Is River West the Next Red Hot Neighborhood? A 3-Bedroom Townhouse at 909 W. Ohio
This 3-bedroom Via Como townhouse at 909 W. Ohio in River West recently came on the market.
Via Como was constructed in 2001 and has 34 units (the picture above is of the general development.)
This townhouse has the preferred layout with all 3 bedrooms on the third floor, including the master suite.
The living/dining rooms and kitchen are on the second floor.
The kitchen has dark wood cabinets, granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances along with a kitchen island and a dine-in breakfast nook.
There’s a balcony off the kitchen where you can grill.
The townhouse has a family room, a full bath, and a rare 2-car heated garage on the first floor (townhouses usually have 1-car parking at this price point.)
It also has a private rooftop deck with city views.
When it was built, this area was pretty deserted but now there are new luxury apartment and condo buildings and trendy restaurants like The Dawson just a block or two away.
Fulton Market is a 10 minute walk.
Is River West the neighborhood to be in for big price appreciation in the coming years?
Laura England at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #9: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2500 square feet
- Sold in June 2001 for $457,000
- Currently listed for $640,000
- Assessments of $220 a month (includes exterior maintenance, lawn mower, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $9293
- Central Air
- 2-car heated attached garage
- Bedroom #1: 16×14 (third floor)
- Bedroom #2: 10×9 (third floor)
- Bedroom #3: 10×8 (third floor)
- Laundry room: 3×6 (third floor)
- Family room: 14×13 (main floor)
You made me miss the Como Inn with this post.
I like this place, but it’s dated and the furniture is so large that it’s hard to get a sense of the space. I also don’t see a city view and it’s irritating that the agent claims that this is close to Fulton Market, but when it is not.
I looked at one of these units when I was searching for a townhouse 4 years ago, the units are your usual crappy 3 story layout but this one is a tiny bit better, IIRC the one I was looking at was 525k
The first floor bedroom is utterly useless for families, then you gotta lug all your crap up the stairs from the garage to get into the living/dining area, not my super jam to say the least
this particular unit has 3 bedrooms on the 3rd floor at least, but two of them are super tiny
and an even higher up rooftop deck that nobody ever will use due to it being 4 flights of stairs from the main level and basically looking at the ohio feeder interchange
but if you need space and ogden schools this is an “affordable” option
We looked in this neighborhood before we bought in the South Loop. We decided against it as I couldn’t handle the absence of any proximate green space. We’re in a courtyard now with mature trees and the lake and numerous parks are nearby. It feels so peaceful, even Though we’re in the middle of the city. The Via Como units were nicely sized for a family, but I don’t think I could raise kids in a place where any semblance of green space was so far away.
This neighborhood is definitely on the rise. There is a ton of development going on there and it’s so close to the blue line stop. However, it’s better to be north of the highway.
The other adjacent area, west of the highway, that includes Noble Square, I think is under-appreciated. It’s a great location and a little bit more green.
Are those bedrooms or closets? The 8X9 size makes them fine (maybe) for an infant or toddler. I guess it’s young families who’d buy this place before moving their brood to the burbs at school age, so maybe the bedroom size isn’t an issue.
If I were to buy (being that my kids are going to both be in college soon), I’d consider knocking down the wall between the two small bedrooms and having more space. On the other hand, one could make a small office and the other could serve as a guest room.
There’s some stuff to like about this floor plan, actually. Nice to have a breakfast nook, and a two-car garage is unusual in a home like this. I’m also a sucker for roof decks, though this doesn’t seem to have a skyline view, unfortunately.
The Near West neighborhood is definitely getting more exciting and is a place I’d consider, but this location is a bit far away from most of the fun. May be a bit overpriced.
I would go bananas from the constant highway noise. No thanks!
Not only the highway noise, but the smog levels would be extremely high. I guess it’s not a problem that there is no green space, because nobody would want to spend time outside with the noise and smog.
Maybe this area should have been an industrial park.
These homeowners tend to move there and stay – little turnover. A very desirable complex and the Gateway Green parkland is adjacent to the complex, so plenty of trees. Can walk to the Blue Line in two minutes, 3 bus lines, and downtown in 15 minutes. Fulton Market is 8 minutes away. There’s a reason for the homeowner stability and price point here.
Decent place (for the price), shitty location (noise, smog, lack of parks, etc.)
Doesn’t appear to have views, way to close to the highway, very small side bedrooms. Overall the area can be very legit though if you are a few blocks north, with a legit view and such. You can get decent value for your $ and be within striking distance to RN, Fulton, and West Town.
