A “Completely Renovated” 3-Bedroom in The Renaissance: 5510 N. Sheridan in Edgewater
This 3-bedroom in The Renaissance at 5510 N. Sheridan in Edgewater just came on the market.
According to the Chicago Apartments, A Century of Lakefront Living (a MUST buy for a holiday gift) the Renaissance was designed by Quinn & Christiansen and built by H. Janisch in 1926-27.
At 17-stories, it was built with a gabled mansard roof in the French Renaissance style (hence, the name.)
There are 32 units and two automobile portals lead to a 3-story garage.
The listing says this unit was “completely renovated” in 2017. I recommend checking out the listing pictures from 2016 to see what was done.
It has hardwood floors throughout and recessed lights.
It still has vintage features including crown molding, arched doorways, a decorative fireplace in the living room and a formal gallery and entry foyer.
There’s no floor plan with the listing, but it appears they shrunk the dining room and stuck an office along the front of the unit.
The listing says there is a breakfast nook, but the kitchen doesn’t have one in the current pictures.
The kitchen has the features today’s buyers look for including white cabinets and black cabinets on the island, black (gray?) quartz counter tops, Subzero and Wolf appliances, a white subway tile backsplash and a wine refrigerator.
The primary suite has a walk-in-closet and a bathroom with a heated towel rack and floors along with a carrara marble shower with a bathtub.
The unit does not have central air or washer/dryer in the unit. The building has a laundry room.
The listing says there is unlimited homeowner parking and guest parking and also says the homeowner parking is $95 a month.
There’s a party room with a roof deck and storage.
Listed at $449,000 for 2400 square feet, does this unit check all the vintage lover’s boxes?
Timothy Sheahan and John Barr at Compass have the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #8B: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2400 square feet
- Sold in May 1992 for $150,000
- Sold in October 2016 for $338,000
- Currently listed at $449,000
- Assessments of $1377 a month (includes heat, exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger and snow removal)
- Taxes of $7071
- No central air
- No in-unit washer/dryer
- Parking is available for $95 a month
- Decorative fireplace
- Bedroom #1: 16×12
- Bedroom #2: 16×12
- Bedroom #3: 10×9
- Gallery: 15×10
- Foyer: 8×5
- Breakfast room: 8×6 (?)- old floor plan?
- Living room: 26×16
- Dining room: 20×14- old floor plan?
- Kitchen: 16×14
Other than the listed SF and no W&D, there’s not much to bitch about with this unit.
Even with the high HOA the ask seems very reasonable
10A is arguably nicer and larger (allegedly 3000sf) for $30k more and has been for sale for a couple of years.
there’s not much to bitch about with this unit.
I mostly love everything about this place, but it wouldn’t be cribchatter if someone wasn’t bitching, so: No WD and no private outdoor space is a deal breaker at this price point.
I also kinda hate the drawer/cabinet pulls in the kitchen. (Of course, that’s something that can be remedied for under $100, possibly under $50).
Just realized I was looking at the kitchen pics of 10A, so I withdraw my drawer/cabinet pull comment.
“(allegedly 3000sf)”
Someone should have told the virtual tour people.
It measures as ~75×20 + ~34×30, so ~2520.
Given the building layout, it seems likely they are nearly the same size–just a question of how the elevators are positioned between them.
I will never understand the reason why anyone with a lick of financial sense would buy in these high assessment buildings.
The monthly nut here is ~$3600, of which $1500 is flushed away with assessments and parking. Then there’s the cost of additional time from routine laundry room visits. No thanks. Not for a $100k downpayment with closing costs.
Now compare that cost to this place in Edgewater/Andersonville:
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/5652-N-Ashland-Ave-60660/unit-1/home/173218255
This new construction unit, priced almost 300k more, has the same exact monthly payment for a unit that has 500 more sq/ft, A/C, a parking space, AND in-unit laundry! Plus an extra bed and two toilets. Granted it comes at a higher acquisition cost, and thus a higher down payment amount. But even with the extra space/beds/baths, it’s in a much better location; just north of downtown Andersonville which has been heating up since they tore down and redeveloped over Edgewater Medical. It would also be tremendously easier to re-sell when the time comes vs a unit in a building with super-high assessments that don’t include much aside from… prestige? Doormen? Cool lobby?
