Vintage East Lincoln Park 4-Bedroom Co-Op Reduces to $575,000: 399 W. Fullerton
This 4-bedroom co-op in 399 W. Fullerton in East Lincoln Park came on the market in June 2019.
Built in 1926-27 by McNally & Quinn, according to Chicago Apartments, it’s in the French Renaissance style.
It’s an exclusive building with just 2 units per floor and just 32 units in the 17 story building.
It’s also unusual for a building in this period in that there’s a garage on the first floor with valet parking. Garage and guest parking is available in the building.
It has 24-hour door staff, engineering staff, storage, bike storage and an exercise room.
If this unit looks familiar, that’s because we have chattered about it several times the last few years with the last time in October 2021.
You can see the 2021 chatter here.
If you recall, this unit has Lincoln Park and lake views.
It has wood crown molding in the living room along with a gas fireplace.
There are hardwood floors in the living and dining room.
On the kitchen, the listing says: “The kitchen was moved and enlarged; it includes a 5-star range with grill and double oven, a SubZero refrigerator and separate freezer, a Fisher Paykel dishwasher, and a wine refrigerator. (Note: it is possible to open up kitchen walls creating a modern open floorplan.)”
The former kitchen is now the fourth bedroom and has a full bath.
Of the other bedrooms, one is en suite and the other two share the jack and jill bathroom.
It has the features that buyers look for that are often hard to find in vintage units including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and valet garage parking, which is $300 a month.
Originally listed in June 2019 at $899,000, it has been reduced to $575,000.
The listing says buyers can finance up to 70% of the purchase price.
Also, the listing says the taxes are NOT in the HOA.
This building is in a prime location in East Lincoln Park, across from Lincoln Park, near the Zoo and Conservatory, near several bus lines and the shops and restaurants on Clark in East Lincoln Park.
Is this unit finally a deal?
Jennifer Ames at Engel & Voelkers still has the listing. See the pictures and floor plan here.
Unit #14W: 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3000 square feet, co-op
- I couldn’t find a prior sales price as it’s a co-op
- Originally listed in June 2019 at $899,000
- Reduced numerous times
- Was listed in January 2021 at $675,000
- Reduced
- Listed in October 2021 at $650,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed “as-is” at $575,000
- Assessments are now $3890 a month (In Oct 2021, they were $2799 a month (they were $4549 a month in January 2021) (includes heat, doorman, cable, gas, exterior maintenance, lawn care scavenger, snow removal but not the taxes.) The taxes were included last time and the listing said they were $1856 a month. That meant the rest of the assessment was $2593 a month.
- Taxes are now $19,872 (they were $19,652 in Oct 2021)
- Central Air
- Washer/dryer in the unit
- Valet garage parking for $300 a month
- 1 fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 19×12
- Bedroom #2: 20×13
- Bedroom #3: 16×12
- Bedroom #4: 13×9
- Living room: 29×16
- Dining room: 19×14
- Kitchen: 17×13
- Foyer: 14×8
“Note: it is possible to open up kitchen walls creating a modern open floorplan.”
Colossal mistake to have not done it that way when they moved/updated the kitchen.
TV OtFP is especially offensive in this place, given the otherwise civilized look of the living room and the fact that they have a room for a TV.
Place is a great though and I’d live there in a heartbeat (though I’ve only ever put down 10% on three purchases, so the keep-the-riffraff-out down payment requirement would have been a non-starter for us). Roughly $30k/year is basically a rent payment, but such is Co-Op life.
It certainly looks a lot better staged and with the carpet removed; before is here: https://tour.vht.com/434019239/399-w-fullerton-14-west-chicago-il-60614/ifloorplan
Don’t think I could deal with a in-wall a/c on my kitchen counter.
Where is the laundry stack?
“Roughly $30k/year”
HOA + taxes is apparently $66k/year
“Colossal mistake to have not done it that way when they moved/updated the kitchen.”
Disagree and what are you going to open it up to?
“TV OtFP is especially offensive in this place, given the otherwise civilized look of the living room and the fact that they have a room for a TV.”
100X – LR/DR is very classy
This place is 75% of the way to being awesome
It would have been a good idea to have the WIC open into the Foyer or adding an Armoire
Kitchen is a hot mess
The HOA is painful
This place is dope.