These assessments are really low. I would actually wonder how these places are being maintained unless they do all specials. In the first pic of the outside, you can see where there needs to be some tuckpointing done. Also, the bathrooms look all original, very dated. If anybody buys here to get into Ogden, they are really in for a surprise. Ogden is terrible on its own, but wait until the Jenner merger for a real mess.
I was wondering when GF would come in to trash Ogden school LOL
did principal Beyer kill your dog or something?
I thought Ogden was one of the best, and even with with the Jenner merger it’s what, 200 poor kids spread over how many grades and classrooms? It’s not like it’s being over run. I bet people will still be bidding up to get into Ogden district after the merger.
Smog? Rarely hear of a smog issue here. These units are adjacent to the expressway Gateway Green parkland, so lots of trees and greenspace to look at – More so than a concrete jungle near a downtown highrise. Extremely convenient location as the Blue Line is 2 minutes away, and the Grand Ave, Milwaukee, and Halsted buses are 3 minutes away. Can walk downtown in 15-20 minutes as well as Michigan Ave. Fulton Market is an 8 minute walk and Randolph St. is about 12 mins. Looks like a good value to me as there are not many townhomes in this area and the neighborhood is quite nice. These appear to be fee-simple townhomes, hence the low association fee.
No Ogden is terrible. So many people have left because of Beyer. He was almost let go, but now they have to keep him because nobody else wants the job. Lots of teacher turnover too.
“These appear to be fee-simple townhomes, hence the low association fee.”
Fee-simple townhouses have NO HOAs. This is NOT a fee simple. The association is maintaining the exteriors.
“Smog? Rarely hear of a smog issue here.”
How many cars on the Kennedy every day? (Not counting the trucks) 200,000? 300,000?
Imagine the pollution living this close. Yikes.
I can never quite forgive the Como people for selling out to the developers. A true local treasure sacrificed to the “gentrification” craze. Be that as it may – would the aroma from Blommer Chocolates be nearby enough to overcome the highway odors?
“Fee-simple townhouses have NO HOAs”
C’mon. That’s absurdly overboard. Fee Simple SFHs can have HOAs. Like this one does:
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/345-W-Evergreen-Ave-60610/home/14113526
Enough with the highway odors already! Seriously. I never smell pollution in Chicago. However, I have smelled skunk driving down the highway. Seems to be an awful lot of them running around the city these days but I never see the little creatures. Just got back from Amsterdam and apparently they have a really big skunk problem there but, again, didn’t actually see any.
I saw a couple of skunks in the cemetery on the south side of Irving Park between Clark and Southport (Wunders?) one evening not too long ago.
its not the odors from the highway, its the general lack of air quality and carcinogen intake that is bad for your long term health
“Fee Simple SFHs can have HOAs.”
Not only can they, but the majority of SFHs (nationwide) constructed over the past 20 years or so are in an association. I did a “term paper” as a 3L on the impact to 1st Amendment rights caused by the fact that so much of modern life takes places within three categories of private property: HOAs, malls and private campuses (the latter two being places where lots of young people spend time, during some of their most expression-heavy years).
” I never smell pollution in Chicago.”
Really? Can you smell other things aside from skunk? I can smell car-exhaust pollution regularly, altho usually in specific atmospheric conditions. On/near the Kennedy is certainly one of those places.
That’s interesting, anonny. I recall some episode of House Hunters where the hunters were looking in some suburban area (maybe Texas?) and all the places they looked at were pretty new and had shocking HOAs. I couldn’t believe people were okay with HOAs for SFHs, ugh. But I guess I have my city blinders on.
SFH HOAs can really vary (I managed SFH and condo associations for a while during undergrad). Some are consistent with the typical horror stories, e.g., petty personal grievances, power trips, poor management, unreasonable architectural control restrictions, too little in exchange for the fees. Other places provide a surprising level of service and amenities for a reasonable fee, prevent the neighborhood MAGA types from putting cars up on blocks on the front lawn, etc.
Any time you have a common amenity, such as a gated community with a pool, you will have an HOA. Also, I think they are more prevalent in warmer climates where you have a lot of retirees who want someone else to mow the lawn and also where two weeks of your neighbor not tending their yard will mean there is a jungle next door.
Also with the trend toward new-urbanism and planned communities, you see associations and dues.
“Can you smell other things aside from skunk?”
Smells of the city: sewage, garbage, urine. Yep. Smell all those too depending upon the location.
“I never smell pollution in Chicago.”
Don’t go out tomorrow Gary. They’ve issued a warning on air quality for the entire city. You’ll really smell the pollution anywhere near the highways and Lake Shore Drive.
“C’mon. That’s absurdly overboard.”
Um…we’re talking about a townhouse here. As I said: “fee-simple townhouses have NO HOAs.”
I’ve been running this site for over 10 years and have looked at thousands of properties. I’ve never seen a fee-simple townhouse with an HOA. What would be the point?
