Forget the Lake, Living on the River is Hot: 2208 W. Diversey in Logan Square
This 3-bedroom townhouse at 2208 W. Diversey in Logan Square (not sure on the neighborhood- Avondale?) has something very few other properties can claim: a direct Chicago River location.
The townhouse has 41 feet of direct river frontage with 15-foot 2-story windows to take it all in.
The main living area has ceiling heights of 20 feet. And there is a terrace directly on the river. You can probably see fish swimming by while eating your breakfast.
The 3-bedrooms are all on the second level and it appears that two of the bedrooms have skylights.
The kitchen has dark cabinets and stainless steel appliances.
There is a 2-car garage.
Matt Garrison at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See more pictures and the floorplan here.
Unit #C: 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2400 square feet, 2 car garage
- Sold in August 2002 for $425,000
- Sold in December 2005 for $487,500
- Currently listed for $579,900
- Assessments of $318 a month
- Taxes of $7023
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 16×12
- Bedroom #2: 15×13
- Bedroom #3: 18×11
mgg–
three different addresses in the coding–2280 W Diversey Unit C; 2800 W Diversey, Unit C AND 2208 W Diversey. Correct one is 2280, Unit C, no?
“one of the widest homes in the development”
Also one of the narrowest, on the driveway-side?
Nice looking place.
Love the website address: kayak2work!
Obviously not at all comparable in size or finishes, but this doesn’t bode well for the development’s values:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2208-W-Diversey-Ave-60647/unit-B/home/12804926
The 2BR’s seem to be plummeting:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2208-W-Diversey-Ave-60647/unit-F/home/12805272
Deal Estate recently featured one of the ’04 houses on the River by Horner Park.
Hey, you can kayak to work every day from your “shared private kayak launch”!
anon, you’re right. perhaps 2208 and 2280 are not even part of the same development?
“perhaps 2208 and 2280 are not even part of the same development?”
Pretty sure (w/o checking) 2208 would be in Lathrop Homes, if it exists.
The design of this place looks very interesting & the river view and outdoor space look fantastic. However, a few big negatives:
1) while peaceful looking, this place is about 50 feet from a major roadway/bridge which is–if I recall correctly–somewhat elevated compared to these townhouses. It’s also by a big interesection & large shopping mall.
2) not sure how attractive that section of the river is, but maybe getting better.
3) love the triangle shape & the 2 story LR windows on the river. The downside is that 2 of the 3 bedrooms have windows that open to the LR, not to the outside (sort of like Juliet-style?).
Finally– parking on floorplan is 1 car. maybe one car outside, but doesn’t look like there’s space?
Hey, you can kayak to work every day from your “shared private kayak launch”!
jet ski
The Lake is cooool…… The River is hotttt (and swampy).
Wow all the convience of Bowling, knife fighting, high volume traffic and the sweet, sweet smell of the river in the summer…..
but in all seriousness, my first week in the city (97) I was driving down Damen and was at the light at Diversy and some guy comes wandering out of the darkness form the homes (think pre abundant street lighting), stumbles onto the hood of my car and then limps away…Bleeding profusely….I had this white company car at the time, left a nice smear all along the front bumper and fender..right after him this woman was screaming and yelling. My guess is stabed him for fooling around…
“Pretty sure (w/o checking) 2208 would be in Lathrop Homes, if it exists.”
No, 2208 is “River Park”. Some wag might make a sardonic comment comparing the aesthetics of Lathrop and said townhomes, but not me 😉
“Pretty sure (w/o checking) 2208 would be in Lathrop Homes, if it exists.”
Nah Lathrop ends at about Leavitt, which is 2100.
“1) while peaceful looking, this place is about 50 feet from a major roadway/bridge which is–if I recall correctly–somewhat elevated compared to these townhouses. It’s also by a big interesection & large shopping mall.”
Like I stated in the recent thread about the place on 2800ish Oakley, this location is very bleh.
