Live Near the Rockwell Crossing Brown Line Stop: 2555 W. Leland in Lincoln Square
This 2-bedroom unit at 2555 W. Leland in Lincoln Square just came on the market.
It’s not in the typical Lincoln Square location as it is just minutes from the cute Rockwell Crossing El stop and the few shops/restaurants that are clustered there.
But it’s also not a long walk to the actual Lincoln Square itself.
The building was built in 2004 and the unit has a heated garage space, which is somewhat unusual for the neighborhood, as it is filled with vintage buildings, many of which don’t have parking included.
The unit has 10.5 foot ceilings and crown molding.
The kitchen opens to the living space and has granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
There are two outdoor spaces: a balcony off the living room and a terrace off the second bedroom.
Nicholas Apostal at Coldwell Banker has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #204: 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, no square footage listed
- Sold in May 2004 for $325,000
- Currently listed for $349,900 (parking included)
- Assessments of $217 a month
- Taxes of $3978
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 11×15
- Bedroom #2: 11×11
This is a really beautiful newer building, so much more attractive than the usual “infill” 3 or 6 flats that proliferated in the 00s. It’s the type of building our cities need more of, especially to replace “suburban” style strip malls and other auto-oriented types of buildings inappropriate for an urban setting.
Very attractive unit in a wonderful neighborhood. Lincoln Square is the most attractive retail district on the north side, and the Rockwell Crossing station is beautiful.
The unit seems worth the price at first blush, but it’s hard to imagine anything, no matter how nice, getting more than the 2004 price, if only because of the credit and employment situation, and Chicago’s spectacular condo glut.
Sellers have the crib in second bedroom. Should cribs in kids bedroom be seen as a sign of “Desperate to sell”, come in with a low ball?
At the seller’s present price of 350K, after Realtor fees of around 5%, they will take home around 331K or 6K over the original purchase price in 2004. So the agents will most likely make more than the seller on this property. Well, at least someone will get paid.
I don’t know anything about this neighborhood, so maybe I shouldn’t be commenting, but $350+pkg seems ridiculous when you can get the same thing in River North and get a view of the city for the same price. They can’t be serious at that price? Can anyone comment on the ‘hood?
“Sellers have the crib in second bedroom. Should cribs in kids bedroom be seen as a sign of “Desperate to sell”, come in with a low ball?”
Dan, i read something years back that many were staging rooms with cribs so they would use the line “the current owners are moving for more space”
as for the property well the parking, terrace and balcony help it stand out over its neighborhood competitors but as i say over and over again and am tired of typing it……..
Chicago is filled with basic 2/2’s all over this city why should i chose this one over all the others?
“Chicago is filled with basic 2/2’s all over this city why should i chose this one over all the others?”
Funny – Six yrs ago I bought a 2/2 over a 1BR bc I thought it would be easier to sell than a 1BR! Obviously I was wrong…
this is a very, very nice little pocket on the north side. lots of my parents’ friends relocated here over the past 3 decades, it’s where we were originally going to look before the housing boom went nuclear and the prices literally doubled within a year or so.
“Can anyone comment on the ‘hood?”
I’m not all that familiar with it, but I ride my bike right past this place a couple of times a week on my way to the riverfront bike path (north of Lawrence). As Sabrina notes, the area around the Rockwell station is very nice, cute little shops, cafes, and a couple of bars. The area is mostly SFHs and 2- or 3-flats with some larger apt/condo buildings. Not too densely populated, but not really suburban-ish, either. Lawns, homes, etc. seem very well-maintained. I’ve ridden through both early morning and late-ish (but still light out) evenings, and I’ve never witnessed anything shady.
I think this building is right on the brown line tracks (which are at street level here).
@rngirl-
your still better off with the 2/2. No ones buying one bedrooms right now.
