and don’t, come with the land underneath them.
We walk to Navy Pier, Bicentennial Park (ice skating), the beach, the Northwestern Chicago campus, the Gleacher Center (U of C Business School campus), Michigan Avenue, D4 (best Irish Pub in the city) and the restaurants near the river. The fireworks at Navy Pier are nice from the roof deck.
Also, like Gibraltar, our neighborhood has its own currency. NOT.
House + Land = ~$1mil, right? Is that so bad for a townhouse at this location? It’s close to the nice AMC Theater, Fox & Obel, Navy Pier, Mich. Ave, a nice walking trail along the water, etc. and yet still in a somehow secluded, quiet little pocket of land. I’ve walked by these houses and the thought of owning one is one of the few things that keeps me from quitting my job and becoming a hippy 😛
Mike – I’m not at all surprised by the “lack of cabinet space” in the kitchen. Many downtown-area homes have galley-style kitchens (check out the unrenovated condos at Marina City for example). These “luxury” homes are built with the expectation that the residents will spend most of their eating time away from home, or maybe bringing carry-out from the local restaurants. So all that’s really needed is a big fridge to store the leftovers and a microwave for heating them up.
“Don’t blame Mario for the square footage. All the older listings say the same square footage and this has had a bunch of agents over the years.”
Thanks for the advice? But I will attribute misrepresentations to the listing agent.
Lizzie McNeills is a better pub. D4 kind of sterile, to me.
D4 is to Irish pubs what Olive Garden is to Italian restaurants.
“odd. i always thought these were nicer and were built closer to 1990. are there more townhomes down in the “north pier” area or is this it?”
There are a few rows of nicer town homes next to these. As I recall there are also a few rows of rougher ones. From the looks of them, they are completely different developments.
agree but don’t tell that to fado, pete.