Being on the river is not a positive IMO. The thing STINKS
“Leavitt, which is 2100.”
Nope. Leavitt is 2200, tho I admit to not paying attention to whether it’s adjusted to 2100 at Diversey b/c of the swing east for the river–I had thought not, but may well be wrong.
“Lathrop ends at about Leavitt”
Ends at the east bank of the River, which is certainly closenough.
Leavitt is 2200, but the river swing shows it as 2100 in google maps. But yeah, it’s a little close for comfort.
fwiw, Leavitt is indeed about 2100 @ Diversey (almost hits 2000) then keeps curling in until it turns around (and becomes Hoyne) – all part of the wonderful world of Lathrop
Lathrop is about 75% vacant at this point, and unlikely to ever return back to a 100% all-public housing community. Here’s a recent piece on it:
http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/one-story-up/2009/09/breaking-the-mold-why-lathrop-residents-say-their-home-is-destined-for-something-different.html
Also, the river doesn’t really stink from a height at this location, I’ve crossed the bridge at Diversey on foot and by bike hundreds if not thousands of times, it’s OK here most of the time (a 100 degree day might be funky, but you’d likely not be outside anyway).
“but in all seriousness, my first week in the city (97) I was driving down Damen and was at the light at Diversy and some guy comes wandering out of the darkness form the homes (think pre abundant street lighting), stumbles onto the hood of my car and then limps away…Bleeding profusely….I had this white company car at the time, left a nice smear all along the front bumper and fender..right after him this woman was screaming and yelling. My guess is stabed him for fooling around…”
I lived over here in 1998. My downstairs neighbor was a heroin dealer. The building across the street was a crackhouse that kept fighting dogs on the roof. My rent was $250 a month for a big studio, and most months my landlady never bothered to cash my rent checks. I saved a lot of money for grad school but I decided it was time to move out after the building was raided by a swat team. The neighborhood has changed a lot since then. Still not where I’d choose to drop $579k, but it’s not that bad any more.
“fwiw, Leavitt is indeed about 2100 @ Diversey”
The Leavitt street sign on the stoplight at Diversey sez it’s 2200 West–just checked on streetview.
And had never paid attention to the address of the buildings just west of the river, which are “officially” 2208 and 2220 (the 4+ story building across the driveway).
Wow all the convience of Bowling, knife fighting, high volume traffic and the sweet, sweet smell of the river in the summer…..
Yeah, I fail to see the attraction of living near Lathrop or the river at any price. And for more than $500K? That’s … crazy.
I actually like this place for the pure novelty of being able to jet ski through downtown like a total jerk during the summer.
Real nice looking place, too.
I’d rather live here than that ridiculous SFH on a busy street in LS.
“The Leavitt street sign on the stoplight at Diversey sez it’s 2200 West–just checked on streetview. ”
The street sign is free to say what it wants, but for all practical purposes, Leavitt is at the 2100 block where it hits Diversey.
This is a nice place. Too bad our city is along among large cities that refuses to chlorinate the wastewater discharge into our waterways. Meaning a bit of fecal material and floating garbage and condoms along with your riverview after storms.
Thanks for the heads up on the coding, getting that fixed. Correct address is 2208. Open house tommorow 11-1, stop by for Corner Bakery if you are in the area.
Bob-
The wastewater discharged into the river is actually cleaner than the river, so the water would be disinfected until it hit the river water.
Also, disinfection comes at the price of about $1 billion dollars initially, then annual O&M costs, which aren’t cheap. These costs come from propery taxes.
“Meaning a bit of fecal material and floating garbage and condoms”
Which one of these is resolved by chlorination (or any other kind of disinfection)?
“after storms”
Hasn’t been a significant issue since deep tunnel (mostly) went online.
“Leavitt is at the 2100 block where it hits Diversey.”
Leavitt is definitely not much more than 1/8th of a mile west of Diversey at this point due to the curviture.