Lincoln Square is a wonderful family neighborhood. Unlike many “gentrified” neighborhoods, it was never blighted or troubled, and the core of the neighborhood is comprised of families that go back 6 generations there. It was always the home of nice blue collar folk of mostly German descent, and the professionals and business owners who served them, and has the feel of a traditional city neighborhood as it would have been in the 50s. Many “yups” from Lakeview and Lincoln Park have migrated to the neighborhood over the last 15 years, and the result is a great mix of really good, solid people at income levels from lower-middle to upper-middle. Prices have risen as the demographic has grown more affluent. And everybody gets along. It is a very friendly place with many interesting restaurants and other businesses.
There is no crime and there is a really strong sense of community. A business owner there, who migrated from Lakeview and who I’ve known since her days on Clark, reported that when she opened her place in the Square, that all the local business owners stopped by to greet her and welcome her to the area, and that her business has doubled since she moved there. The Square looks absolutely gorgeous, with a great street-scape. It’s a reasonably child-friendly area where it is safe for your child to walk around, which is a really major thing these days. Many businesses that were formerly located in the Clark St. corridor through Lincoln Park and Lakeview have relocated on Lincoln Square, first to beat outrageous Lakeview/LP commercial rents, and then because Lincoln Square is just so much more attractive and intimate. There are many trendy newer businesses besides, while many other businesses that were born and developed in that area decades ago continue to thrive. You have all the necessities within an easy walk of your place, plus many great little boutiques and eateries.
I vote it one of Chicago’s most lovable neighborhoods.
Unit 2555 W Leland #205, another 2/2, just closed in May for $350,500. (http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2555-W-Leland-Ave-60625/unit-205/home/12653195)
Unit 2555 W LELAND Ave #306, a 2/2.1 plus loft, closed in June for $351,000 (http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2555-W-Leland-Ave-60625/unit-306/home/18972014)
The price is close to right for this building, though the seller may take an 8K hit off of asking because the tax credit has expired. It will be interesting to see what this unit closes for.
Laura,
“It’s a reasonably child-friendly area where it is safe for your child to walk around”
As long as your child doesn’t walk on the street level EL tracks.
I’ve eaten in the Rockwell Crossing area a few times. Seems extremely peaceful and nice area. Lots of moms pushing strollers. Seemed like a nice place for a young family. The trains obviously are noisy but they were not that bad. As said they are at ground level and don’t seem to run too often.
Yeah, Dan, I forgot about those grade-level el tracks, which are what’s know as an “attractive nuisance.” What is it about kids that they are so drawn to railroad tracks, construction sites, quarries, abandoned buildings, and other clearly dangerous places? When I was a child, you could not keep me out of construction sites, and for other kids, it’s the railroad tracks. For some reason, you just CANNOT keep kids off the damn rail tracks, or from doing dangerous things around them like walking on the rail of the bridge over them or sitting on the platform with their legs dangling over the tracks, or walking down the subway tunnel between stations so they can scrawl graffiti on the ceiling of the tunnel. I once got off a Pace bus that ran once every 30 minutes just to chase a bunch of kids off the Metra tracks in Park Ridge, where the trains roll into the stop there at 40mph. And the el tracks are worse because of the third rail.
Laura… kids and being curious about dangerous things. It is called evolution. Thins the herd…
While I really like the area as well, and would have no problem moving there, let’s not forget it does border Albany Park and saw a rash of daytime muggings at the Rockwell stop earlier in the year.
Albany Park is no Uptown, but it does have some rough areas.
That’s just to say that while this area is pleasant enough, its not Mayberry.
sounds like a great neighborhood. any idea if the schools are decent up here? We are very focused on OT/LP bc of Lincoln Elementary.
This is a great neighborhood. I used to live up this way. I also looked at units in this building right as they went on the market. It’s been a while, but my recollection is that they were pretty well done. One thing I didn’t like (and I remembered it looking at these pictures) was that the balconies are on the alley. Still, a nice place in a nice neighborhood.
