A Bank Owned Penthouse That Just Needs a Little TLC: 3200 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview
This 2-bedroom penthouse in the Harbor House at 3200 N. Lake Shore Drive in Lakeview came on the market in May 2015.
It is bank owned.
The unit used to be a 3-bedroom but a wall was taken down and a big, custom, wood bar was installed (see the listing pictures.)
The kitchen appears to be intact. It has wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances and stone countertops.
The living room has a unique sunken living room feature.
You can party all summer from your 50×20 roof deck, which appears to be on the side of the building (maybe north facing?).
The unit has central air, washer/dryer in the unit and parking is available to rent in the building.
The bank is getting a little antsy. It recently reduced it $75,000 to $849,900.
Is this a deal for someone with a flare for interior décor?
Michael Olszewski at Area Wide Realty has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #2901: 2 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2100 square feet
- Sold in August 2002 for $1.025 million
- Lis pendens foreclosure filed in April 2010
- Bank owned in May 2013
- Originally listed in May 2015 for $1.1 million
- Reduced several times
- Currently listed for $849,900
- Assessments of $1923 a month (includes heat, a/c and other things but the bank listing doesn’t give a complete list)
- Taxes of $8906
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Parking is valet and rental in the building
- Bedroom #1: 19×18
- Bedroom #2: 16×12
- Family room: 16×11
Taxes are reasonable, not so much the assessments. The deck looks a little rough and overall the pictures are lacking so it’s hard to tell if the bathrooms need to be redone, etc. Still, it could make a killer bachelor pad for someone loaded, I’d keep that bar!
That bar belongs in a basement, not a condo. And WTF is with that “sunken pool” in the living room?
No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, and NO!
It will need more than decor Bri Bri. It just looks to small for that ginormous kitchen, the sunken floor limits what you can do plus shrinks the space. I see to much money getting this back to normality.
Why not choose this move in ready place?
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/3500-N-Lake-Shore-Dr-60657/unit-15C/home/79756663
This building has always had high HOAs. It also has a large indoor pool and a pretty high level of service and amenity. All the units have sunken living rooms, which I think is one of their more interesting features.
This unit, though, will need a lot more than top decoration to be a really great place. And that bar, though it is gorgeous, somehow does not fit the unit, and the kitchen doesn’t, either.
The sad thing is, that like most 60s-vintage buildings, the ceilings are too low and there’s nothing you can do about that except select furniture and colors that make the space seem larger and lighter.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2012/03/mad-men-don-drapers-apartment.html
The sunken living room is so very familiar…oh that’s right, Draper’s apartment in Mad Men
Those assessments need a little TLC. The bar also looks horribly out of place, but perhaps it’s how it’s photographed
“The bar also looks horribly out of place”
As Laura pointed out, low ceilings and that monster bar are a visual disaster.
Even worse is the marble ring around the sunken living room that totally kills the flooring detail that is the only plus for my eyeballs.
Is the roof deck solely to this unit?
There is no simple way of analyzing the HOA assessment fee. A previous thread saw Groove trying to break down a HOA fee based on amenities and what was included (taxes, heat, etc.). I looked at building staffing as another way of analyzing the HOA fee. As Sabrina pointed out, the number of units is an important figure. My example was for 150 units. This building has about 275 units and nearly the same amenities as my example. Yet this building has far higher HOA fees. One might expect a building with more units to have lower HOA fees. Maybe this building has a much larger staff than the 20 people in my example.
The level of reserves is a big unknown that is a factor. Maybe this building has huge reserves.
hhahaha whoah, design disaster right here
The bar is great, but yes, looks oddly out of place..too big, too traditional for a unit like that…a cool early 60s looking bar would be great with the sunken living room for a real retro Mad Men feel. I love the sunken living room also…makes what could be cookie cutter place more interesting.
Just want to throw it out there…
…Do we really think a bar that size fully stocked and any changes in levels of floor is really a good idea in the long run, even if covered by the affordable care act?
It’s not only the size of the bar. Does anyone really think that corinthian columns are a good design pattern for a bar in a Lake Shore Drive condo?
“It’s not only the size of the bar.”
That’s what she said
I used to live by that building and passed it daily. I only clicked on the link to see what a unit in there might look like. OMG!
The sunken living room can easily be sold by a good staging job. That fracking bar though is the elephant in the room. Remind me of suburban Thai restaurants.
Not to mention this is just an ugly building. Looked at a couple of places and found the building depressing. Except the east facing views, they are awesome.
The views, bar and deck make the place. I love the sunken room too. Hate the HOA fee though.
Way overpriced at $850k. Condo garbage in that building with a high number of rentals sells for $300 a sqft. tops. Do the math. Then add in the cosmetic rehab job. Assessments are way high obviously; but typical for area high rise condos; which is why most high rise condos don’t appreciate.
“which is why most high rise condos don’t appreciate”
Uhhhh…where do you get that idea? They appreciate as well. Perhaps not as Much as sfh in the area but I’ve owned in that area and sold for substantial appreciation.
This unit needs major work. Plumbing, Total Electric, Heating units etc etc. Could be a great unit but with a major rehab budget. The bar is totally out of place.
I had a rich old aunt who lived in this building. Sadly, this is the first time I’ve actually gotten to see what the inside of this place looks like…
Ripping out that bar would be a nightmare… How they hell did they build that thing in place like that?
How did they get that sunken floor? Does that mean the rest of the floor is elevated?
Those buildings typically have poured flat concrete slabs across the whole floor, before demising walls, windows etc. are put in in the raw construction stage.
Helmethofer- ALL the units have this. The living rooms are lower than the entrances and the dining/kitchens.