We Love Terraces: 70 W. Huron in River North
The Hermitage at 70 W. Huron in River North was built way before the current condo craze- in 1985.
This 2-bedroom unit has a massive 1500 square foot terrace.
Is a terrace that big a pro or a con?
Karen Noonan at Koenig & Strey has the listing (agent owned.) See more pictures here.
Unit #302: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1250 square feet
- Sold in October 1997 for $199,500
- Sold in August 2000 for $302,500
- Sold in May 2003 for $400,000
- Currently listed for $435,000 plus $35k for parking
- Assessments of $713 a month
- Taxes of $4,044
- Washer/Dryer in the Unit
I would love a terrace that big! Price looks reasonable but I know nothing about the building. Kitchen kind of sucks, but not horrible.
It is a nice unit, I love the terrace, but $713/month in assessments! for what? How much more home could you buy with $713 extra a month?
Why did the realtor take pictures with her cell phone?
the terrace is a little excessive, but i love it. You’d have to spend some money to spruce it up but it could be spectacular if you do it right. Outdoor space like that adds quite a bit a value. Seems like they want at 50 to 75K premium for the outdoor space, which seems about right to me for something that large.
Oh, my – where to start….
I work a couple of blocks from this building and I tend to take mid-day walks to blow off steam. The area has the ‘gritty industrial’ feel of converted/re-purposed industrial spaces that may appeal to *some* (me, not so, but then again, its more of a personal-taste thing, so who am I to say?), it’s next to the river, and the ivy adds a bit of ‘green-space’ to the area.
Now the not-so-appealing:
-the area’s criss-crossed by a whole bunch of commuter rail lines (4 lines terminate at Olgivy, 4 or so terminate at Union) and the crossing gates 20 or 30 feet away are ‘plinking’ every 15-30 minutes or so (all day);
-the continual stream tourist boats (the squawking from their speakers are probably unintelligible from the balcony, so it’s probably just ‘white noise’;
-MAJOR noise from the blue line (strangely, it’s well across the river, near 333 Wacker Dr.but all the big buildings act as a sounding board, bouncing the ‘boom-boom’ noises from 5-6 blocks away, seeming to magnify them….!;
-the building is showing its age: (the pink paint doesn’t hide the fact that time is due for a good tuck-pointing;
So that’s my completely-intrained amateur impression, what say you…?
i say you have the wrong building, this isnt anywhere near the river. and wrong el line too as the blue line is underground.
^^ Uh, 70 West Huron is at least eight blocks from the river, and there are no trains close by except the subway under State Street and the Brown line several blocks away.
The building isn’t the prettiest, and the kitchen is unfortunate, but I think the unit has potential. The terrace is fantastic, and I am sure the assesments are high because of all the square footage of both the unit and the terrace. I think the price isn’t that crazy at all, expecially for the River North location.
You can hear boats from the river half a mile away hidden behind highrises? Funny – I can’t hear them in my office on the river.
I would think you’d get some trash or cigarette butts landing on your beautiful terrace, which you get the privilege to pick up.
Whoops…!
I mistook this building for a similar-looking one in a different place…
My mistake – as this is a different building, please disregard my earlier comments…
That terrace is the principal selling point for this place, which is otherwise a fairly nice but commonplace modern apartment in a doubtful neighborhood?
Is it only my perception, or is there still a problem with street crime at night in River North? This area still seems gritty, and desolate at night.
I have lived in River North since 2001 – have never had crime related issues or heard of anyone who did. However, the area closer to the river does look a bit less inhabitable then La Salle / Kinzie / Grand one.
Re: the neighborhood. I’ve rented in the building for about six months now. It super convenient, with a Whole Foods a block away, Michigan Ave and the beach close by, red and browns lines within walking distance, dozens of restaurants and bars and the ability to walk to my job in the loop.
I haven’t seen or heard about much crime in the area, but there is a Catholic Charities a block West and a YMCA two blocks East so there are a good number of homeless people in the area. They’re more of a threat to your conscience than your safety.
Yes, there are no people at state and huron at night. very desolate.
Yeah, but Clark and Huron is jumping every night with Zed 451 and the other couple bars. The noise at night from those places is more of a problem than desolation.
And the whole Hard Rock, McDOnald’s, Portillo’s intersection is always crowded——primarily with tourists but tourists are people too!
In other words, yes, Laura, it is just your perception. More likely to have a problem with too many people around at night, but then if you’re looking for a quiet neighborhood, river north ain’t gonna be your best choice.
The location is actually quite nice… Red Line only 3-4 blocks away, Whole Paycheck only a block away, Trader Joes three blocks away, and Jewel just a few blocks further. Lots of restaurants close by…
There are a lot of tourists though…
I used to live a few blocks from there and the area is as safe as most anywhere else in the city. It is very touristy with lots people out walking and traffic at all hours. What I don’t like about the otherwise great terrace is the noise from the street only two floors below.
Kitchen has a lot of cabinet space for 1500 sqft.
My balcony overlooks this building and Im thinking of buying this unit to live in so I no longer have to look at the building. Built in 1985 huh….could have guessed that from the Don Johnson color choice.
Think of the shindigs you could throw on that insane terrace. You would be the envy of many-a-city-dwellers.
Dont go thinking the popular river north night area is safe. Two were shot there the other night at the McDonalds on Grand. One died and the other is in critical condition. The HUGE one if you know which McDonalds I’m talking about.
I just read that story about the shootings at the Rock n’ Roll McDonald’s today in the RedEye. It’s really mind boggling to me. Does anyone know how many murders there have been in Lincoln Park and Lakeview over the last few years? I know I can find crime info on chicagocrime.org (now everyBlock.org), but it’s hard to get clear stats on long spans of time (at least last time I tried). I get so tired of hearing people say, “Oh you know, crime happens everywhere. You can’t just say neighborhood X is safe and neighborhood Y isn’t.” Puh-leeze. Stats are stats. If one ‘hood has one murder per year and the other has 20, I think it’s fair to say the first one is safer. Now can someone help me find decent stats so I can be a know-it-all and annoy my coworkers and friends?
The shootings happened at 4AM… Most residents are not out wandering the streets at that time.
ss on August 19th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Why did the realtor take pictures with her cell phone?
Come on, they are only going to get a 3% commission! I think you are demanding an awful lot of the realtor here.
So now we are looking for “crime-free” neighborhoods in Chicago! Does anyone on this blog own a condo or home in Chicago?
Dances with Vols–were you thinking of the building on Grand at the railroad tracks, just west of the river? I agree the building looks industrial. They need to paint the concrete facade or something.
I’m usually the first to rail on realtors for using bad pictures but if you actually follow the link Sabrina posted and checked out the virtual tour the photos are very large and quite nice.
John 2: Yup, that’s the one.
Paint? F- No..! That puppy needs, at the very least, to be tuck-pointed first…!
As is, it shows some signs of, well I won’t call it neglect, but “less-than-diligent upkeep”, but at least it appears *honest* about it (“potential fixer-upper”)…
Slapping an additional coat of paint on it to hide the flaws rather than addressing them is, in my opinion, equivalent to putting lipstick on a pig (short-term it may pass for ‘pretty’, long-term it’s, well, a ‘pig’…!)…
i have a condo for sale in the building. if interested, email me at mszwarc@hotmail.com
more info on my condo can be found here:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/70-W-Huron-St-60654/unit-803/home/14102665
its back on the market!
Welcome back, Kotter!