And I lived pretty much around the corner from 97-02, walked this stretch of Diversey numerous times & never had a problem. There are some trouble makers in the housing, I am sure, but if you’re not looking to score any drugs & don’t wander *into* the actual housing you’re by and large just fine.
Well, what about flooding. Isn’t that an issue. I know it was an issue in Albany Park a few years back.
“The wastewater discharged into the river is actually cleaner than the river, so the water would be disinfected until it hit the river water.”
The disinfection issue is about dissolved oxygen content in the water. The treated–but not disinfected–sewage has a HUGE bacterial count which consumes lots of oxygen in breaking down. The relative stillness of the river/canal doesn’t help, as little additional oxygen gets into the water. Usually, the solution is to agitate the water somehow (aeration thru piping at riverbed would be quite effective and relatively cheap), but the level of accumulated riverbottom toxins makes that unappealing for the Chicago River.
“I actually like this place for the pure novelty of being able to jet ski through downtown like a total jerk during the summer.”
I’ve seen that happen a couple times, and the jet skiers are usually followed by either the Coast Guard or Chicago Police. In fast intercept boats. With guns on front.
Idiots don’t realize that to get away you’d have to go through the locks and somebody has to OPEN them for you.
“Well, what about flooding. Isn’t that an issue. I know it was an issue in Albany Park a few years back.”
True, but those are residences with yards with river frontage. I don’t think these kinds of developments have those problems, as I believe they are set considerably higher than water level.
TFO,
“The disinfection issue is about dissolved oxygen content in the water. The treated–but not disinfected–sewage has a HUGE bacterial count which consumes lots of oxygen in breaking down. The relative stillness of the river/canal doesn’t help, as little additional oxygen gets into the water. Usually, the solution is to agitate the water somehow (aeration thru piping at riverbed would be quite effective and relatively cheap), but the level of accumulated riverbottom toxins makes that unappealing for the Chicago River.”
Maybe you were not aware that there’s a DO injection system less than a mile downstream of this location at Webster? Not that it’ll do much good upstream here. I also disagree with your statement that the undisinfected effluent creates a HUGE bacterial load. Check out the local NPDES permit requirements from the MWRD Northside plant (NPDES Permit No. IL0028088).
I personally think that flushing phosophrus and nitrogen down the Chicago river creates a much bigger problem for downstream water quality than not disinfecting effluent. Unfortunately there are no effluent limitations for those, mainly due to the agribusiness lobby.
“Hasn’t been a significant issue since deep tunnel (mostly) went online.”
The reservoir remains a ways away. Between 2017-2029, pushed back from 2007-2019.
Combined sewer overflow (CSO) events still happen and they are quite common in wetter months. Three the past month alone at the North Branch pump station.
http://www.mwrd.org/irj/go/km/docs/documents/MWRD/internet/protecting%20the%20environment/Combined%20Sewer%20Overflows/htmls/PS_Activity.pdf
Back to the property…
I like the floorplan a lot. Interior Juliet balconies should be banned forever though.
“anon (tfo) on May 10th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
“Meaning a bit of fecal material and floating garbage and condoms”
Which one of these is resolved by chlorination (or any other kind of disinfection)?”
*snicker*
“Which one of these is resolved by chlorination (or any other kind of disinfection)?”
Would eliminate the smell and health risks from both, red socks Bradford.
If one didn’t care to kayak/jetski, what are the options for getting downtown, public transport-wise? I’m thinking Western bus to blue line, right? That seems like at least 45 minutes, probably more. Of course, being able to walk to the Elston Target is nice. But I’ve never been able to get out of Target with few enough items to make walking practical.
Diversey bus to Brown/Purple is an option too. Might be a bit longer, depending on your destination.
“what are the options for getting downtown, public transport-wise? I’m thinking Western bus to blue line, right?”
Or the Diversey bus to Brown.