The Sheridan place has great views and is very elegant with its tasteful upgrades, but the value behind the beauty just isn’t there. Much better options available if you want to be in Edgewater.
Very nice renovation in a huge, beautiful apartment. Too bad there is no central A/C, but that is easier to install in some older buildings than others. Some do not have enough space between the floors to install the tubes.
The HOA is extremely reasonable for a vintage high rise building, at $0.57 a square foot. Remember, this in an elevator building, and the fee includes heat, as well as building maintenance. In fact, it seems almost too low, and if I were a prospective buyer, I’d want to know if there is a decent reserve. Too often, associations avoid raising assessments when warranted, because they know it will dismay many owners, and it tends to depress prices, but owners too often fail to grasp that deferring essential upgrades and maintenance all too often means massive expenses and nightmare special assessments down the road.
The listing doesn’t say whether it is a co-op or condo- I think it’s condo, but I’m not sure.
Elliot,
You obviously have very little knowledge of Chicago real estate if you think 1500 is high in assesments for a unit like this (lower end if anything), and if that craptacular basement condo in andersonville is a reasonable comparison.
And yes, a lobby, a doorman, and views of the lake are arguably some of the main things people look for when deciding what kind of condo they want.
“Too bad there is no central A/C, but that is easier to install in some older buildings than others.”
Laura, they all just do Space Pac these days, right?
But it’s not cheap.
“The listing doesn’t say whether it is a co-op or condo- I think it’s condo, but I’m not sure.”
It’s condos. If it’s a co-op, there are usually no taxes listed.
Riz, you obviously have poor eyesight if you think the condo I posted is a basement. It’s a duplex down, half of which — if you knew anything about real estate — is below grade. Not a garden unit.
I have been watching Chicago real estate for the last 15 years so I do have knowledge about the range of assessments you can find in these older buildings. It does not change the math or reality I’ve consistently put forth on this site about why they are bad investments.
LOL at that duplex down on Ashland… Two different markets – people considering a vintage high-rise wouldn’t consider that and vice versa. For a lot of people a staffed building and the security of it (and bigger building to spread costs through) is a more important advantage.
As an FYI space pac IS central air conditioning, just a brand name for a specific type of equipment which uses high-velocity, smaller cross section ductwork. It still needs outside condensing units like conventional AC would.
Here’s a good discussion of Spacepak from a local installer:
https://americanvintagehome.com/air-conditioning/spacepak-ac/
As I said, it’s still central air conditioning.
Sabrina, the thing about Space Pak is that you need enough space between your ceiling and the floor above it, to run the tubes. I inherited a wonderful SpacePak system from the previous owner of my unit, something I could neither afford to install, nor justify, myself, and I love it. But only the third floor units in my building can accommodate it,I’ve been told, because there is not enough room between the floors to run the tubes in the 2nd or elevated 1st floor apartments. My small system, for a 1000 sq ft unit, has 14 tubes, with the AC compressor mounted outside the kitchen window. I wonder if there’s a way to run them through the walls instead of the ceiling, but it looks like it would involve a lot more tubing and labor, if it’s even possible.
“I wonder if there’s a way to run them through the walls”
Would be even harder! Walls typically only have 3.5″ of cavity, where floors can be expected to have at least 10″.
Usually the issues for spacepak are (1) where the plenum goes, and (2) how to run the supply tubes from there. I would guess the issue for your lower floors is cutting holes in the joists for the tubes, and compromising the structure.
Another solution is “air handler” units mounted on interior walls, usually over doorways, wired to an A/C compressor. The units don’t enhance the appearance of the place, but they’re not super ugly like window A/C units, either- they’re white, and about 2’x 1′. One large unit in my building has those, but the system in that extremely large unit requires TWO compressors. A 1000 sq ft unit like mine, though, could do with one compressor.