On pricing . . . This neighborhood has continued to improve, and single family homes in Lincoln Square are still very expensive. So, expecting a little appreciation doesn’t seem crazy to me. BUT, you can cross the river, spend $100k more, and get a brick bungalow.
In my opinion, any condo that close in pricing to nearby single families is over priced. But that may say more about my personal preferences than the actual market.
also – I could be wrong, but it looks like you may have it wrong, Sabrina — the listing says that parking is sold sep. which suggests that the list is somewhere around 375.
“The unit seems worth the price at first blush, but it’s hard to imagine anything, no matter how nice, getting more than the 2004 price”
Can you elaborate on this belief? I think you are over generalizing on the basis that SOME buyers are still repeating to themselves that the economic crash never happened.
Several of the places I picked up at the height of the bubble and rehabbed sold at a profit and have done so in the past year and a half.
“There is no crime”….another over generalization. There is the potential of crime anywhere. Just because it might not make front page news, crime happens everywhere. And remember, a high percentage of inner city crimes are never reported because of CPD (or with budget shortfalls, any city) not having the man power to investigate/solve/prevent criminal activity.
“Should cribs in kids bedroom be seen as a sign of “Desperate to sell”, come in with a low ball?”
Simple answer: NO.
This is another CC belief I don’t understand? The cycle of life simply does not have the negative effect on selling many CCers think it does.
Having a child does not = the end of life in the city with the parents being forced to head out to suburbia.
I don’t get how many posters here think because a crib is in a bedroom the owners are screwed? Something that has been a point of contention to me since I started reading here. Of course most of the people within the ‘green zone’ are child free, but just because they do breed should not cause us to speculate that their lives and RE investmenting days are over.
“Chicago is filled with basic 2/2’s all over this city why should i chose this one over all the others?”
This is the beauty of buying and selling properties in a city….choice. There is something for everyone…esp at this point in time, it is vital there are so many places out there to chose from.
“Funny – Six yrs ago I bought a 2/2 over a 1BR bc I thought it would be easier to sell than a 1BR! Obviously I was wrong…”
Not at all wrong to think a 2/2 would be easier to sell. Singles or a couple with no kids have the option of using that space as they want…an office, library, crafts room, cigar smoking room, etc. the options for utilizing the room for anything other than a space to sleep are endless and do make any unit easier to sell.
“While I really like the area as well, and would have no problem moving there, let’s not forget it does border Albany Park and saw a rash of daytime muggings at the Rockwell stop earlier in the year.”
C’mon . . . have you actually been up there? If you think this neighborhood is bad than you’re not fit for city livin’. It borders Ravenswood Manor. A part of Albany Park, but a part that’s more like Oak Park than Uptown.
“Having a child does not = the end of life in the city with the parents being forced to head out to suburbia.”
I’ve got to agree with westloopelo… We are parents and have no intention of running to the suburban hills ever.
“C’mon . . . have you actually been up there? If you think this neighborhood is bad than you’re not fit for city livin’.”
Alanon, it was only 10 years ago that the kedzie and fransico stop still had gangs harassing people. (i think fransico had the latin kings and kedzie was the stones). and albany park although parts have gotten better it is still ghetto and even i get uncomfortable in spots.
but thats the border hood of albany park not lincoln square. soo i am just talk out my, you know what
Alanon…I’m not sure where you get the idea I think its bad, since the beginning of my comment was this:
“While I really like the area as well, and would have no problem moving there, let’s not forget it does border Albany Park and saw a rash of daytime muggings at the Rockwell stop earlier in the year.”
My response was basically to Laura claiming there is “no crime”. Its a nice neighborhood, but its still the city, and Rockwell is still the first ‘gentrified’ area compared to some rougher patches of AP further west.
the point people are making is that they might be desperate and in need to selling soon, which would give the notion that you could get a better deal than on a place where you don’t know the sellers timeline/pain.