CTA google transit planner sez 25 minutes of bus/transfer/train from Div/Western to Wash/Dearborn via 49 + Blue.
“Bob on May 10th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
Would eliminate the smell and health risks from both, red socks Bradford.”
Your reference to the “riverview” implied that you were concerned with the visual aspect and chlorine won’t dissolve rubbers or turds.
Oh yeah and on jetskiing you’d have to be freakin’ mad or not really understand the risks of riding on one in such an enclosed area–the banks of the river aren’t exactly beaches and are more like steel slabs with concrete behind. I knew a (young hot) gal who died on a jetski in a wreck.
Riding a jetskii on the Chicago River would be like a lifesize version of the game Operation, except instead of a buzzer going off when you hit the sides you just are injured or die.
Lol at the thought of a loop pro dismounting his jetski Kenny Powers style right in front of the Merc.
Kenny Powers is my hero and role model.
“Arm like a damn rocket. Mind of a scientist”
“Here’s a statistic that I find fascinating. This is just for the top four banks. If you look at nonperforming assets – that’s loans that haven’t paid over 120 days – the size of that is 1.5 times all of the chargeoffs that banks have incurred since 2005. So you think credit has stabilized, mortgages have stabilized? Non-performs have ballooned so they’ve more than doubled since the beginning of 2009, and that’s just stuff that has to start going on to the market, and interestingly, this quarter you’re starting to see housing supply reach the market. That to me triggers another down leg in housing, so to me, I’m steadfast in my belief that there’s going to be another double-dip in housing”
-Meredith Whitney
I can’t wait for the armchair pundits who are bullish (or at least not bearish like anon(tfo) and Gary L) to eat their words later this year. I am a bearish armchair pundit and its been obvious that the house price stability has been a government charade at the cost of trillions of taxpayer dollars.
err (at least not bearish) rather. Amazing how a misplaced parentheses can change the meaning entirely, hehe.
I’ve been shouting from the mountain tops about the shadow inventory for quite some time now. I’ve been in the trenches watching the years and I mean years it takes for inventory to work its way through the foreclosure pipeline.
Over 20% of Illinois mortgages are underwater. Looks like another 6% are close:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pMscxxELHEg/S-gqyLZYCYI/AAAAAAAAIPs/hHq9Pwqgtac/s1600/NegEqStateQ12010.jpg
I don’t believe the RE cheerleaders one bit. Just today Fannie came out and basically said they need another $11B and will need bailouts for the indefinite future.
This month I expect Case Shiller to decline again or maybe remain stable, then I expect it to rise for April’s data, then it will decline after that.
As April was the month the cocaine-shot of the housing credit induced people to jump for the free $8k. We all know how bad cocaine is for your cardiovascular system and its the same principle for the housing credit, yet its acceptable policy for some reason.
I think condos are going to be at 75 per their index circa 2015 and SFHs around 82-92.
Always up for the “aqua commute” thread. . .
For the record, I would totally kayak to work at least occasionally, if I lived here.
The primary motivation would be avoiding walking out the front door of my home, but, I also suspect commute time paddling to the loop rivals what the CTA can deliver (and only a minor difference in smell that you’ll pick up along the way).
“(and only a minor difference in smell that you’ll pick up along the way).”
Doubtful. Most, if not all, of the year I’d wager the kayak commute would leave one smelling better.
Seems to be a nice house, but I don’t think they will get much if any interest in it because of it’s location and the questionable attempt of the owners trying to make a profit at a time when prices everywhere are being chopped to see any movement.
Also, what kind of work was done to it over the past 5 years that would justify a $92k price increase? While it does look great, owners seeking a profit like this are…well….crazy.
Here in NY, and I am aure the entire country, the only properties moving are ones that have been chopped by a significant amount.
“SquareD on May 10th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
For the record, I would totally kayak to work at least occasionally, if I lived here.”
You would definitely need to shower once you arrived at work.
