Short Sale Under Contract Within 3 Weeks in The Palmolive: 159 E. Walton
We’ve chattered about The Palmolive, at 159 E. Walton, several times in the past two years.
It is the ultra-luxury Gold Coast building where actor Vince Vaughn allegedly purchased a penthouse several years ago.
A 2-bedroom short sale came on the market three weeks ago and has already gone under contract.
According to the listing, it has custom designed mahogany and small lake views. It also has a custom kitchen.
It is listed in short sale just $107,000 under the 2006 purchase price.
Is this even much of a deal at this list price?
Current stats on the building:
- 14 units for sale out of 99 units
- Last unit to sell in the building was in January 2009
Marie Cabrera at Baird & Warner has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #13B: 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 1867 square feet
- Sold in May 2006 for $1.307 million
- Originally listed in February 2007 for $1.8 million
- Reduced several times
- Withdrawn in October 2007 at $1.6 million
- Re-listed in March 2008 at $1.629 million
- Reduced
- Withdrawn in October 2008 at $1.55 million
- Short Sale and re-listed in August 2009 for $1.15 million (plus $50k for parking)
- Under contract
- Assessments of $1,347 a month
- Taxes of $10,000
Grandma.
I’m thinking this is what a million dollar condo should look like – not the overpriced west town dreck we tend to see priced similarly.
[Edited by Sabrina]
Apartment’s finishes are high-quality, particularly the kitchen build-out. Reminds me of a Ritz Carlton build-out package.
Makes a nice corporate apartment, refurnished with Barbara Barry furniture that is. Between purchase price and assessments, this is very expensive living, in a building which never established an “old money” cachet.
“JN on September 10th, 2009 at 6:40 am
I’m thinking this is what a million dollar condo should look like – not the overpriced west town dreck we tend to see priced similarly.”
Bwahahahahahhaaaaa. The AARP contingent speaks. Brilliant.
Over $600 a square foot plus over $2M/mo in T&I for this?!?!
roflmao
Reminder:
The furniture will not be there when you move in. Paint and curtains can be changed. Please keep the comments about the actual property. This is not an interior design blog.
Thank you.
What have other 2BD units sold for in this building? I like the unit but I agree with the others. Some of that furniture looks like Ikea and Harlem Roomplace.
“in a building which never established an “old money” cachet.”
Architect: A bunch of the “old money” families own units in this building so I don’t know what you’re talking about. It is considered one of the top “luxury” buildings in the city.
It is small and discreet.
I think this is just such a classic pre-war building in a perfect location. That and the fact they wouldn’t let me in one time is two positives going for it.
I wish they would have posted pictures of the views, but they probably suck so they didn’t bother.
Love the shower in the master bath.
Nice place, but the building had more allure when it had the big Playboy sign across the top.
sabrina,
“Reminder: The furniture will not be there when you move in, Please keep the comments about the actual property”
now if this place is staged, the furniture and design have a lot to do with the property. be it the agent or the seller who staged it, they are staging it to a certain market, old money. (old money, new money its all the same, only used the phrase to get the point across.)
but if no one knows the seller or agent we will never know if its staged or not.
i love the kitchen, that kitchen is what i expect of a 1million+ place.
now the TV over the fire place, i really hope that fad goes away, i hope people learn one day that the TV is not the focal point of the room.
I echo the opinions expressed already.
The Palmolive is my dream bldg, and is one of the three or four most beautiful buildings in the city. If I had the dough, I’d be on this place in a heartbeat. Actually, I’d already be there and I wouldn’t care if I’d overpaid a little.
This is what a million-dollar-plus apartment ought to look like. It makes all the crap in Wicker Park and LP and Bucktown look like cheap tract houses in outer suburbs, compared.
Paying near-Manhattan prices in Chicago is ridiculous (even if it is a short sale). Yes, I can aleady hear it coming “this place in Manhattan would be $1,200/SF… blah blah.” The reality is that very nice units are now actually trading around $800/SF in prime NYC neighborhoods.
I used to think the Palmolive location was the best in the city, but now that Millennium Park has so much action, plus the riverwalk on the Chicago River, I now think that Trump’s building is the best location (both offer easy access to Michigan Ave.), and I never thought I’d say that about the Sun-Times site.
The wind off the lake along OakSt./E. LSD/N. Michigan in wintertime is horrifically cold. You need a fur coat to walk the Yorkie, and the dogs can barely stand it either!
I think they did a great jpb with these units. I believe Booth Hansen was the interior architect. Love the cove lighting in the bathroom, wood trim and moldings. I believe Poliform kitchens/bathrooms were standard and they also brought in a high end A/V company to install TV’s, touch screen automation, motorized shades, etc.
My guess is that, during the coldest weeks of the winter, the Palmolive is pretty empty.