““Having a child does not = the end of life in the city with the parents being forced to head out to suburbia.”
I’ve got to agree with westloopelo… We are parents and have no intention of running to the suburban hills ever.”
Chicago school situation has been discussed again and again on here. Not the best and probably getting worse. You obviously can’t relate.
“Having a child does not = the end of life in the city with the parents being forced to head out to suburbia.”
“any idea if the schools are decent up here?”
Waters. Okay and getting better. Not going to be Lincoln, but if that’s the minimum requirement (I don’t think it should be), then there isn’t much competition in attendance area schools in the city.
“you can cross the river, spend $100k more, and get a brick bungalow”
And a tuition bill, if you have kids. Not that I wouldn’t make the same choice, but I wouldn’t buy an apartment for a family.
“the balconies are on the alley”
Looks like the balconies are on the EL, which at least is fairly far below this unit. They’re serious when they say steps to the Rockwell station.
“Chicago school situation has been discussed again and again on here. Not the best and probably getting worse. You obviously can’t relate.”
Uh, I have kids and agree with WL. So do many others on here. So obviously (heh) you’re the one who can’t relate.
rngirl – we should hang out – my friend are all having kids and moving to the burbs. i think parents need to ban together and be involved in their kids lives to help improve the schools. but its not going to happen when everyone just picks up and leaves when the school situation gets too hard……
The effects of losing state and federal funding will soon be coming to a school near you. Where will Chicago find the dough to replace it? I imagine gifted and special ed programs will be cut first.
“Uh, I have kids and agree with WL. So do many others on here. So obviously (heh) you’re the one who can’t relate.”
If I lived this close to Pizza Art Cafe I would weigh 300+ pounds. And I would probably be OK with it, so good.
“The effects of losing state and federal funding will soon be coming to a school near you. Where will [insert city here] find the dough to replace it? I imagine gifted and special ed programs will be cut first.”
Fixed that for you. If you think the ‘burbs are immune or insulated from the funding issues, you’re going to be surprised.
Anyway, Quinn isn’t going to do the 100% cut to education funding; he’s just doing the typical, cynical politician dance of “if you don’t do it my way, I’m going to cut something popular”–just like the constant municipal threats to shut down libraries or fire half the police or all of the firemen or whatever. It’s total BS and any chance Quinn had of getting my vote (slight) went to zero that day. He’s really no better than Blago.
The problem with raising kids in the city is that in some areas (outside the green zone) there are a lot of ruffians and bad kids that you don’t want your kid hanging around. Especially at night, the city is filled with lots of bad happenings, crime, etc. At least in many suburbs your kids can walk home from a friend’s house a few blocks away at night and not worry too much but in city I wouldn’t let my 15 year old walk 6 blocks by himself after midnight.
Most north side parents with school age children move out to the burbs than stay in the city. Just ask your fellow colleagues at your basic large downtown office.
It is not for everyone, but most sellers do migrate out.
“The problem with raising kids in the city is that in some areas (outside the green zone) there are a lot of ruffians and bad kids that you don’t want your kid hanging around. Especially at night, the city is filled with lots of bad happenings, crime, etc. At least in many suburbs your kids can walk home from a friend’s house a few blocks away at night and not worry too much but in city I wouldn’t let my 15 year old walk 6 blocks by himself after midnight.”
This is a reasonable point. Not one I necessarily agree with, but reasonable. Unlike a lot of other child rearing related speculation offered here (not necessarily in this particular thread).
Of course, if your kids want to find trouble, they will, whether you live in LP, Kenilworth, Palatine or East Podunk.
It’s not so much my kids looking for trouble, it’s about trouble finding my kids. Sure there’s trouble everywhere but in the suburbs those subdivisions are ultra quiet and safe and he’s less likely to run into some 18 year latin kings with handguns and a chip on their shoulder. Lake Forest is a long way from Humboldt Park whereas my neighbor is only a 10 minute drive down Pulaski.
