Rarely Available Beaux Arts 5-Bedroom Across from the Zoo: 2344 N. Lincoln Park West
This full floor 5-bedroom at 2344 N. Lincoln Park West in East Lincoln Park came on the market in January 2018.
This Beaux Arts building as constructed in 1916 and has 6 full floor units and an elevator.
It also has indoor parking, with a 2-car tandem parking space included with this unit.
At 4600 square feet, it is as large as many luxury single family homes and has 4 exposures.
The unit has many of its vintage features including a fireplace and crown moldings.
It has a 35 foot grand foyer along with a heated solarium.
There’s an eat-in chef’s kitchen with granite counter tops and luxury stainless steel appliances.
The unit has cedar closets and a laundry room.
It looks like it has space pak cooling but it may be central air.
This building is directly across from the Conservatory and Lincoln Park Zoo.
Originally listed in January 2018 for $2.79 million, it has been reduced to $2.49 million.
Who’s the targeted buyer for a property like this?
Michael Rosenblum at Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #4: 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, 4600 square feet
- Sold in March 2001 for $2,395,000
- Sold in August 2005 for $2,396,500
- Originally listed in January 2018 for $2,797,747
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $2,497,700 (includes 2-car tandem parking)
- Assessments of $2,029 a month (includes heat, security, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $37,873
- Space pak or central air?
- Washer/dryer in the unit
- 1 gas fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 18×14
- Bedroom #2: 14×13
- Bedroom #3: 20×10
- Bedroom #4: 19×15
- Bedroom #5: 1414
- Foyer: 35×8
- Heated solarium: 18×17
- Family room: 24×17
- Laundry room: 7×6
Is it just me or do those pictures just repeat 2-3 times?
you need to restart your browswer, pics work fine for me
Pretty awesome, but given the turnover on this unit, not sure it’s “Rarely Available”…
In the early 90’s I think that I was in the penthouse unit of this building. It was fricking amazing….
At the time it was owned by a lawyer and his son was attending the UofI law school with my close friend Pat. We had to pick something up and were invited upstairs.
The building lobby was odd. I recall thinking how drab it was as It was a small room with a series of closet doors. They of course turned out to be elevators direct to each unit.
Once it opened there was a very large hotel style fountain that was inside their own personal foyer. The living room overlooked the park, a dining room table was raised up and sat 20+, and the kitchen was larger and had more cooking devices than the commercial kitchen at Bennigan’s where I had worked at that previous summer.
The kid that lived there was named Dan. After I came out of the restroom I asked how much was appropriate to tip the bathroom attendant. My friend almost threw up his beer laughing but the kid that grew up there did not find it humorous at all. Gave me the stink eye for the rest of the night.
This is really nice, but the kitchen/bathroom finishes are a little dated and not particularly opulent (no backsplash in the kitchen?).
If I were in the market for an “upper bracket” condo (I’m not), I think I’d rather spend $1M less and buy this place:
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2305-N-Commonwealth-Ave-60614/unit-2N/home/13348470
“In the early 90’s I think that I was in the penthouse unit of this building.”
The owner of the PH at that time bought it for $500k in ’89, and sold in ’98 for $2.075m to Mansueto.
@jp3chicago – you should have asked them if they had any Grey Poupon?
Cool place, would love to see it in person. What struck me was how stable the price was, in 2001, 2005, and now. Especially between 2001 and 2005, that’s got to be unusual.
Was the owner at the time a RE lawyer? If I recall correctly that was his gig.
Could have been another building on that same street. Too long ago to be sure.
And yes, I should have asked for a Grey Poupon. Think that commercial was current at the time.
Love this place.
This is one of my dream buildings and has been for decades. I don’t need this much space, but if I had the cash this would be hard to pass up. Only issue is no outdoor space. Also, $2,000 a month is a lot to pay for a non-doorman building.
I wonder if there is a strategy when you have an upper bracket home like this that you decide not to provide a floor plan. This place is fairly dated but I do think the asking price considers that.
I agree the price considers that, and in getting such a place (and paying so much) I’d want to be able to redo it to my own specifications and taste anyway, to use my own designer, at least, rather than getting something newly updated to current most commonly popular or neutral style.
I know that normally “no work needed” is preferred by buyers to “you get to tailor to your own preferences,” but I wonder if that changes some when the expected buyer is going to be sufficiently well-off that an initial huge outlay (vs. merely the ability to finance a somewhat higher purchase price) is less of an issue or even more desirable.
Dan #2, the assessment of $2,079 a month is less than $0.50 a square foot for this 4600 sq ft unit, which strikes me as extremely reasonable for a high-end building, especially if it includes the heat, which it usually does in older buildings like this. Moreover, this is an elevator building, and those usually cost more per square foot. My 2 older condos each have assessments of $0.55 a square foot, and that seems typical of non-elevator buildings.
Many other older buildings have much larger assessments, often over $1.00 a sq.ft., which is getting really steep. Units in buildings with these really steep assessments tend to be really hard to unload. Buildings like the Aquatania on Marine Drive, which is a rather low-end building; 2430 N. Lakeview, 4950 S Chicago Beach, and most of the co-ops on Lake Shore Drive all have really high assessments, and their units tend to linger on the market for a long time, often for a couple of years or more.
Did not work out fot the seller as investment. Appreciation is horrendous.
“Also, $2,000 a month is a lot to pay for a non-doorman building.”
Yeah, I think I’d want more amenities if I was living in a condo at this price (and with this assessment.) Otherwise, why not just buy a vintage single family home? You’d get outdoor space then too.
“Pretty awesome, but given the turnover on this unit, not sure it’s “Rarely Available”…”
The last sale was 13 years ago. Most buyers aren’t sitting around twiddling their thumbs for 13 years to buy it. I’d say that’s pretty rare for real estate.