Although the short sale is going under contract, we still not sure if it can be closed as people who could afford to buy this building, they must have funds, I would be curious that the short sale could go through!
I’m not a fan of Mahogany, but it’s finally nice to see a $1MM property that utilizes figured wood in its millwork.
Chicago Realtor, I’d understand you better if you used all caps and noun contractions.
“Bwahahahahahhaaaaa. The AARP contingent speaks. Brilliant.”
What’s that, sonny? Here’s a nickel. Go grab yourself a trolley to Battery Park and pick me up a moon pie while I listen to the Victrola.
C’mon, now. You can’t tell me that this isn’t a million dollar property and that the exposed brick, IKEA-esque finishings, and higher premiums on car insurance due to broken windows and missing radios out of west town and wicker park is comparable. Granted, the country club feel and dark wood millwork isn’t to everybody’s liking. I just don’t see the allure of spending this much money in marginal neighborhoods. Then again, I’m sure there some sort of quasi-dangerous, bohemian gestalt that I’m ignoring. But, to each his/her own.
“JN on September 10th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
C’mon, now. You can’t tell me that this isn’t a million dollar property and that the exposed brick, IKEA-esque finishings, and higher premiums on car insurance due to broken windows and missing radios out of west town and wicker park is comparable. Granted, the country club feel and dark wood millwork isn’t to everybody’s liking. I just don’t see the allure of spending this much money in marginal neighborhoods. Then again, I’m sure there some sort of quasi-dangerous, bohemian gestalt that I’m ignoring. But, to each his/her own.”
Let’s start with the not-inconsequential fact that the West Town property from yesterday was nearly TWICE the size of this place.
Now, on to your evaluation of the finishings – though the style of the property may *appear* to be Ikea-esque to the untrained observer, I would recommend that you pick up a copy of Dwell Magazine some day and see what high quality *contemporary* design looks like. Just because Ikea imitates it without regard for quality doesn’t mean that contemporary design has no merit.
To me, this Palmolive building condo is nothing special, except for the mahogany trim. The kitchen is simply a lot of high end appliances jammed into a teeny tiny area. The bathrooms are dated and appear to be only marginally better quality than your average Lakeview 3-flat. The rest of the place is just…blah. It’s a regular condo. Meh. And the view…well there aren’t even any pics of the view, so I’m quite certain it sucks. And again, it’s a million bucks and not even 2k square feet.
It’s the age-old dilemma. For your money, do you want a shoebox with a fancy address or a palace in a developing neighborhood? I’ll take the developing neighborhood. I’m not afraid to rub shoulders with some interesting neighbors and maintain a firearms collection. =)
Tasteful. Quality looking. Yeah, they could lose some of the small carpets and it could look less like a men’s club. But some of the dreck that costs over $1 million is laughable. And don’t forget the location. Premium.
The owner of this unit talked to the Chicago Tribune in today’s article about short sales saying:
“Chicagoan Marie Cabrera, a real estate agent at Baird & Warner, is hoping she has found a purchaser with some patience.
After being unable to sell her own condo in the luxury Palmolive Building, Cabrera decided she didn’t want to simply wait for her lender to foreclosure on it. Earlier this month she listed it as a short sale, priced at $1.15 million. Within a week, she had a cash offer of $1 million that she sent to her lender.
“I have no idea whether the bank will take it,” Cabrera said. “I have an offer that’s solid and they’re willing to wait.””
Housing: Short sales spread across real estate market, leaving frustration in their wake
“After being unable to sell her own condo in the luxury Palmolive Building, Cabrera decided she didn’t want to simply wait for her lender to foreclosure on it.”
With writing like this no wonder the dailies are in the can circulationwise these days. They have kids write these things.
Agree it’s a nice building.
But this deal stinks.
Agent who is the “investor” bought it.
Check the website. There nothing at all to fear there. Right.
Now it’s short sale.
Listed with same office.
But wait, there’s an offer right away.
But wait, it’s still not sold.
Check the comps – recent SALES, not other listings.
Hell, you don’t even have to include any short sales or foreclosures in your data.
It’s still overpriced.
The buyer’s getting raked.
So’s the bank, but they we’re stupid enough to do the deal in the first place.
Thanks for the update Roger. Yes, 8 months later and this short sale is apparently still available.
Same price as in September 2009.
This deal is pretty well know on the street.
Rumor is that the seller could be leaving a primary mortgage holder and two secondaries with as much as a $500k smack upside the balance sheet.
Seems unusual to be able to leverage up, then leverage up again (and again) and walk.
The initial purchase offer was rejected. Not unusual.
But then the unit gets listed with somebody else and…..the same buyer came in under a different guise with a different offer.
Hmmmmmm………