A 3-Bedroom Duplex Up for Under $350,000 in Wicker Park: 1632 W. Blackhawk
We’ve chattered about 3-bedroom duplex up units in Lincoln Park and Lakeview before but this one at 1632 W. Blackhawk is in Wicker Park.
The listing says the unit was renovated in 2003.
The kitchen has granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
The bathrooms have granite and marble.
All 3 bedrooms are on the top floor and the master suite has a jacuzzi tub.
The unit also has 2 decks, including one off the kitchen.
At this price and square footage, is this a deal?
Gregory Kohlhagen at Blueprint 606 Inc. has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #2: 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, 1800 square feet, 1 car parking
- Sold in April 2003 for $304,000
- Currently listed for $344,900
- Assessments of $182 a month
- Taxes of $4387
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 14×11 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 11×10 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 11×10 (second floor)
Nice view of the back of Jewel Osco. “Quiet street” – check out the google street view. No fewer than 3 tractor trailers unloading lord knows what. Good thing the owner dumped all that $$ in to the renovation.
At least its close to the blue line.
Hahaha what a vinyl sided joke.
depressing location for an otherwise serviceable condo
“check out the google street view. No fewer than 3 tractor trailers unloading lord knows what.”
They are on the other side of the 4 foot wall, so there is that.
Is it just the pix angle, or are the ceilings prttey low?
It’s nice to know that the bubble didn’t force all of the artists out of WP. I presume that “Elliptical Machine Behind Movie Screen” is a commentary on our looks-obsessed entertainment industry, or perhaps on how fitness is blocked by media consumption.
Yes, not an ideal location but not entirely terrible either — close to a lot of what WP has to offer. Seems priced appropriately for the size/location.
that street sucks, lots of windblown trash blowing about. kmart sucks too
On the plus side, only a short walk to the Beachwood. But man, you would be seriously hemmed in by some gnarly intersections living here.
Oh man… I live right by here (not on this god-forsaken street, thankfully) and always wonder who in their right mind would buy something on that block. Half of the neighboring houses have been left to decay more or less, with trash everywhere… and then there’s the obvious of the concrete wall + loading dock across the street.
Whoever owned a house here back in the day must have been super-pissed when the urban renewal machine moved in and flattened everything for the Jewel/KMart shopping wasteland.
2-unit HOA scare me, disaster waiting to happen. Especially these days. 1 owners goes into foreclosure or just stops paying and its all on you.
Also, I’m highly suspect of ‘gut rehabs’ during the boom years. Some weekend developer’s definition of ‘gut’ is far from ideal.
If this was a true gut, then there should have been permits. And not the BS ‘Replace & Repair’ permits. If I see ‘gut’, I expect things like new electrical to the main service, new plumbing supply, 100% new HVAC, new subfloors and walls, tear-off roof, etc.
McBox. One of 1,000 in the city… UG
the kind of place that has now made Wicker Park synonymous with boring & whitebread
I feel like they took the picture of the front from that angle so people can’t tell how ugly the building is. That or they were too lazy to walk across the street.
Ya, this would be a good place to rent if you just out of college and had 2 or 3 fraternity ‘Bros’ to share with…lol
Munchies right out the front door at the 24hr. Jewel. Easy parking on Ashland for all your parties . Speaking of parties, no problem there since you live basically in a loading dock the neighbors are use to loud noises and random people milling around. If the other owner bails due to foreclosure…sweet… more room for us ‘Bro’. Curb appeal not an issue for the ‘Bros’.
But to buy…. don’t think so.
Tom (tfo) hit the nail on the head – two major problems in addition to the poor micro-location. First problem is having a 2-unit HOA in an older building. Second problem is purchasing a “gut-rehab” where you do not know the quality of the work that was done since it was during the “boom” years of weekend developers, short-cuts, fast profits, etc. As everyone else mentioned as well, the exact location on the 1600 block of West Blackhawk is particularly un-desirable. I would guess that someone will pick this up for around $325k.
I have to confess, I love this place.
This place is HUGE with 1800 sft of living space! With 3 BRs, 3 BAs, low assessments, low taxes AND parking? Most SFHs don’t have this much space. A lot of them only have 1 bath. Some of them don’t have parking. Most of them need major renovations. Personally I could get over the aesthetics of the block for the space. Providing nothing major turned up on the home inspection I would be perfectly happy here.
Given the buyer’s market, I would offer 275K, but if I had the $$$ I would definitely go up to 300K.
“Most SFHs don’t have this much space. ”
You mean “most sfhs at anything remotely like this price in parts of Chicago I would consider buying” I hope.
I came close to renting on this block once– seemed like such a great deal for the space! (And yes it would’ve been a party house.)
You seriously need to spend some time on this block to appreciate the “undesirability.”
I would not have lasted a month with stench and noise from that loading dock.
Hi anon tfo –
Yes, that’s right. I meant anywhere on the Northwest Side. I’ve seen SFHs listed in hairy parts of the Southside as low as 15K.
Hi SquareD –
Oh. I didn’t consider the noise and stinky factor. Those are big concerns. Rats too, I guess.
I have to say, I love the look and character of vintage buildings. They give Chicago its atmosphere. But speaking from personal experience they require SO MUCH maintenance to keep them in good repair, warm and comfortable. And if it’s a multifamily building, the staircase can take up so much of the liveable space you really do end up with more square footage in a condo. This building isn’t pretty, but if it’s safe and sound I could deal with the lack of curb appeal for the other positives.
As the listing agent for this property I understand my views are biased, but I wanted to clarify a few questions and comments that are being raised about this property:
1. Most importantly the HOA, there are over $12,000 in building reserves, and this unit controls 52% of the association
2. The rehab, an actual total gut rehab by an electrician finished in ’03 including things such as all copper piping, 100 amp electric w/new proper conduit wiring throughout, new up and down stacks for plumbing, insulation throughout, and finally all double-pane windows
3. The street, Blackhawk is an odd street but one thing these owners have enforced are loading dock times for the Jewel and other shops in the center, they can only accept deliveries between 7AM-10PM.
Again I know as the agent I shouldn’t chime in but wanted to make sure I threw these facts in the mix.
Pretty big reduction to $314,500…