If you want to live in this building, it’s rare for a unit to come on the market.
We have only chattered about 2 out of the 6 units since I started this blog:
Unit #3 and Unit #4
Again, I’d say that makes units available in this building, and even this unit, “rarely available.”
I’d love to see the PH unit come on the market.
“I’d love to see the PH unit come on the market.”
yeah, you gonna buy it?
I am fascinated by this place. Prime location, frothy market, marquee building (a multi billionaire lived in the PH!), low maintenance, best school district, parking. The only downsides I can see are 1. no outdoor space (but the park is literally right there) and 2. no doorman. So despite all that there will be no appreciation in 17 years! Just on 2% inflation 17 years = 40% = $3.3MM. Do Chicagoans just hate condos? If so why is 2550 priced at $1k / sft. Has 2550 really crushed high end LP condos this much? This is priced at $522 / sft vs $1000 for 2550. Seems crazy to me – and I think this location is better.
The only explanation I can come up with is low monthlies but frequent large special assessments. If there is $2mm in deferred maintenance on the building that is $333k per unit. $2k / month doesn’t leave much to cushion the blow after taking out heat / insurance / trash / etc.
“only explanation I can come up with is low monthlies but frequent large special assessments”
Well, another explanation is that there are issues with management of the association, and one of the neighbors is a stone cols PITA about everything. Mansueto might be able to ignore bc he can pay to fix whatever troubles him, but a mere $1m wage-earner wouldn’t be similarly situated.
Just bc you spend $2m+ on a condo in a small association doesn’t mean you get to avoid the pitfalls of a small association.
But does a PITA neighbor / association justify this price vs 2550? And wouldnt it have come to light by reading the board minutes? Or wouldnt there be even more turnover in the building? These sellers lived here for 12+ years and I assume would have moved earlier if it was such a problem.
All valid points, yoss.
Same thing applies to specials, tho, right?
Not as applicable. Specials are typically years apart vs your situation of difficult monthly (quarterly?) condo board meetings or constant interaction with a disgruntled neighbor.
I’m just surprised because none of the previous sales (timing / price) suggest to me a building in trouble – either due to specials or difficult neighbors so I’m having a hard time justifying the lack of appreciation here. Someone thought this was worth $2.4mm 17 years ago and it hasn’t moved since. Maybe its just as simple an overpay back then.
“just as simple as an overpay”
“worth $2.4mm 17 years ago and it hasn’t moved since. Maybe its just as simple an overpay back then.”
fewer truly comparable alternatives then?
Still doesn’t explain paying 75%+ more psf to be in a bigger building nearby.
I’m noticing that none of the fine old vintage buildings, in any neighborhood, are appreciating in keeping with the rest of the market. In fact, many have dropped in value, and I have to figure that the high HOAs in these buildings is the major factor.
Take a look at David Adler-designed 2430 N Lakeview, which IMO is one of the finest of the old co-operative high rise buildings. These places are just spectacular, with each unit being a duplex with nearly 7,000 sq ft, gigantic rooms, four fireplaces, gigantic rooms, and gorgeous architectural details. But there’s the HOA of $10,000 a MONTH for each unit, well more than $1.00 a sq ft. Two units are languishing on the market- one is listed at $3.1M, down from nearly $4M, and has been on the market more than 2 years, while the other came on about 7 months back and is listed at $1.75M. While its interior has been compromised and doesn’t have the beauty of the more expensive unit, I can’t imagine that anyone is going to pay a nearly $2M premium for the other-and it looks like nobody is willing to spring for either at these prices, which I find strange given their size and the fine location of the building. Worse, units in this building sold over $4M twenty years ago or more, so you can see that this place has declined steeply in value. Meanwhile, really lavish places at 1500 N Lake Shore and 2450 N Lakeview, priced at $7.5M and $8M. And it’s the same story further north in much cheaper buildings like 3530 N Lake Shore, and in really moderate priced older buildings with higher HOA fees in West Ridge & Rogers Park, which are in a much lower bracket.
Yeah, the HOAs and property taxes on places like this have increased significantly since 2001. So, the place is still priced at a decent premium to 18 years ago when considering monthly payments, but that premium in these types of places are fully baked into HOA and taxes, so there’s not much space for a mortgage premium as well (which is reflected in the price). Heck, this place costs $5,300+/month BEFORE the mortgage. You think it was even close to that in 2001? Nope.
What can I rent for 10k a month in Chicago? in a high rise around there?
Those 10k assessments at 2430 seemed ridic (well they still are ridic) until I saw they included tax. So if we compare apples to apples then this place would be $5,200 a month for assessments + taxes vs $10k at 2430. A difference of $4,900 / month is worth about $1.5mm in present value. 2430 looks beautiful and the homes are spacious. But I would be terrified buying there. Many of the homes are put on the market for years only to be pulled and the ones that do sell seem to sit for a long time. That is $120k / year in negative cash flow!
As for what 10k rents you in Chicago. I know of 2 places – that Fugitive house in Old Town rented for $10-12k and a friend was renting a 4BR penthouse in a beautiful old building in Lakeview on the park for $12k per month. Basically you are paying for the right to rent at 2430 – seems like a really tough sell.
Wow – 2430 unit 5-6S sold 3/18 for $2.5mm after selling for $3.8mm in june 2009! So lose 34% during housing / equity bull market and pay another 900k+ in monthlies for a total “cost” of $2.2mm!
“2430 unit 5-6S”
So, about $22,000/month (!!!) to live there, assuming an all-cash purchase.
Still for sale, asking 2,197,747
So, locked in at a loss.