Ok this is proof in my view that he’ll take listings he knows he can sell. I think this place is so much cooler than the duplex condo on Halsted without parking. It is 1) cheaper, 2) has parking, 3) has an outdoor space. The other one had me wondering.
Thanks JMM. Just lowered 1866 Halsted to 624k. I am going to sell it.
it will be interesting to see where this goes, as this development was pretty ahead of the gentrification curve (unless it’s a later development in the same “gated” area).
MG —
This market is humbling even for the best of us. Good luck, but it helps to have a client who is also motivated to really sell. One thing is for sure — this is not a “last dollar” market.
The only ones who seem unhumbled are the “I told you so because I am telling you so now” crowd. Of course, if they were so smart and if this were really true, they wouldn’t be a bunch of sour grapes renters, but that is a different story altogether. Half of them are probably under or unemployed (read: I am doing some consulting on the side while I look for a real job).
Keep hustling. The market has turned.
Ha, you’re hilarious JMM. Ben Jones summed it up quite well yesterday on his housing bubble blog. Some bitter renter was lamenting about being a renter and how he longed to own and Ben said,
“Oh, boy here it is again.
Just buy a house already. If reading about thousands of ruined lives and bankrupt companies isn’t enough to make you appreciate what you’ve got and wary of buying a house in your market, then
buy
a
freaking
house
(or two).”
So poignant. You’re only bitter if you want to be. The market is full of underwater sellers who felt the need to buy or nest and look where they are now. Going bankrupt, in foreclosure, lost jobs, destroyed neighborhoods, inability to sell.
I can wait this bust out. And I guarantee I’m already in a stronger position that 90% of my cohorts who bought 2004 +.
MG – You’re good at what you do. Congrats for surviving, if not thriving this bust. I truly mean that. JMM is right, the market has turned. The foreclosures are going to flood the market soon enough and volume will rise – and a rising tide raises every realtor’s boat. You make more money on volume than incremental price increases anyway.
JMM said:
“they wouldn’t be a bunch of sour grapes renters, but that is a different story altogether. Half of them are probably under or unemployed (read: I am doing some consulting on the side while I look for a real job).”
“The only ones who seem unhumbled are the “I told you so because I am telling you so now” crowd. Of course, if they were so smart and if this were really true, they wouldn’t be a bunch of sour grapes renters, but that is a different story altogether. ”
No unhumbled because we told you so and told them so before property values in Chicagoland dropped to new lows. Its not really rocket science to see that we’re early in this downturn. Once the massive government intervention is pulled its pretty obvious where the market is headed. Sour grapes? LOL.
“Half of them are probably under or unemployed (read: I am doing some consulting on the side while I look for a real job). ”
In addition to being a psychologist with regard to those who don’t take a favorable view of future real estate valuations JMM is also an expert demographer. Thats it! Everyone with a _real job_ owns or wants to. And those who don’t don’t because they can’t, or least half of them, and obviously under and unemployed and who wants to be associated with that riff raff? 😀
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/05/study-middle-income-chicagoans-take-hit.html
“The middle-wage workers in the Chicago area and nearby parts of Indiana and Wisconsin earned $19.58 per hour in 2008, down 8.1 percent from 2000, Brookings found in an evaluation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
The Chicago area now ranks near the bottom among the nation’s 100 largest metro areas in terms of changes to middle-income wages, tied with two others at 96th. Only the Fresno, Calif., and Bakersfield, Calif., metro areas fared worse, with wages declining 8.3 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.”
I can’t wait for anon(tfo) and JMM to come on and say that because the medians here earn around 40k/year that this article only refers exclusively to the renter class and that renters and owners, instead of being along a societal spectrum, are two completely discrete groups that cannot be compared at all. Once you become an owner everything applicable about you when you were a renter ceases to exist and instead you switch to a completely different demographic group. Its like getting a sex, race and educational level change at the same time, I’m sure anon(tfo) and JMM will tell us.