The HOA fee of $3800 probably has the property taxes included which is customary with a co-op.
There are soooo many better options in Chicago, so this would explain the massive price cut. At the end of the day, you have forever small windows and no outdoor space (I guess you could open the window and sit on the fire escape stairs facing South)?
The exclusiveness of living in a coop is so 1990s. Lincoln Park is not the upper east side of NY and never will be. I’m imagining the senior committee members interviewing prospective homeowners of their “worthiness” of living in such an exclusive building. lol. I am certain the existing coop owners are gasping at the $575,000 list price, as the new reduced amount certainly doesn’t look very “exclusive” any more.
“The HOA fee of $3800 probably has the property taxes included which is customary with a co-op.”
The listing explicitly states it does NOT include the property taxes.
This building only has 32 units. It has full time door staff and an engineer. Also a valet for the garage. And then maintenance on top of that.
This seems crazy
10 days into the new year, we’ve already seen 3 Chicago-area home sales at $5 million or more.
https://www.chicagobusiness.com/residential-real-estate/luxury-housing-market-sales-strong-so-far-2023
Look on the bright side, when you are reconciling your checkbook for your HOA + Taxes + Parking + Utilities + Insurance payments, you would stay cool in the kitchen near the window AC unit on sultry summer day and I am certain non of your affluent friends visiting from the Upper East side of Manhattan would even notice the mismatch doors on your two amazing 36″ SubZero refrigerators.
“reconciling your checkbook”
Man, you are *old*.
“Man, you are *old*.”
Have you ever been in this building? It’s like the Gay 90s. Your either gay or 90 or both.
Is balancing checkbooks a thing tehgayz do, too?
If so, I apologize for calling you old.
“This seems crazy
10 days into the new year, we’ve already seen 3 Chicago-area home sales at $5 million or more.”
Wow. Upper bracket sales have even slowed sharply in places like San Francisco, although their upper bracket starts at $10 million, not $5 million.
I’m surprised the upper bracket sales are still so hot. And the article says that there was a fourth home that sold after they went to press. It’s just 10 days into the new year.
Sizzle.
One of these days, all co-ops (with the exception of a few very high-end buildings on Lake Shore Drive) will deconvert to condos. Younger home-buyers just don’t “get” the concept. Why spend all that money to “buy” an apartment that in the end isn’t really yours? The options as they see it are – rent an apartment or buy a condo!
“One of these days, all co-ops (with the exception of a few very high-end buildings on Lake Shore Drive) will deconvert to condos. Younger home-buyers just don’t “get” the concept. Why spend all that money to “buy” an apartment that in the end isn’t really yours? The options as they see it are – rent an apartment or buy a condo!”
Some high rises in Kenwood deconverted in the housing bust. I’m kind of surprised a building like this one, which has enough units to just go condo, doesn’t just do it.
“Some high rises in Kenwood deconverted in the housing bust. I’m kind of surprised a building like this one, which has enough units to just go condo, doesn’t just do it.”
Would depend on the ground lease. I handled one recently where the land owner insisted on the building being demolished at the end of the term (nearly a century from now). It’s absurd, but several generations from now, whoever owns the land is going to have some unique leverage (assuming the apartment building has more useful life remaining; most apartment buildings today aren’t built like the subject property and similar old Co-Ops).
How is a co-op not really yours? You sell your shares (the unit) and keep the proceeds. It is a legal structure of ownership. They have other issues though.
Fabulous building but it’s a unicorn who has $4,000 a month to spend on taxes and assessments. The current listing price is tempting, but even if you can pay in cash, it’s a big monthly bill. And I’m guessing parking is extra.
Russ – A unit in a co-op is “yours” in the sense that you have a proprietary lease for the unit in exchange for buying shares in the building. But it’s considered personal property rather than real estate. Options for getting a loan on the shares are more limited than options for getting a HELOC mortgage. Rules and regs may be much more restrictive, and in almost all cases you cannot rent the unit except possibly to close relatives for a limited time.
Therefore, given the choice of a co-op and condo unit of roughly equal quality and price, a buyer will probably opt for the condo.
Sold for $575K.
Kind of shocking the buyer was not able to drive the price lower than list considering how long this one was on the market for.