“Of course, if your kids want to find trouble, they will, whether you live in LP, Kenilworth, Palatine or East Podunk.”
“It’s not so much my kids looking for trouble, it’s about trouble finding my kids. ”
That’s why I said it was reasonable. But it’s not like you’d end up living in Englewood or something, anyway, which would transform reasonable concern into undeniably accurate concern.
No, I wouldn’t end up in englewood but i do live north of humboldt and sketchier parts of avondale and the residents of said neighborhood use keeler, kedvale, kenneth, pulaski as a throughway and cause trouble up and down and all around the neighborhood. If you’re out late at night you will inevitably get f’d with by somebody looking for trouble.
I was on the midnight ride a couple of years ago and a drunken group of teenagers, around elston/addison, pulled up next to our group of bikers and starting yelling obscenities at us and throwing beer bottles at us and then peeled away. Its scary to think that people are on the road like that, and, that they’re all over chicago. You see some crazy stuff on the streets at night in Chicago. That type of nonsense would last 5 minutes in buffalo grove, you’d have the entire department and a swat team taking down that group of ruffians. I used to walk home from friends as a teenager at all hours of the night and I never had any problems. There’s just a tremendous amount of trouble going on at night in the city
“Most north side parents with school age children move out to the burbs than stay in the city. Just ask your fellow colleagues at your basic large downtown office. ”
There’s a lot more parents in Chicago than just ones working in large downtown offices.
I have fine middle class friends – northsiders – who are 3rd, 6th, etc generation Chicagoans. Leaving the City for the burbs is generally seen as a cop out, even if we all understand and sympathize.
“There’s just a tremendous amount of trouble going on at night in the city”
Yeah, but it’s not like the suburbs are immune from all the usual problems teens go through.
Go to more exurb areas and what you get instead of the gang problem (maybe) is massive drunk driving to worry about. At least in Chicago your kids can take cabs, the L, etc.
Then there’s that other reality, which is that many (most?) suburban kids are going to end up in the City as young adults. I prefer that my kid be street smart.
“Go to more exurb areas and what you get instead of the gang problem (maybe) is massive drunk driving to worry about.”
And meth labs. Isn’t every third house in exurban and rural areas a meth lab?
And every fourth house is a weed dealing mother!
I would think that the idea of your local school “getting better” is wishful thinking at this point. Since some suburban schools are already excellent, even if they fall a bit they will still be good. Can’t say the same for Chicago public schools.
“If you think the ‘burbs are immune or insulated from the funding issues, you’re going to be surprised.”
tomaso,
A very valid point, most good burb schools will stay that way even with cuts. Will CPS stay the same or better with even more cuts than it already has?
well the wild card that i have been saying for the past year is that alot of the burb transplants unable to sell and get back to the burbs may be the kicker?
We wont see these numbers in the CPS for at least 5 years, but i am willing to bet knocked up betsy from the burbs or betsy with a 3 year old stuck in there 2/2 or whatever kind of place they are upside down in, when reality sets in and magnet/academey schools have even a crazier tier system and extra stringent entry rules. besty from the burbs and her double stroller pushing friends will be the squeaky wheels that may get the CPS turned around.
I just hope Betsy doesn’t have a child with special needs, because the CPS system is 10+ years behind on their evaluation system and resources to assist that child. My basis for this is that my wife interviewed for a special needs position and promptly sent in a written rejection upon receiving the CPS offer.
How bad is the machine that is CPS? Well, even after she rejected the CPS offer, they still sent a notification two months later about orientation.
in the exurbs, every 10 houses is home to a serial killer or hoarder
The little bar/restaurant down the street from this stop has one of the best burgers in town according to the Chrib.
Still want to live in LS.
“I just hope Betsy doesn’t have a child with special needs, because the CPS system is 10+ years behind on their evaluation system and resources to assist that child.”
I think you give CPS too much credit. Deaf program seems okay, but any other special need? Hie thee to the burbs or private school.