There is a setting in the MLS for indicating that a townhome is “fee simple w/ HOA” it gets used all the time. University Village townhomes are usually listed this way.
“There is a setting in the MLS for indicating that a townhome is “fee simple w/ HOA” it gets used all the time.”
Really? I guess I’ve never covered any of those townhouses on here.
The whole point of fee simple is that you don’t have the HOAs. That is madness to buy a fee simple WITH an HOA. Fee simple townhomes are awful enough as it is.
It really has to do with the way the property is owned, not managed. So, you own the entire townhome but the association takes care of snow removal and yardwork and maintains some common areas – for example.
” I’ve never seen a fee-simple townhouse with an HOA.”
I linked to a fee simple SFH with an HOA.
So you are seriously splitting hairs.
Here’s a Fee Simple TH with HOA, to fix that split end:
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1712-S-Indiana-Ave-60616/home/12658328
Also:
This one, from not long ago:
http://cribchatter.com/?p=24450
Is fee simple and has an assessment.
Actually, I HAVE encountered fee-simple SFH’s with HOA’s. In some suburbs, houses that are clustered together on a cul-de-sac, isolated from the rest of town, with a clubhouse and swimming pool etc., may have an assessment to cover common snow removal, maintenance of the recreation area, sewer and sidewalk repair, etc.
“prevent the neighborhood MAGA types from putting cars up on blocks on the front lawn”
What a cheap comment. You have no idea what % green zone people voted for Trump. It’s higher than you realize. Trump’s doing a great job all around, keeping us out of wars and getting business deal$ done (e.g. NATO) that help our nation. With Hillary, we’d be in an abyss, on all levels esp. morally. Trump’s a great guy who represents best our Founders’ vision of the country. The “urban” haters, not all city inhabitants, are just jealous.
“Ogden (school) is terrible”
I don’t doubt it. I happened to be in the neighborhood of Skinner (West Loop) before the school year ended. I saw the morning drop-off. It’s 60% POC and the worst uppity kind, oozing with unmerited arrogance and implicit anti-white racism, Trump hate, etc. It was nauseating to see. The other 40% were typical “Hate has no home here” types of dumb angry whites who are actually this city’s biggest angry haters, scowls on their faces, furrowed brows with permanent crevices, clueless to the cognitive dissonance of their dumb signs.
House is under contract already – Took one weekend. The market decided that this is a hot home/ neighborhood/ location…
that is pretty hot, good for them, sabrina sure knows her real estate
“What a cheap comment. You have no idea what % green zone people voted for Trump. It’s higher than you realize.”
Yes we do, actually. We discussed this 18 months ago. Extensively. Go look at the maps helmethofer. I don’t have time to educate you again.
In the Greenzone, Trump didn’t win any of the individual wards. He won several on the south side. In the African-American areas. He won where you wouldn’t think he would have.
Of course, he “won” just 15% of the entire city vote, so there’s that.
And, once again, the “urban” areas (where, supposedly you claim to live, but not in Chicago, of course) are the least impacted by Trump.
The cities were already booming by the time he came into office. It’s where the jobs are. 2/3rds of the GDP.
It’s the rural areas that will get hit hardest by the tariffs and Trump’s policies.
Sad.
“I happened to be in the neighborhood of Skinner (West Loop) before the school year ended. I saw the morning drop-off. It’s 60% POC and the worst uppity kind, oozing with unmerited arrogance and implicit anti-white racism, Trump hate, etc.”
Wait a minute. I thought you lived in K2 helmethofer and hung out at Au Cheval in the neighborhood? Lol.
Of course, we all know you don’t live in Chicago.
Because your own building is in the Skinner school district, isn’t it? The kids in your building go there. I guess they’re all “oozing with unmerited arrogance.” (If you actually lived there- which you don’t.)
Ba ha ha ha!
We missed you and your lying, racist ways helmethofer.
No one who lives in Chicago would be surprised at the racial diversity of ANY of the Chicago public schools. Diversity is one of the reasons many of us choose to live in major cities.
Oh- and you’d better get another slogan than “Hillary, Hillary, Hillary.” She isn’t running anymore. Yawn. That message is just old and pathetic now.
“getting business deal$ done (e.g. NATO)”
NATO is a security alliance. The only time any member of it actually invoked the “if one is attacked we all are attacked clause” was the United States. After 9/11.
It’s because of NATO that many Danish soldiers, for instance, gave their lives in Afghanistan.
Shame on anyone who doesn’t believe this is one of the greatest alliances in human history. It has kept the continent safe and secure.
“Trump’s a great guy who represents best our Founders’ vision of the country.”
Uh, nyet?