As mom to a CPS kid, we have no intention of ever moving to the burbs. There’s a lot of good things happening with a dramatic increase in parent involvement. If you don’t have a ‘horse in the race’ so to speak it’s easy to get down on the schools. But I see first hand tons of parents working hard to create better schools. I don’t have a special needs kid, but know several people who have moved not just out of the city, but out of the state to seek the best public education for them.
“besty from the burbs and her double stroller pushing friends will be the squeaky wheels that may get the CPS turned around.”
LOLLLL. Betsy would be the only one paying into the system so she can squeak all she wants…but it won’t change the fact that her 10,000 a year tax bill would be better served chipping into private school. 40 kid class rooms and various external forces make CPS intolerable for most.
“besty from the burbs and her double stroller pushing friends will be the squeaky wheels that may get the CPS turned around.”
funny you mention this – we toured Audubon recently, and what was noteworthy was the huge amount of parent/grandparent volunteers working as teachers’ aides in classrooms.
I hate to say it, but this is a culture problem in some parts of the Chicago, where people see schools as places to park their kids, not as places to get involved with.
I will say this again and again, being a third generation CPS’er and my son may be a 4th gen.
CPS works if you have an exceptional child, its hit or miss (mostly miss) if your child is average, if your child is below average you are FUCTED beyond belief.
now to searching talking about class size (which are getting bigger) i agree with him that isnt going to help, the kicker to my theory is Oriole Park elem as it has 40+ a class for a long time yet is the BEST NON TEST in school in the city. go figure
There are a number of CPS elementary schools that are changing and getting better due to parental involvement. It’s the neighborhood CPS jr highs and high schools for the most part that are totally beyond repair. Unless you got clout (which I’ve only got a little of!) the magnet and better schools are little more than a lottery.
“searching on June 8th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
“besty from the burbs and her double stroller pushing friends will be the squeaky wheels that may get the CPS turned around.””
“the neighborhood CPS jr highs”
There are basically no attendance area middle/JH schools in the city. Elem goes thru 8. And what happens after 8 is a real, big problem.
“I hate to say it, but this is a culture problem in some parts of the Chicago, where people see schools as places to park their kids, not as places to get involved with.”
100% time another 100000000000% agree i am always preachy about culture and ingrained common thought within a community that is many generations deep now.
mixed income living is not working as a catalyst to changing the thought process.
i dont know if you ever read some of my posts way back giving my example of parents when i coached at the park of how they would just use it as a daycare and me a bus service at times.
i wish i could tell you more stories but i am off to fight traffic, which isnt bettering my quality of life. fu LP, FU,
I dislike this area and don’t understand why it’s considered so desirable and why it’s so unaffordable. I rented an attic apartment there for 2 years and finally started driving to work because it took an hour to get to work on the el each morning (the bus is only slightly faster). Pricing houses are quite expensive given this distance from the city. Lincoln Square is cute, and there are some good restaurants, but it doesn’t have the feel of, for instance, Bucktown or LP (perhaps some will disagree). I would never want to spend a day in Lincoln Square the way I could in other areas of the city. For me the worst part about Lincoln Square is the immediate proximity to Western and to Lawrence. Those streets, at least as they border Lincoln Square, are among the ugliest in Chicago.
“40 kid class rooms and various external forces make CPS intolerable for most.”
You can have 50 kids in a room and they’ll learn if the kids are there to learn.
“I dislike this area and don’t understand why it’s considered so desirable and why it’s so unaffordable.”
Because not everyone feels the same way you do?
Madeleine, that would be right. Not everyone feels the same as I do. Thanks for the insight!
Also Madeline, rngirl asked, “Can anyone comment on the ‘hood?” I didn’t realize that bloggers here were not allowed to deviate from the majority view or, more importantly apparently, yours.
And finally, Madeline, I said “Others may disagree” in my original post. I don’t know what you want.